Hi, I'm David Hobby.

I'm an editorial photographer who has been based in Howard County for more than 30 years. I was a staff photojournalist at Patuxent Publishing from 1988-1998, and then at The Baltimore Sun from 1998-2007.

In 2006 I founded Strobist.com, an Ellicott City-based educational website that teaches photographic lighting. Today Strobist is one of the most widely read photography sites in the world, and much of the photography I do is created to illustrate the educational content on that site.

Having begun my career as a Howard County photojournalist, community-based work will always be a part of me. I continue to work documenting daily life in HoCo, while co-developing projects with organizations such as the Howard County Conservancy, the Howard County Arts Council and the Howard County Economic Development Authority. My current long-term project focuses on the contributions of immigrants in Howard County.

If you know of a good idea for a photographic project in the Howard County area, let's talk! Feel free to contact me via email or on Twitter.


Thank you,

Representative Howard County Work

Cellist Caleb Vaughn-Jones at Centennial Lake, for the Howard County Arts Council


Soft serve at Rita's, Ellicott City


Baltimore Fencing Club, Columbia, for a DVD project on lighting


Swim meet, Dasher Green neighborhood pool, Columbia

Howard Community College Dancer Antonio Beverly, for the Howard County Arts Council


HCPD helicopter pilots over West Friendship, for the Howard County Police Dept.


Landscape artist Karl Avellar, Clark Farm in Ellicott City for The Baltimore Sun


Howard County Fair

Bluebird with stink bug, Ellicott City — used by authors of a scientific paper to show early evidence that local predators were evolving their feeding habits to take advantage of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug.


Contortionist Shelly Guy at Centennial Lake for Rosco, Inc.


Blacksmith Albin Drzewianowski, for the Howard County Conservancy


Movie night, Columbia lakefront



Art installation at Opus II, Symphony Woods, Columbia


Soprano Alexandra Rodrick, Ellicott City, for the Howard County Arts Council


Rover Mill Road, West Friendship, for a story on the cultural differences between Eastern and Western Howard County