Dave Burks Photography

About the Photographer

Dave was born in East Cullman County to a farming family. As he grew up, the family photographs and the old Brownie Hawkeye camera intrigued him. At age 13, Dave’s father gave him the old Brownie Hawkeye and from that time on, nothing was safe from being photographed!

During Dave’s military career, he purchased a Konica TC3 35mm and recorded all his adventures of foreign ports, lands and people. Later on, he purchased another Konica 35mm camera with an assortment of lenses.

As computers came of age and digital cameras became affordable, he purchased a digital camera and life has not been the same. In 2003, Dave purchased his second digital camera and a Mac computer to process his photos. He retired his 35mm cameras that year. Even thought Dave uses digital as his favored format, he does not alter any of his photographs, other than to simply adjust colors, brightness and contrast, the same things photographers have done for decades in the dark room. While wonderful art can be created on the computer, and photos completely changed, Dave feels the need to stay loyal to being a photographer and not generating his photos by the computer. He feels that a good photo from which to work is essential.

Dave's first series of photographs was titled “The Hand of God”. The name of the Dave's first series is dedicated to his Mother. As a child, Dave would ask his Mother why the sky at sunset was so beautiful or some other sight was just so wonderful to see. His Mother always replied the same, “…it’s the hand of God passing by!” More photographs have followed this series, yet the "hand of God" continues to be shown in Dave's work.

Dave’s desire in displaying his photgraphs is to encourage us to slow down, and take just a few minutes to stand in awe at all the beautiful sights that are so fleeting, which enrich and fulfill our lives.