Born in San Francisco, David Alan Harvey was raised in Virginia. He
discovered photography in 1956 at the age of 11 when he purchased a
used Leica with savings from his newspaper route and began
photographing his family and neighborhood. When he was 20 he lived
with and documented the lives of an African American family living in
Norfolk, Virginia, and the resulting book, Tell It Like It Is, was
published in 1966. He was named Magazine Photographer of the Year by
the National Press Photographers Association in 1978. Harvey went on
to shoot over forty essays for National Geographic magazine. He has
covered stories around the world, including projects on French
teenagers, the Berlin Wall, Mayan culture, Vietnam, Native Americans,
Mexico, Naples, and Nairobi. He has published two major books, Cuba
and Divided Soul, based on his extensive work on Spanish cultural
migration to the Americas, and his book Living Proof (2007) deals with
hip-hop culture. His work has been exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery
of Art, the Nikon Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and
the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Workshops and seminars are an
important part of his life. Harvey is founder and editor of the
award-winning Burn Magazine, featuring iconic and emerging
photographers in print and online. His latest book (based on a true
story) was published by Burn in 2012. Harvey joined Magnum as a
nominee in 1993 and became a full member in 1997. He lives in New York
City.
