David Reed grew up in a small town in Southeastern Ohio. He always enjoyed doing art projects which included submitting art to the county fair, drawing for fun, painting the sets for the school plays and even painting the nativity scene on the big old elementary school windows. In high school art took a backseat to sports and other school activities. Upon graduation he decided to forego college and enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. It was at the USCG Electronics Engineering Center in Wildwood, NJ that he and a few of his friends took up photography. They experimented with different cameras and developed their own slides. This was David's new art since it seemed there was never enough time to paint or draw. After four years in the Coast Guard he moved back to Ohio to be involved with the family service station business. When this hit a sour note a move to Florida provided him the opportunity to purchase a Gulf Oil service station at the age of twenty-three. This led to a thirty three year career of owning and operating service stations and an automotive repair center. Several cameras were purchased over the years but always ended up sitting on the shelf. In 2001, Helen, his wife purchased for him a digital camera and the fire was reignited. David began to take classes at the Morean Arts Center in downtown St. Petersburg. It was there that a two day seminar with professional Nikon photographer Bill Fortney fanned the flames even more by telling Dave he should do more with his talent than just be an enthusiast. Two ladies in the class that were members of the Tampa Area Professional Photographers guild encouraged him to join their association. The next year he finally took the bait and joined TAPPA and began to enter print competitions. He has attended seminars with some of the best photographers in Florida and the country. In February 2011 David sold his automotive repair center and is working there part-time until February 2013 as a consultant. In the meantime he is entering print competitions, studying with other photographers and has been searching for gallery/studio space in the Gulfport area. He sells his art at different galleries in the Tampa Bay area. David is a member of the Tampa Area Professional Photographers, Florida Professional Photographers and Professional Photographers of America. He feels blessed to finally be able to spend time on art. Dave lives in Gulfport (southwest corner of St. Petersburg) with his wife Helen and their black lab Getta. They enjoy their second home in the hills of Ohio which Dave photographs often.