Robin Smith (1927-2024) grew up in rural New Zealand, and studied arts and fine arts at Canterbury University before beginning to write and illustrate adventure and natural history stories. In 1951, following a stint as a commercial artist and reporter, he bought a camera. Just as his book on big game hunting was published in 1952, he began to gain photographic assignments with National Geographic, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream and various English and continental publications. In 1956 he won an international photographic competition, and two years later he travelled on assignment to photograph Antarctica. Through the 1960s and 1970s he published some 25 best-selling books on Australia and New Zealand and undertook covers for Readers Digest and calendar work for John Sands Pty Ltd. His photographs are in archival collections across Australia and in the National Library.
