About Me — Matthew David

A Portrait of a Traveler

Welcome. I’m glad you were able to drop by.

I’m Matthew — a photographer and travel writer from Des Moines, Iowa. After quitting my corporate job five years ago, I picked up a camera, started a website, and began traveling the world. My work has since been published in National Geographic Traveller Magazine, Get Lost!, Resonate, and several other newspapers and publications worldwide. I’ve been also writing on Medium since November of 2022. Keep reading to get to know a little more about me…

How do you spend your time?

I’ve done many things — I studied IT for my bachelor’s and spent four years in the corporate 9–5 world. During that period, I not only played bass guitar for an indie pop group, but I was also able to travel internationally for the first time in my life. I realized then that I loved traveling more than I loved the stability that came with my 9–5, and so I left my job and band to take a gap year, which translated slowly into the life that I lead now, where I am mostly nomadic — working on freelance photography or writing to sustain myself.

After running through my savings the first time, I came back home to work as a server and later a bartender, so I could save up to get back on the road. I’ve done this on and off since 2018…