I’m David Pleydell — photographer, storyteller, and the eye behind Light & Life.
My work is about truth in the frame. Whether it’s a fog-draped Melbourne street, the quiet resilience in a portrait, or the aftermath of a summer storm, I aim to capture moments exactly as they are — no filters, no pretence. Just light, life, and the space in between.
Photography found me early — in 1983, with a battered film camera during the Ash Wednesday bushfires. I later trained at the International College of Photography and Cinematography in Melbourne, learning the craft through portraiture. But the raw, unposed world outside the studio kept calling back. I reignited my passion in 2014.
“Most people don’t see what’s right in front of them — I do.”
I’m drawn to details everyone else walks past. A fog-limned streetlight, the glint of wet asphalt, the exact moment a storm decides to roll in — that’s where my lens lives.
People often say, “I never knew my suburb was so beautiful.” That’s because most folks don’t look. I do — and my camera does too.
Today, my work moves between:
Still Cityscapes — the Melbourne you never knew was still, foggy, or empty.
Weather’s wild moods — storms, fog, and everything in between.
Everyday people — portraits that feel real, not posed.
I believe a photograph should breathe — capturing a moment without suffocating it in editing.
When I’m not behind the lens:
You’ll find me experimenting on a DIY invention, road-tripping with my family, muddying up the bush with a fishing rod, or quietly fighting the urge to make every project bigger than it needs to be. A campfire and a cold one? That’s my reset.
If my work makes you feel like you were standing there… smelling the rain, tasting the fog, hearing the stillness — the story is already shared. And that’s the point.
