I work out of New York City. My photography lives in two currents: Dark Street, where grit, torsion, and the uncanny sharpen the frame; and Light Studies, where the air opens, light drifts, and form loosens into calm. Of the two, Dark Street runs deepest for me. It isn’t about gloating at suffering. It’s about being willing to look, and to keep looking. To witness without turning away.
And looking that long changes what you believe. What endures isn’t always the brokenness. People talk like it is. I used to believe it, too. Then one day I wasn’t broken. No revelation, no sermon, nothing to sell. Just, yeah, it happens.
I keep the work tactile; grit and visible grain belong when the scene calls for them.
All the images here are new, from August 2025 onward. The only older
work appears in the
Prior Era
page.
All my work is photographed on the street and edited by hand — never
with filters, AI, or digital fabrication.
I share ongoing work and field notes on
Instagram
.
— Nate Smith me@nsgrit.com