David Whitaker

Co-Founder, Principal Photographer, Mentor

Dave marched from 1987-1990 and again in 1998. He began volunteering for the band in 1991 as a photographer, and took over as head photographer in the mid 90s. With Tonya Wilson, Dave founded Gopher Photo in 2001 as a pro-bono extension of their professional studio. Dave started retiring from active band photography in 2017, a process that is ongoing. He has also served as technical director and then producer for the indoor concert since 1999.

In real life, Dave is married, with three boys, and lives in Eagan, MN. He is a nearly-retired air traffic controller and, for fun, writes sci-fi and fantasy novels in his spare time (as yet unpublished). They can be found at davidearlwhitaker.com.