ABOUT DAVID

Welcome and thank you so much for checking out my work. Before telling a bit of my story, I think nothing speaks more to what I do than to see the phenomenal groups and people with which I get to collaborate.

My commercial client list includes respected groups like Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, and I have the privilege of traveling the world and shooting for them for about 75 days a year. Sometimes I wish I could go back to twelve-year-old me flipping through the Cabela’s catalog and tell him that, but I guess it’s best he didn’t know. I also get to work with the recently-resurrected and once-again-booming Duck Head, which was one of the biggest brands of my childhood and is once again setting the standard for apparel for the social sportsman. I am also on the Pro Photography Team of R.L. Winston Fly Rods, a legendary brand out of Twin Bridges, Montana, who make the finest fly rods in the world. In addition to these, I have been honored to work with top groups like Coke One North America, Jarrett Rifles, The Ritz-Carlton, Big Green Egg, Vexus Boats, STAINMASTER Flooring, Lloyd Flanders, Nomadic Waters, Georgia Aquarium, ID & Design International, Jeffrey Beers International, Scientific Anglers, Nichiha, Grahl Construction, Keystone Millworks, Piedmont Healthcare, Reynolds Lake Oconee, C. Brandon Ingram, Lew Oliver, the Empire South family of brands, Carroll Daniel Commercial Construction, and TakeMeFishing.org.

In addition to commercial work, my editorial work has appeared in a long list of quality publications, as well, such as Southern Living, Gray's Sporting Journal, The New York Times, Country Living, Atlanta Magazine, Fly Fisherman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sporting Classics, HOME, The Flyfish Journal, Strung Magazine, and more. 

For a little of my story, I am a full-time commercial photographer based between Athens and Atlanta, Georgia, and shoot for leading brands and agencies all over the U.S. Thus far, I have also shot for clients in 17 other countries, with some favorites being New Zealand, the Brazilian Amazon, the Patagonia region of Argentina, South Africa, and Austria (I’m most at home in the mountains, but there’s something about that Amazon basin…). In case you’re wondering if I ever anticipated getting to do things like this for work, I can say with a smile that I never would have guessed it. I end up traveling for clients for about four months of the year and because I have a great wife and two way-too-quickly-growing daughters whom I love, I work closer to home the rest of the year. As great as it is to travel and see some of the most spectacular places on the planet, there’s no place like home.

Fresh out of college, I worked for a couple of magazine groups, primarily selling advertising and writing. Through my writing experience, about four years into my career I was contracted to author a book that had spots for a few hundred photos, but there was one problem… I didn’t shoot photos. The publisher made the smart - and for me, life-changing - move to contract Chad McClure, with whom I worked at one of those magazine groups, to shoot the photos to accompany my words in this work. Over the 13 months that we worked together on that project, Chad taught me the basics and encouraged me to learn through his own love of photography and vast knowledge. And seeing the images he was producing really inspired me to learn more and explore this craft.

Over the following handful of years, my photos started getting published by groups like Southern Living and Gray’s Sporting Journal and businesses and agencies started hiring me for shoots. At the encouragement of my wife, our family made the leap into me doing this for a living full-time, which was an unexpected turn for all of us.

Really since the beginning, there have been two different genres of commercial photography in which I have felt at home: sporting/outdoor lifestyle and also architectural. I’ve dabbled in food photography, portrait photography, etc., but since 2018 in particular, I’ve stuck with what I know best and what I enjoy shooting the most. This might seem like an odd mix of work, but I’ve found over the years that shifting gears between these genres keeps things interesting and fresh for me, which is crucial for anyone engaging in creative work full-time.

The common thread that ties my work together is simple, though: showing off the expertise and passion of my clients to their prospective customers and audiences. I do this for leading agencies, brands, designers, builders, architects, and publications.

I have authored one book - the one I mentioned earlier, Fly Fishing Georgia: A No Nonsense Guide to Top Waters (2010) and the second edition is due for release just as soon as I can find time to write 75,000 words (thank you to my very patient publisher!).

I have been married since 2006 to Stephanie, the real talent in our family (she was named one of America's 100 Most Creative People by Country Living) and is a sought-after designer, a servant-leader in our little town, and an incredible mom. Together we have two beautiful daughters and live in Monroe, Georgia.