Biography

David Alan Harvey (San Francisco, 1944) discovered photography at the age of 11. He purchased a used Leica in 1956 and began photographing his family and neighborhood. When he was 20 he documented the lives of a black family living in Norfolk, Virginia, the resulting book was Tell It Like It Is. 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 the Berlin Wall, Maya culture, Vietnam, Native Americans, Mexico, and Brazil.
He has published two major books, Cuba and Divided Soul, based on his extensive work on the Spanish cultural migration into the Americas, and his book Living Proof. 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, a Brazilian story, was published by BurnBooks in 2012. Harvey’s work has been exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Nikon Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

David Alan Harvey is a member of Magnum Photos.