Dirck Halstead

Who is Dirck Halstead?

Dirck Halstead, born Dirck Storm Halstead on December 24, 1936 in Huntington, New York, is a photojournalist, and editor and publisher of The Digital Journalist an online photojournalism magazine.

Halstead started in photojournalism while in high school. At age 17, he became Life magazine's youngest combat photographer covering the Guatemalan Civil War. After attending Haverford College, he went on to work at UPI for more than 15 years. During the Vietnam War he was UPI's picture bureau chief in Saigon.

Time designated Halstead as their Senior White House Photographer. In 1972 he accepted a contract with them which lasted for the next 29 years. Halstead was one of the six photographers who accompanied Richard Nixon on his historic trip to China in 1972. His photographs have appeared on 47 Time covers, more than any other photographer. During this period he also worked as a "Special Photographer" on films to produce photographs used in advertising materials for the major commercial studios. The films he worked on included, Goodfellas, Memphis Belle, Shaft, Black Rain, Dragon, Dune, Conan the Barbarian series, Greystoke, and Cliffhanger.