Meet The Explorer

Meet the Explorer

If you've spent much time around David Schweitzer, you'll learn something pretty quickly: he isn't chasing photographs. He's chasing moments. The kind that make you pull over on a dirt road and sit quietly for a minute. The kind that remind you life is bigger than deadlines, bad news, and all the things that weigh us down.

The truth is, David didn't arrive here by taking the easy road. As a kid, he spent years battling Crohn's disease. Later came struggles, mistakes, addiction, loss, and seasons where the road ahead wasn't always clear. There were times when it would've been easier to quit. Instead, he kept moving.

Somewhere along the way, he found himself on Oklahoma's backroads. At first it was just a camera and a sunset after work. Then it became something more. The backroads became a place to breathe, a place to think, and a place to heal.

What started as photography became a reminder that there is still beauty left in this world, even when life feels heavy. A lonely windmill standing against a storm. A forgotten town hanging onto its history. A scissortail on a fence post. A sunrise that arrives whether we're ready for it or not.

Those moments changed him.

Today, David lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife Jenny and his faithful sidekick Baker, who has probably ridden more backroads than most people. Together they've explored thousands of miles of dirt roads, small towns, ranch country, wildlife refuges, forgotten places, and hidden corners of Oklahoma.

In 2026, David left a nearly 12-year career in the oil and gas industry to pursue Oklahoma Backroad Explorer full time. Not because it was the safe choice, but because he believed these stories mattered.

Every photograph on this website is part of that journey. Not just a photograph of Oklahoma, but a photograph of hope. A reminder that no matter where you've been, how far you've fallen, or what battles you've faced, there is still another sunrise waiting around the next bend in the road.

And if you're lucky, maybe a good dog riding shotgun beside you.