A man with light hair and a goatee, wearing a blue Whirlwind shirt, is standing in front of a wall with horizontal blinds that are illuminated from behind, with part of his face visible.

For more than five decades, David Robert Farmerie has traveled the world photographing people and places, listening for the stories that often go unheard.

His career began in 1975 in fashion and music before leading him into photojournalism, where he spent the next decades documenting people, cultures, political movements, and moments of history. His work has taken him from presidential campaigns and three U.S. Presidents to the Solidarity Movement in Poland, the Zapatistas in Mexico, and communities throughout Latin America, Europe, and the United States. His photographs and stories have appeared through organizations including BBC Television, the Broadway Series, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

But photography, for Farmerie, has never been only about making pictures.

Over time, his work evolved from documenting moments to spending years with people and communities, allowing stories to unfold at their own pace. His long-form projects have taken him deep into Appalachian culture, the lives and traditions of the Lacandon and Yucatan Maya, and the disappearing family farms of Tennessee's Black Patch. These projects have been measured not in assignments or days, but in years of listening, returning, and building trust.

That same approach led to In Search of America, a six-year journey covering more than 350,000 miles across the United States. Beginning with a simple question—Are Americans really as divided as we are led to believe?—Farmerie traveled alone, meeting people in communities large and small and listening to the stories behind the assumptions we make about one another. The resulting body of work became America Found: From Division to Connection.

Today, Farmerie describes himself not simply as a photographer, but as a storyteller who uses photography as one of his instruments. His work increasingly moves between photography, writing, documentary projects, conversations, and public speaking—creating opportunities for people to see, listen, and understand one another through stories.

At the heart of it all is a simple belief: the photograph is only the beginning. The deeper story often begins when we stay long enough to listen.