A career on both sides of the story.

Starting in the newsroom

For much of my career, I’ve been the person PR teams were trying to reach. As a technology journalist and editor, I worked with communications teams every day. Product launches, trade shows, and press trips introduced me to people who became colleagues and friends. Those relationships taught me what makes good media support: knowing the product, understanding the audience, and giving journalists what they need to do their work.

At Photo District News, I was technology editor and launched the magazine’s first hands-on review section. My work also extended to PhotoPlus Expo and WPPI, where I helped organize speakers, seminars, and sessions, taught classes, hosted award shows, and appeared on television on behalf of the shows.

I went on to serve as technology editor at Outdoor Photographer and editor-in-chief of Digital Photo Pro, Digital Photo, and HDVideoPro. I led three magazines and their websites with approximately a dozen staff and more than 20 freelancers. As Madavor’s content development director, I worked on editorial standards across 12 titles and a new membership program.

My work later included reviews and analysis for PetaPixel and the relaunch of Imaging Resource, where I led editorial strategy, rebuilt a contributor network and testing program, and brought the publication back to YouTube. Across my career, I’ve tested thousands of products, written hundreds of articles, and authored four books.

Working with Apple and the Aperture community

I founded the Aperture Users Network to provide professional support and training for Apple’s photography software. Apple forwarded press and user-support requests to us, and I became an external public face of Aperture, working with the professional photography press and technology outlets.

I wrote a certification-level curriculum and taught it internationally, training hundreds of users. I arranged sponsorship partnerships with 14 companies for our international training seminars, presented at trade shows, and gave one-on-one media walkthroughs. At two Olympic Games, I worked with Apple to train photojournalists on Aperture and its ecosystem, running workshops around the needs of working photographers.

That work also took me closer to product development. I created and reviewed in-product copy with Apple’s Aperture team and brought feedback from the media to engineering, marketing, and executive teams.

Building media relationships at PixelShift

After years covering Sony’s cameras and attending its product launches, I co-founded PixelShift and served as vice president. We became the agency of record for Sony’s Alpha camera division, later expanding our work to Xperia smartphones and Airpeak drones.

I managed relationships with around 200 outlets and creators and brought more than 50 new outlets into Sony’s media circle. They ranged from small channels teaching photography basics to major publications such as The Verge, Wired, Gizmodo, and The New York Times. Some creators I first worked with had only a few thousand subscribers and later grew to hundreds of thousands or millions.

Our team ran press briefings, supported product testers, and helped resolve issues before they disrupted launches. PixelShift’s sister company produced Sony’s media events, and I oversaw media selections, ran briefings and breakout sessions, wrote press materials, and provided live coverage.

As I had with Aperture, I brought media feedback to Sony’s engineering, marketing, and executive teams, including teams in Japan, to help shape product development. Crisis communications was one part of that work, alongside the ongoing relationships, product education, and launch planning.

Creating on YouTube

Today, I run Dave Tries This and Agent Baltic as a one-person media company. Dave Tries This covers consumer technology and product reviews. Agent Baltic focuses on AI and automation for creators, including photographers, editors, and writers.

I handle the work from pitches to published videos: research, testing, writing, filming, editing, and working with brands. The channels have 162 videos and counting, with more than 3 million combined views. Being a creator keeps me close to the practical needs of the people I’ve spent my career writing for and working with.

Building tools and getting outside

I’m also building TalkOver, a free Mac teleprompter app. I use AI programming tools while defining the scope, features, and interface around the needs of people making videos.

Outside the studio, I’m a longtime cyclist and kayaker. Those interests have also shaped my writing for Bike Hugger, Mountain Bike, Bicycling, and Paddler.

The work has taken different forms, but the goal has stayed consistent: test carefully, explain clearly, and understand the people on the other end of the story. I enjoy the pace of a newsroom, a product launch, or a video deadline, especially when I’m working with people who care about doing the work well.