With more than six decades behind the lens, Heide Smith is one of Australia's best known and regarded photographers. For her upcoming exhibition – A South Coast Selection – Heide captures intimate portraits and evocative landscapes, telling stories that matter through a celebration of Eurobodalla's people and the place they live. There will be plenty of familiar faces and places but captured with a light and clarity not often seen.
After moving to Australia from Germany in 1971, Heide rose to prominence in Canberra, operating her own studio from 1978 to 1997 with a large body of portraits and architectural studies, always with a focus on authenticity and human connection. In 1988 Heide settled at Narooma, moving to Tuross Head in 2018. South coast landscapes and communities have become central to her work with each photograph reflecting Heide's signature clarity and warmth.
A South Coast Selection also marks the launch of Heide's retrospective FotoHeide – A Photographer's Tale. The book highlights her remarkable career from an apprenticeship in 1950s Germany to the light-filled landscapes and portraits featured in A South Coast Selection. It includes early European street scenes, German photojournalism, and wide representation from the Canberra decades.
Over the years Heide has photographed politicians, public intellectuals, visiting dignitaries, sports stars and countless everyday Australians – always with sensitivity and an eye for honesty. Her lens has lingered on David Attenborough, Mal Maninga, Bob Hawke and the Dalai Lama, capturing them with a presence that belies the usual power poses. More recently there has been a shift from the structured formality of Canberra to the open light and looser rhythms of coastal life, with work that expresses a heartfelt homage to the place she now calls home.
A South Coast Selection runs at the Bas from Saturday 28 June to Saturday 16 July. Visitors can meet Heide and purchase a signed copy of FotoHeide – A Photographer's Tale at the exhibition opening on Saturday 28 June from 10.30am. The Basil Sellers Exhibition is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm.
