“I got into photography to share the beauty of Guyana with the world” – Photographer Darrin Smith

By Lakhram Bhagirat

Hailing from the picturesque village of Wakapao in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region exposed young Darrin Smith to a lot of beautiful scenes. From the flora to the fauna of his Indigenous community, Smith knew it was something not seen throughout Guyana.

It was that drive to expose every Guyanese and those in the world to the richness that is Guyana that caused Smith to take up photography as a hobby.
The 26-year-old is currently employed with the Ministry of Public Works as an Electrical Engineer but spends all his free time travelling and taking photos of the scenery and people of Guyana. He is one of the foremost photographers in Guyana and though he has only been doing it for a few years, Smith’s work has shown consistent improvement.
Looking back at his childhood, Smith related that much of his formative years was spent in the Indigenous community of Wakapao, where he and his family lived. He remembered walking 45 minutes with his friends to get to school in the mornings and another 45 minutes to go back home in the afternoons.
Like almost every Indigenous child, Smith’s childhood also encompassed time spent in the farms where he learned the ways of the land. Also, if he was not catching fish, you would be sure to find him taking a dip in the black water of his community.
Education also played an integral role in his life with his attendance at the Anna Regina Multilateral School and then the University of Guyana where he qualified himself as an electrical engineer.

“My interest in photography really developed from at home in Wakapao because there are a lot of scenes and wildlife and so that people in Georgetown and the wider world don’t know about so I wanted to showcase that to Guyana and by extension the world. So photography was the best medium because your pictures can reach a long way through social media,” the young Smith related.
He started his venture with just a “cheap camera phone” and spent hours collecting photos and videos. He would later combine it into one video piece and post it to his Facebook page where it gained a lot of traction.
“Someone from overseas saw that (first video I posted) and they gifted me a drone and a camera because they were impressed and they gifted me to produce more of that stuff. That kickstarted me more into photography and that was about two years back,” he explained.
Over time, Smith has recorded a lot of improvements in relation to the quality of photos he takes. However, there have been challenges along the way and for him, it has been mainly financial. His photos are a result of his passion to showcase his beautiful land.
“I am working on a special series and a miniseries on Wakapao and I have seen myself improve from when I first started off and the quality is even better. I just do this as a hobby but like if you want to [go to] places to take photos then you have to find your own finances and so normally. I am lucky enough that people would sponsor trips for me and so I could go take photos for them so it is not all of that challenging because there are people out there willing to support your venture,” Smith said.
He advised that everyone should follow their passion. He urged them to start small and dream big.