Albert Joseph "Al" Smith, Sr. (1916-2008) was a photographer and prolific chronicler of life in Seattle's Central Area during the mid- to late-20th century. From a hobby begun as a preteen, Mr. Smith began his "weekend job" and photography business, On the Spot, in the 1940s, capturing life in the city’s African American community, the Central Area neighborhood, and the local jazz scene.

Al Smith left O'Dea High School in 1935 and joined the Merchant Marine Union, working as a steward on passenger ships, including the SS President Grant and returned to Seattle in 1941. Here, on one of his stops somewhere in Asia, he photographs a woman standing on the steps of a building.

MOHAI’s 2022 Curator’s Fellow Brittney Frantece explored the photographs in the Al Smith Collection for how they demonstrate Black worldbuilding in Seattle. Looking at this photograph, Frantece offered the following analysis:

Al Smith traveled across the Pacific Ocean many times throughout his life and certainly his camera followed. In an old and delicate photo album, Smith stored photographs from this trip taken with his Ikoflex from almost a century ago. In each of the photographs, we can see a young Al Smith enjoying life, traveling, and making new friends.

We witness a portrait of a woman standing on steps in front of a house, circa 1938. Smith often experimented with camera exposures to play with camera steadiness and movements. He was not only interested in capturing still moments (motions), but seemed to let the shutter stay open to capture the blurriness caused by movement. Here, the blurriness of the person’s attire and background has a surreal and ghostly effect.

Caption information source: Smith, Al (1916-2008) by Peter Blecha, HistoryLink.org Essay 11095