In the Thick of It: Dave Decker
by Jessica Todd
The article below is my final draft of In the Thick of It. The final published version of this article appears in Issue 3 of Art Critter Magazine, which can be purchased through their website.
I’d unknowingly seen Dave Decker’s work many times before I first met him in 2022 at the Kress Contemporary in Ybor City, Tampa, where he still has a studio. If you follow Creative Loafing Tampa, then you have, too. Over the last five years, he’s established himself as a photojournalism staple in the Tampa Bay region while expanding to national audiences through freelance work with News2Share, an online media outlet that has distributed his work to HBO, MSNBC, The Guardian, People, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and more.
Dave grew up in Tampa, skateboarding and building his expansive music library, which spans from punk rock to rap to classical music. He studied journalism and anthropology at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida, but never finished his degree. He opted for a more adventurous option, touring the country with punk bands as a singer and guitarist. He loved the music and fast pace, but started finding trouble and decided to get sober in 2014 (he has been since).
Though Dave gave up drinking, he didn’t want to give up live music. Finding himself restless during shows, his lifelong fascination with photography came into focus as an ideal outlet. As a musician, he’d always wished he had great photos of himself performing, so he decided he could provide that for his peers. Two photographer friends, Nicole Kibert and Matt Valler, encouraged and guided him toward his first camera purchase: a $600 Canon T7I. Not long after, he went all in and bought a $1,200 20mm f/1.4 prime lens. Where some might casually pick up and drop a hobby, Dave kept at it and never looked back.
Through books, mentors, YouTube videos, and good old-fashioned practice, Dave mastered photography basics and then how to play with light, motion, perspective, and focus. Most importantly, he began to learn storytelling through his lens. His experience as a musician allowed him to photograph live music with unique insight into timing and dramatic impact. This led to shooting shows for Creative Loafing Tampa, where he credits Editor-in-Chief Ray Roa as an inspiring leader and mentor who motivated him to push for better shots and better stories.
Then, Covid hit. Live music slid to a screeching halt. Dave, not one to give up so easily, hit the streets with his camera, documenting the eerie emptiness of public spaces and our new masked reality. However, the true shift occurred when he was sent to Portland, Oregon to photograph protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, followed by protests back home at Cyrus Greene Park in Tampa. Dave was deeply moved by the solidarity for a shared cause and was inspired to document and help tell the story. He instantly recognized photojournalism as his calling in life.
Dave has since documented Black Lives Matter protests, MAGA rallies, Pride parades, Proud Boys gatherings, Free Palestine protests, Pro-Israel counter-protests, immigrant detention facilities, religious vigils, and drag shows. He is adamant in his objectivity, adhering to the who/what/where/why/when of the story and honoring his subjects, whether he personally agrees with them or not. He aims to fade into the background and show the truth rather than an opinion. Nonetheless, his work holds influential power, shining light on society’s shameful dark corners while providing dignified visibility and voice to marginalized communities.
Dave likens photojournalism to fishing—you put yourself in the right place with the right tools and hope for a miracle—in his case, the miracle of the perfect light, composition, and human interaction to capture a poignant moment in the chaos. But in addition to luck, this takes skill. Dave has honed his craft to capture some incredible moments: Police pepper-spraying a group of young pro-Palestinian activists with the composition and drama of a Renaissance painting (among the photos that earned him a 2025 Association of Alternative Newsmedia Award nomination). A clashing of helmeted police and protesters where the flash of a fellow photographer shoots a beam of cool white light through the crowd, contrasting soft fabric and flesh with the austere plastic shield obscuring an officer’s face (awarded First Place in the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts Members’ Show). A beautiful child decked out in traditional Mexican dress and heart-shaped sunglasses stares stoically back into the camera in solidarity with the Latinx community targeted by ICE. And on. (These and other examples of Dave’s photojournalism work are viewable at www.cltampa.com.)
Dave’s photojournalism works capture a vibrant immediacy—looking at them you feel as if you’re about to be pushed over in the fray. You can hear the chant of the crowd, the beat of the base, the piercing silence of a tense moment. He achieves compositional balance and depth, often with the camera suspended above his head hoping for the best. His work is saturated in color and high in contrast, creating brightly textured images that pulse with energy. Yet he depicts as many moments of reflective stillness as he does moments of heightened emotion. In all of his work, there is humanity and perceptiveness and compassion.
While out on assignment, Dave steals moments to capture cityscapes and street photography, which he regards as a purer artistic practice: they aren’t part of a news story and there’s no specific audience in mind. Storytelling takes a backseat to composition and light. A narrative remains but is much more ambiguous. These works reflect quieter moments: A “Don’t Walk” signal casts an orange-red glow in the night, illuminating ominous-looking graffiti stickers on the adjacent signal box. The optical effect of the filtered LED light in the camera lens makes it appear as though the hand is on fire. A shot of the Capitol building in DC obscured behind layers of street signs, temporary fencing, and a car window, adorned with dirty plowed snow and a dreary white sky, seems to express a disenchantment with government fanfare. A uniformed train ticket collector leans forward over the camera, apparently eager to confirm the passenger’s credentials. Though he doesn’t appear menacing, there is a presence of authority and regulation.
In addition to the solitude and spontaneity of his photojournalism and art photography work, Dave enjoys studio photography, a practice that is deliberate, collaborative, and designed to influence opinion. Working with brands and mood boards seems a vastly different world, but it presents a different set of challenges, and he eagerly soaks up the knowledge of the designers, artists, and professionals he works with. Through this work, he has provided marketable images that support a bevy of regional small businesses, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and artists.
Dave Decker is a down-to-earth, kind-as-can-be, under-the-radar, force to be reckoned with. Every time you see him, he is on his way both from and to an assignment or a shoot, or gearing up for a late-night editing session. He exemplifies art’s reflection of life and its ability to flip the equation to influence culture. He is a self-taught artist who has developed a powerful artistic practice, and he uses that power for good. The best part? He’s just getting started.