Some moments only live once and still change us forever. American photographer Darren Smith, House of Peregrine’s Featured Artist for 2025–26, joins Mickelle with his latest collection of work Mayflies, a coffee table book of portraits made at gatherings around the world. From Burning Man dust at dawn to the joy of Amsterdam’s Milkshake and the reverence of Día de los Muertos, Darren builds a roaming studio inside the heartbeat of the crowd—inviting strangers to step out of spectacle and into a moment of radical presence.

By stripping context and leaving in the telltale wristbands, Mayflies shifts our gaze from costume to humanity. We talk about Darren’s journey across continents; his formative years assisting the late fashion photographer Stan Shaffer; and the ethics, consent, and collaboration that shape this work. We also go deep on curation: turning more than a thousand portraits into a book that feels alive—edited with restraint, tenderness, and trust.

In this episode:

• The making of Mayflies and the art of “chosen” identities
• A mobile studio: turning chaos into intimacy
• Ethics, consent, and collaborating with emerging communities
• Editing a thousand portraits into a living book
• Expat life, impermanence, and raising a third-culture kid in the Netherlands

Links:

• Darren Smith: mayfliesbook.com • Instagram @mayfliesbook
• House of Peregrine: houseofperegrine.com
• Mayflies in the House of Peregrine Marketplace (coming soon)

Listen now, share with a fellow Peregrine, and join our newsletter for invites to upcoming events with Darren and updates when Mayflies lands in the HOP Marketplace.

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