I’m David duChemin and I want to help you make the strongest, most compelling photographs of your life, and to do so with joy and freedom, to make photographs that are more than just good, but truly your own.

I’m a photographer, and author, based—when I’m home—on Vancouver Island, Canada. A former humanitarian photographer creating images of hope and dignity for the international NGO community, my work pivoted after a life-altering accident while photographing in Italy in 2011. Now a below-the-knee amputee, my calling lies in turning my lens toward the natural world and nudging others to pursue a life of intention and creativity.

“Life,” to quote the late Helen Keller, “is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

How can I help you?

If you want to experience this astonishing world through my eyes, join me as I swim with humpback whales in Tonga, follow the elusive Spirit Bear in Canada’s Great Bear Rain Forest, or experience the Christmas pilgrimage in Lalibela, Ethiopia through my photographs, you can see them in my current portfolios here.

If you’re a photographer and want to learn more about the craft and art of photography, and you’re done with the gimmicks and the shortcuts and want to go deeper, you can find many of my books and resources on Craft & Vision here.

If you’re reading this About Me stuff then you might not know me yet, so consider starting easy and downloading this awkwardly titled PDF eBook: 20 Ways to Stop Messing Around with Your Camera and Make Better Photographs Without Buying Any More Gear. Yours free in the hopes that we’ll hit it off.

Want to hear from me more often? Get The Contact Sheet. I send this out once every two weeks or so. No one needs another newsletter, but relevant articles about the craft and art of photography, as well as first glimpses of my new work, usually through downloadable PDF monographs I don’t make available elsewhere? These are the kind of emails people open and read and send thank you letters about; it’s good stuff, I promise. Join me and 100,000 other photographers on this journey of photographic vision. Let me send you this PDF and I’ll automatically add you to the Contact Sheet. You can unsubscribe at any time.

And if you find your creative life a bit of a daily fight, this is your invitation to listen to A Beautiful Anarchy, my podcast series about the joys and challenges of everyday creativity. Short, relevant episodes (usually around 15 minutes long) made for people, like me, who aren’t really podcast people but need the occasional kick in the creative pants, and to know they aren’t alone in what often feels like a fight. You can listen on iTunes, most podcast services, or at aBeautifulAnarchy.com

If you’re looking to discuss a speaking engagement or assignment work related to international development or conservation, please drop my team an email. My manager’s name is Corwin and he’ll take good care of you until I’m back from following shepherds in Lesotho, or whatever adventure I’m currently on. Drop Corwin an email here.

Want More? Here’s the rest of my bio.

My travels have taken me through 55+ countries to date, though I prefer to experience a place deeply, and often, rather than see everything once and only skim the surface. I’ve worked through winters in Russia and Mongolia, a summer on the Amazon, and spent time among nomads in the Indian Himalayan and remote Northern Kenya. My assignment work has taken me to Ecuador, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Ethiopia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Bangladesh, among others, and I’ve pursued personal work  in places like Iceland, Antarctica, Tunisia, Cuba, Vietnam, Kenya, and Italy, among others.

Drawing on a previous career in comedy, and a love for storytelling and communication, I make myself available on a limited basis for keynote presentations and training on photography, creativity and entrepreneurial topics, but give me a microphone and a willing audience and I’ll talk about almost anything.

Much to my great surprise and gratitude, my books have been translated into a dozen languages and are celebrated for their humanity, approachability, and a focus on vision & creativity over the gear and pixel-peeping our industry is so prone to. You can find my latest books, The Heart of the Photograph,  The Soul of the Camera, as well as Within The Frame, The Visual Toolbox, and A Beautiful Anarchy all on Amazon or anywhere good books are sold. My work can be found online at DavidduChemin.com