Dean was raised on a tobacco farm on the upper reaches of Paint Creek/Paintsville Lake in Morgan County, Kentucky. He grew up working, hunting, and exploring the ridges, valleys, and hollows of this scenic region.

Dean has a world of experiences traveling and working in Southeast Asia and the western United States that has influenced the way he looks at the world through a camera lens.

Artist Statement

I watch, I observe, I’m a wanderer. For many years I have experienced many parts of Asia - including Thailand, Nepal, Burma, China, Indonesia, and India; plus parts of the American West and Alaska.

After living a life in the foothills of the Appalachians these strange lands had a newness about them that kept me transfixed. There were countless vistas and strange country sides to explore.

During these travels I developed an eye for “capturing” the constant transition - the fleeting moments of the unique and different landscapes of these strange lands. My ability to “see”things in nature returned with me 20 years later to my homelands of Eastern Kentucky. I saw the “familiar” landscapes of my youth in a whole new light.

The camera was a means of capturing this beauty as I roamed once familiar lands with a new outlook. The almost imperceptible flow of the mist through the trees. The subtle changes as the leaves display their fiery colors...

Photography was at one time a hobby which grew into a passion to capture the beauty of East Kentucky Appalachians. After years of trial and error and several quality workshops to further develop my skills, coupled with a lifetime of work and adventure in the outdoors, I have come up with a series of images that introduces one to Eastern Kentucky.