David Spielman

Most of Spielman's senior year was spent in Vienna and traveling in Europe studying art history.

With projects around the world, his work has taken him to France, England, Ireland, Russia, Egypt, Pakistan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Central America and other locations.

Vincent Sciama, the Consul General of France, declared "Awarding this prestigious distinction to David Spielman is not only recognizing his extraordinary talent as a photographer, but also his love for and connection to France alongside his role as a vibrant member of the artistic life of New Orleans.

Spielman’s work, born from his own visionary ideas and pursued through both personal effort and strategic connections, has been featured in several books: Southern Writers[6] has 72 portraits of Southern authors; including Eudora Welty, Pat Conroy, Richard Ford, James Dickey, Ernest Gaines, Shelby Foote, Anne Rice and many others.

Working quickly, Spielman usually shoots in a comfortable and relaxed location insuring a pleasant and revealing portrait.

This project explores the muses and methods employed by writers to unravel the creative processes and influences behind their literary works.

The book includes Dr. John, Pete Fountain, Harry Connick, Frogman Henry, Fats Domino, Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint and more.

Katrinaville Chronicles[9] is Spielman's start to a long-term photographic essay about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Never thinking that his words and observations would be part of a book, it was just his first-person account of what he was seeing and feeling after the storm when the city was almost void of people.

The Historic New Orleans Collected hosted a major tenth-anniversary show of Spielman's Katrina work.