Biography

David got his start at Cinesound Productions in Sydney, Australia as assistant cameraman to Ross Blake and Kevin Roche. Initially he worked mostly on news stories, but was also getting much-valued experience by assisting on TV commercials and documentaries for highly regarded cinematographers Ron Horner ACS, George Lowe ACS, Bob Wright ACS, Keith Loone ACS and Alan Grice ACS.

Following a three-year stint at Cinesound he was invited by John R. McLean ACS to join the boutique and newly formed production company Segway Productions, of which McLean was a partner, as assistant cameraman.

Some time later McLean was offered the position of camera operator on the British feature film Sunstruck (1972) with British DoP Brian West. John accepted and took David along as clapper/loader. This film gave birth to a sparkling career, for the taste of feature film production captivated and convinced him that his future now lay in feature films. John, impressed by his young assistant's enthusiasm then appointed David as Focus Puller for the Peter Weir film The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) followed by the Yorkshire Television series Luke's Kingdom (1976).

David then went freelance and soon built an excellent reputation for himself. He was soon in much demand as focus puller, and later as operator, on many feature films.

In 1987 his dreams came true: he was offered his first feature film as Director of Photography. It was for the film Ghosts CAN Do It (1987) with director Ted Robinson. This was certainly an exciting and defining moment and led to him being Director of Photography on many more feature films both in Australia and overseas.

David, widely regarded as an outstanding cinematographer, is an accredited member of the ACS and proud winner of the Milli Award. He was named Cinematographer of the Year in 1997 for his superb photography of the Paramount film The Phantom (1996) directed by Simon Wincer.

David is a dedicated member of the ACS and was inducted into the ACS Hall of Fame in 2010 in recognition of his devoted service to the society.