ENTRY DESCRIPTION
Public Embrace

AUTHOR
Dean’s career in photography began at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in the early ’70s when he studied photography. Teacher Alvin Comiter piqued his interest in black and white photography and it soon became his principal form of creative expression. Through photography, Dean began to develop his focus on storytelling and image making, a focus that soon broadened to include concerns with photo ambiguities, visual rhymes, and street documentation. His subjects have since been wide-ranging, including street and created spaces, inanimate objects, landscapes, interior and most importantly to Dean, were the people.

Dean was introduced to the world of cinematography when he was hired as a stills photographer working In television. His passion for working in 16mm film soon emerged and Dean continued to develop new creative abilities throughout the ’80s on various film sets. He studied a variety of film programs including 35mm motion picture and High Definition through the Canadian Society of Cinematographers. Twice he interned at the Banff Centre for the Arts in camera and lighting. On two occasions, Dean studied at the International Film and Television Workshops in Rockport, Maine. By the end of the 1980s, he was working as a cinematographer on projects ranging from dramas to documentaries and commercials. He continued to do still photography on set.

In 2004, Dean’s life took a dramatic turn when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a condition that impaired his mobility and coordination. This necessitated his retirement from cinematography and left him to consider returning to his work as a photographer. Reverting back to wandering the streets with his M4 was not possible but studio work gave him hope as an outlet for creative expression. Since '04 Dean has been primarily working indoors in his studio.

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