David Mecey is an American photographer best known for his work with the magazine ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

.''

Early years

Mecey credits a motorcycle accident with the start of his photographic career, when his attending doctor suggested pursuing the hobby after seeing some of Mecey's artwork.

Playboy

Mecey joined ''Playboy'' Magazine in 1979 as a staff photographer. During his 23-year career with the magazine, he would become synonymous with, and best known for, his work on the "Girls of..." collegiate series along with fellow photographer David Chan. Mecey's first credit on the series would be September 1980's "Girls of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

". "Girls of..." was an annual pictorial from 1977 until 2015, typically being published in the September or October issue of the magazine. It briefly became biannual, adding an additional feature in the April issue between 1989 and 1992. The content of the pictorial featured nude or partially nude images of students at universities in various collegiate athletic conferences. Aside from the collegiate "Girls of..." series, Mecey would publish several solo pictorials, such as "Girls of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

" (February 1985) and "Women of

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

" (August 1989). Mecey is also informally credited with "discovering 20 Playmates of the Month". He also served as co-host and primary photographer for

Playboy TV Playboy TV (originally The Playboy Channel) is a pay television channel based in the United States. History The adult-oriented, commercial-free premium channel Bravo! launched in the summer of 1979. Bravo! aired two PG or R-rated B movies t ...

's ''Sexy Girls Next Door'' between 2000-03. Mecey would part ways with Playboy in 2002 after 23 years. He served as a contributing photographer with the magazine from 1987 until his departure.

Other work

Mecey's work was not limited to ''Playboy''. He shot four covers of the ''

SPORT Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

'' swimsuit issue in the mid-90s and contributed to numerous other glamour magazine covers. His work also appeared in the French and German regional publications of '' GQ'', as well as ''MenSTYLE-France''. Mecey was also a guest speaker at

Photokina Photokina is a trade fair held in Europe for the photographic and imaging industries. It is the world's largest such trade fair. The first Photokina was held in Cologne, Germany, in 1950, and since 1966 it has been held biennially in Septemb ...

in 2008 and 2010. Mecey has done work for numerous celebrities including:

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Aca ...

, Peter Horton, Robert Palmer, Ray Liotta, Sparky Anderson,

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...

Lynda Carter Lynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant, best known for her portrayal of Wonder Woman in the television series ''Wonder Woman'', aired on ABC and later on CBS from 1975 to 1979. Befo ...

, Rachel Hunter,

Carmen Electra Carmen Electra (born Tara Leigh Patrick, April 20, 1972) is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis where she met Prince (musician), Prince who produced her Carm ...

, and

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress and film producer. Known for primarily playing femmes fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the ...

. In 2001, Mecey founded the "FotoFantasyCamp", an immersive on-location photography workshop.

Personal life

Mecey is a car enthusiast and served as the Chief Driving Instructor for the Los Angeles Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America between 1996 and 2012. He has also participated in a number of endurance races. According to his personal website, Mecey splits his residence between Marina Del Ray and

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mecey, David Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American photographers Playboy photographers