Dave Heath
American, b. 1931
A poetic observer of his life and times, Dave Heath has been photographing since the early 1950s, amassing a body of images documenting everything from wartime to street scenes, utilizing the changing technologies of his medium. He took his first photographs as an infantryman in the Korean War. Returning to America, he continued his photographic pursuits with a stint in school and seminars with W. Eugene Smith, who, together with Robert Frank, shaped his approach. Heath focused on American city streets during the late 1950s and ’60s, capturing intimate scenes of everyday life with a 35mm camera. Convinced that the photographic essay is more meaningful than the single image, he shoots in series based on themes. He has worked with slide projection technology and the Polaroid camera, crafting narratives about the human condition, and his own experience of it.
A poetic observer of his life and times, Dave Heath has been photographing since the early 1950s, amassing a body of images documenting everything from wartime to street scenes, utilizing the changing technologies of his medium. He took his first photographs as an infantryman in the Korean War. Returning to America, he continued his photographic pursuits with a stint in school and seminars with W. Eugene Smith, who, together with Robert Frank, shaped his approach. Heath focused on American city streets during the late 1950s and ’60s, capturing intimate scenes of everyday life with a 35mm camera. Convinced that the photographic essay is more meaningful than the single image, he shoots in series based on themes. He has worked with slide projection technology and the Polaroid camera, crafting narratives about the human condition, and his own experience of it.
