Avid adventurer and photographer Dave Highbloom grew up with a father who worked in advertising and a mother who collected old-fashioned box cameras. Dave discovered his love for photography early on. His first camera was a simple Polaroid, and his second was a classic Nikon, both of which he received before he was 11.
In high school, Dave took a photography class taught by Glenn Swayne. The class assignments focused on the human connections that can be forged through a camera lens, even via straightforward images such as yearbook pictures.
One of the most memorable challenges that Dave recalls was to capture legendary Horace Greeley High School math teacher Edwin Barlow, who was a reconnaissance rifleman and Purple Heart recipient. Barlow was a bit of a recluse, avoiding being photographed for almost any occasion. But Dave succeeded in photographing the prominent teacher, and the image later appeared in the book “Teacher of the Year: The Mystery and Legacy of Edwin Barlow.” Without a doubt, this was a tremendous achievement that gave Dave Highbloom the confidence in his photography journey.
Dave knows the power of images and how they can help viewers understand others’ behavior and viewpoint, promote meaningful social change, and even elicit a simple smile. He also understands the permanence of the existence of images and their stories, the different perspectives photographers can convey, and all the things photography can do to enhance viewers’ lives.
Dave Highbloom is also passionate about travel, which greatly complemented his love for photography. This passion is most evident when he stayed with a host family in Japan through an intercultural student exchange program called Youth For Understanding USA. The photographs he took were presented at the end of the immersion to fellow students. Dave credits the entire experience as the main reason he loves traveling and documenting his adventures via photography.
Since his stay in Japan, Dave and his cameras have always been inseparable. Whether swimming with whale sharks off the coast of the island of Oslob in Cebu in the Philippines, exploring the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave in Belize, or rafting 87 miles through white water down Idaho’s Salmon River, Dave has experienced and captured many of the wonders of the world across 50 countries through his lens.
When not traveling or on a shoot, Dave Highbloom spends his time with his wife and three children in New York.