David Trimmier is a native of Mobile, Alabama. He was first introduced to photography at the age of 12 when he became a protégé of the late Ray Breneman, a local commercial and fine art photographer and graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. At age 13 David attended seminars conducted by the renowned Mobile photographer Roy Thigpen. Beyond these early associations, he is largely self-taught.

When David was 20, his cameras and equipment were stolen in a burglary, beginning an unintended 25-year hiatus from his beloved photography. However, the intervening years were well occupied serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and being a single parent.

After his Coast Guard enlistment, he returned to Mobile where established himself as a respiratory therapist with numerous specializations including pediatric critical care and hyperbaric diving medicine. He is a widely regarded educator in pediatric advanced life support as well as sport and commercial diving safety issues. He gradually returned to photography. His return was re-christened through his diving careers and his 1992-1998 explorations and documentation of the underwater caves of the Dougherty Karst District in southeast Alabama. His underwater geological pursuits led to his election to the Alabama Academy of Science in 1999.

David's deep and abiding love for the photographic process was reignited in 2000 when he dedicated himself once again to photography.

In the summer of 2002, he was appointed chief photographer for Lagniappe, a fortnightly alternative newspaper in Mobile.

With his images, David seeks a unique view of the common: geometric and rhythmic elements are frequently encountered.

"I view any photograph as a process: each step is essential to the final image. I love black and white printmaking and the further manipulation of the image through the use of various toners. When I'm envisioning a subject through the viewfinder, I'm already thinking about how I will make the final print. I've passed by many interesting compositions if I couldn't envision making it a unique final print."

His skillful use of various infrared film materials, David attributes largely to "the happy accident." * "The Law of Unintended Consequences" is a powerful learning tool. With the rise of digital imaging, the characteristics of many varied visual arts have become quite indistinct. I have always been somewhat bewildered by those who want to know what 'category' I belong to. Some people have an apparent need to catalog or pigeonhole any given artist: I'm a mite difficult to fit in a box."

For the LAGNIAPPE's biography of David, click here