words: Jay Riggio
photo: Dash Snow
Dave Schubert doesn’t have a day job. He isn’t looking for one either, even if he is just barely scraping by. The Mission-based photographer who describes his pictures as full-on “visual schizophrenia,” feels there are much more important things to spend one’s time doing than wasting it at a workplace. “It’s a big job in itself just trying to figure out what’s going on in this world,” says Dave, as if there were no other option but to follow the direction of his explorative, artistic excursions. Schubert, a self-professed hermit, would much rather bide his time concentrating solely on his craft and perfecting every detail of his gritty, documentary style photos. If he’s not in his newly constructed apartment darkroom printing his own stuff to sell to friends and fans, he’s shooting obsessively, embarking on camera-clad walks and bike rides, searching for objects, situations, people and all of the crazy shit that could only go down in the tolerant city of SF.
Originally from DC, Dave moved around continuously while growing up. His dad was in the service, so pretty much every couple years meant starting a new life for himself with new friends, a new school and fresh environment. In order to remember and keep track of his fleeting friendships and memories, Dave’s parents bought him a camera. Dave moved to San Francisco around 12 years ago. Originally from DC, he began photographing and filming skateboarding, documenting the then thriving scene. He began to contribute his photos to the biggest skate mags around while working for 411VM, an influential skate video magazine. The job led to his relocation in San Diego, which he hated more than anything. “I was there for two months. It was two months too long.” He quit both 411 and contributing to skate publications altogether. ”I just wanted to take pictures. I didn’t want to chase people at all. I hated it,” Dave explains. “I started looking at my photos and I was like, Holy shit, my pictures look like everyone else’s.” Soon after, he received a scholarship at The San Francisco Art Institute, but still had to pay a good chunk of tuition to attend classes. He didn’t have any money, but he went anyway–sneaking into lectures and snagging time in the darkroom. Racking an art education seems justified for somebody whose only goal in life was and is to produce art. “I don’t really have any back-plans. It’s not like I’m trying to show child labor in the sweatshop tenements in the Lower East Side,” Dave explains regarding his intention to not have an intention with his photography. “I’m just interested in what fascinates me, the moments where I’m like, Wow! The moments that are so fleeting.”
Dave uses his camera as a tool to take him to places he wouldn’t normally go, peer closer into the things right in front of his face. “I don’t really have any back messages behind what it is I do. For me, it’s just like, Take a look around, life is pretty amazing.” Dave’s photos have been featured in a bunch of mainstream publications like Vice and Anthem, and he’s had tons of offers to shoot for high-paying gigs. But in the end, he’s not interested in doing work that fails to adhere to his vision as an artist. “It’s just not me. It’s all part of the motivation and the intention behind what makes your eyes, heart and hands work together to keep you happy.”
