David Hartman

David Hartman is a South African born social documentary photographer with 40 plus years behind the lens. David's formal training was undertaken at Rhodes University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography. David's images have graced the pages of publications around the globe. His passion lies in capturing real stories of everyday people.

In South Africa, working with Afrapix and Agence France Presse, David documented the political struggles against apartheid. After objecting to military service on the grounds of being a Buddhist, he immigrated to Canada, where he continued his social documentary journey, refocusing his lens on the lives of working people, indigenous Canadian, refugees and immigrants.

In 2014, David left Canada aboard his yacht Anahata to pursue his dream of sailing to the South Pacific in search of new communities to document. David has had the rare opportunity to visit hundreds of little known islands throughout the pacific. After visiting Vulaga in Fiji's Southern Lau group, he fell in love with the place and its people. Thus was born the VULAGA project and resulted in a book by the same name.

In 2021 David became a New Zealand resident and is looking forward to exploring new communities, new stories and landscapes.