Photo finish
David Fitzgerald's early love of art took unexpected turn to photography
Early love of art took unexpected turn to photography

By M.J. Van Deventer Comments 0
Published: November 25, 2007

Some photographers grow up knowing they want to spend their lives behind the lens of a camera. David Fitzgerald did not.

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Honors and awards

•2007 "Chickasaw, Unconquered and Unconquerable ” was a finalist in the Benjamin Franklin Awards, Publishers Marketing Association and won a Gold Award at Book Expo of America in New York City.

•2005 Inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.

•2004 Honored by the Society of Professional Journalists for photography.

•2003 Finalist in the Oklahoma Center for the Book Awards program for "Cherokee,” which later won the Benjamin Franklin Award, sponsored by the Publishers Marketing Association.

•2002 Celebrated artist at the May Fair Arts Festival in Norman.

•1996 Outstanding Tourism Award, presented by the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department and the Oklahoma Travel Industry.

"I didn't know I wanted to be a photographer until I began working in the public information office for the 45th Division of the Army Reserve,” he said.

His warrant officer, George Tapscott, a name well-known to longtime Oklahoman readers, sent Fitzgerald out in the field to take a variety of photographs.

When Fitzgerald turned in the assignment, Tapscott was impressed. "Fitzgerald, have you ever thought about being a photographer?” Tapscott asked, as recalled by Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald remembers that first click with photography with relish. "I had more fun that day when George discovered me,” Fitzgerald said.

Originally, he wanted to be an artist. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and later the Oklahoma City University School of Art. His first jobs were in the field of illustration. As founder of David G. Fitzgerald & Associates, a commercial photography studio in Oklahoma City, he created numerous images seen in the advertisements of national and international clients.

Early on, his work received national attention. But a nine to five life behind a desk was far from appealing — stifling — to Fitzgerald.

"I just couldn't do it,” he said. This is a man who needs sunshine and windows on the world. "Photography was my ‘out,' ” he admits. It allowed him to escape the confines and tight deadlines of illustration, although he has respect for what the world of advertising taught him.

Today, he is known as one of the state's premier photographers. His portfolio is diverse — from compelling landscapes and architecture to people profiles and commercial enterprises.

He remembers his first camera with great fondness.

"It was one of the first Nikon cameras, and my mother brought it home from a trip to Japan. I was in love with that camera,” he said. Now, his cache of cameras is much more sophisticated.

Thirty-seven years later, Fitzgerald has mastered the digital camera. He applauds his wife, Mari, who is a computer whiz, for helping him walk into this new realm of photography.

In recent years, Fitzgerald has moved a little away from the single subject beautiful photographs. Having covered almost every section of the state in his photographs — maybe a few rural locales are yet to be photographed — he has immersed himself in the history and lifestyles of Oklahoma through his books. His current project is a book in progress titled "Building One Fire.” It is due out next year.

"It occurred to me one day that I didn't know anything about Oklahoma,” he said. He grabbed his camera — no longer the old Nikon — and ran. "There may be some remote places in the state I haven't photographed,” he laughed. "I'm sure there are still some places I can chronicle.”

And chronicle is really what he does. Through his descriptive photography, he is recording a history of Oklahoma. "I want people to appreciate the state we live in. With my first Oklahoma book — the first of 14 — I had to start looking at the state,” he said. He toured all the state parks and major cities and still finds the state parks a great place to relax when he and Mari are seeking a weekend getaway.

For a time, Fitzgerald traveled and photographed for a nationally known charitable organization. He's been to Afghanistan, Angola, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Indonesia, Central America to photograph poverty, starvation and the horrific mutilation of young children.

But today, he concentrates his efforts on profiling Oklahoma. He has become especially interested in the state's Five Civilized Tribes, which have their museum in Muskogee. He has written about the Cherokee Nation in two books, "Cherokee” and "Cherokee Trail of Tears.”

He and Mari traced the entire Trail of Tears, which covered nine states, for that book. "The trail was a holocaust,” Fitzgerald said. "Native Americans were uprooted from their homes in Tennessee and surrounding states and moved to Oklahoma. It was an incredible, tragic genocide.”

Twelve thousand people started out on the American Indian death march. Five thousand died enroute. They were warehoused at forts. Cholera broke out. Photographing the trail was a graphic experience for Fitzgerald and his wife. Equally as poignant was his photography coverage of the Oklahoma City Murrah Building bombing and the tsunami in Indonesia. A humanitarian at heart, he sent no invoice for the bombing photos. He now has four books that profile the Native American experience in Oklahoma. "Bison, Monarch of the Plains” reveals the importance of the bison in Native American life and culture. Once he photographed for the "Cherokee” and "Cherokee Trail of Tears” books, the Chickasaw Nation wanted a book, too. He has five books that pertain to Oklahoma, two on the Ozarks, and one on Israel.

In his career, he has had the opportunity to meet some of the most prominent celebrities in the field of photography, among them, Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon and Ansel Adams. But he credits two Oklahoman photographers with taking him under their wing and guiding his path — A. Y. Owen, a former Oklahoman photographer who later worked for Life magazine and Dick Cobb, a local commercial photographer.

Thankful for the guidance and advice other photographers gave Fitzgerald, he never misses an opportunity to mentor to young students or would be photographers who might have an interest in living behind a camera.

He and his partners, David McNeese and Darren Parker, judged the Oklahoma Photography Club's competition Nov. 21.

Last week he spoke to a group of fifth graders at a small school on Western Avenue. "They were so interested and had so many good questions to ask me. It was a delightful experience,” he said. He never misses those opportunities.

Fitzgerald never has a favorite in his vast repertoire of photographs. For the past 37 years, the favorite is always "the next one I'm going to take. The challenge for me is always competing with myself.”