David Lay is a freelance photographer and husband to CPMS student Jennifer Gerres. He relocated to Des Moines from Cleveland, Ohio in 2008 after their June wedding. He is documenting his foray into Des Moines residency and capturing photos of his exploits.

After earning his photography merit badge in Boy Scouts, David made a name for himself covering the Cleveland music scene. In the last few years, he has branched out into photojournalism, working with newspapers and websites in Ohio. His work has also been published by Des Moines’s Juice magazine, Cox Communications, CNN, Reuters and Yahoo! News.

When he isn’t taking photos, he enjoys gourmet cooking (ask him about his mango salsa), drinking too much coffee and listening to heavy metal — sometimes all 3 at the same time. He is also an avid reader, amateur radio enthusiast and NWS-trained skywarn storm spotter.