Dave Speckman, of Speckman Photography in Traverse City, is that kind of individual and professional. Born and raised in Ohio, Dave’s early years were spent growing up in a typical Midwestern environment built on relationships and ethics. Active in school and sports during his formative years, he attended the University of Tennessee where he earned a degree in psychology and was a 4-year starter o
n the university soccer team. It was there that he discovered his passion for photography. He enrolled in the Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology, earning a degree in Commercial Photography. Anxious to apply his new found skills, Dave worked for an advertising agency in Dayton, Ohio for two years before heading to Los Angeles where he continued as a freelancer, honing his trade and building his varied portfolio with commercial modeling shoots, landscape work and portraiture. The Midwestern lifestyle ultimately called him home however, and he settled in Traverse City, Michigan, securing a position with the esteemed Interlochen Center for the Arts as staff photographer and then Director of Photography. Dave excelled over the next 8 years there, expanding his portfolio and knowledge, shooting every imaginable arts discipline with a creative eye for annual reports, brochures, catalogues, videos, fundraising pieces and the media. His network of contacts expanded as well as he photographed world-class performers in the arts and students/ faculty from around the world. Looking for an opportunity to leverage his growing knowledge in a different arena, Dave teamed with respected Traverse City commercial photographer Don Rutt for 6 years before buying the business in 2006. Since then, Dave’s professional and personal life have directed him in new ways and differing levels. He became a husband, a stepfather, and recently expanded his family with the adoption of two young brother- and-sister orphans from Kazakhstan. His life journey is influenced daily by his family, friends, clients and acquaintances … the result is a new found creativity and clarity in the sum of his work. Dave’s signature style produces consistent images that are not only exciting and dynamic, but are quality frame after frame. The same attention to detail is given to his subjects – whether in the studio perfecting the lighting for a food magazine shoot, from a helicopter hovering over a crystal blue northern lake shooting speeding boats or capturing the unexpected expressions of school children in a classroom. Speckman Photography - life experience and passion at its best.
