1115.org

Dean walking through Heppenstall, 2004.

Many of you know Dean either from the photos of his that I have posted here, or from Flickr or elsewhere. Some of you don’t know him at all. Last weekend, he was the victim of a smash and grab robbery, one that cost him every bit of camera gear and two laptops, a loss that exceeds $10,000.

Aside from missing that once-in-a-lifetime shot, a photographer’s greatest fear is losing his/her gear. I’m obsessive about every piece of my arsenal, from the hand-me-down Nikon FA and manual focus lenses my dad gave me when I was in college to the F4 I won on Ebay a few years ago to the digital set up I’ve spent the last year acquiring. With all the time I spend trekking though bombed out buildings and shady neighborhoods, I fully expect to end up collecting on my camera insurance more or less every time I go out, but my luck has held up remarkably well.

Dean’s luck ran out the other day, when thieves broke into his car and stole two laptops, his D200, D70s, lenses, flash, and memory cards. His auto insurance is not going to cover the loss, which looks to be more than $10,000. As fellow photographers, that should be all we need to hear to say “What can I do to help?” But since we’re talking about Dean, there’s so much more.

I met Dean shortly after I moved back to Pittsburgh after my first year of college at Alabama in 1992. Since then, we’ve shot, snuck into crumbling factories, played soccer, partied, kicked each other’s asses, learned a few tricks, and done a few illegal things. In the old days when I wasn’t the responsible semi-adult that I am now, Dean used to get me out of jams all the time.

In the whole time I’ve known him, I don’t think he’s ever said no to anyone. When I talked to him as he was sifting through broken glass and coming to terms with the loss he had just suffered, Dean said he had been robbed of his voice. I had never thought of it that way, but as photographers, what do we do other than speak with our cameras? So whether you know him, have just admired his work, or he is a complete stranger to you, I ask you to consider helping Dean get his voice back.

We’ve set up a Flickr group where fellow photographers are donating prints with all the proceeds going to get Dean back to doing what he does best. Some of my photos are up there, but if there’s an image of mine that’s not up there that you want, feel free to choose from anything i have on Flickr. There’s also a PayPal link here if you’d like to make a cash donation. I’m also going to match the first $1,000 donated, so even small donations count.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.