PRINCEVILLE — After more than 40 years as a string photographer for several media outlets, Francis Joseph Dean is enjoying retirement and his second trip to Kaua‘i. Upon arriving to the island, the Pakistan native read a story about the
PRINCEVILLE — After more than 40 years as a string photographer for several media outlets, Francis Joseph Dean is enjoying retirement and his second trip to Kaua‘i.
Upon arriving to the island, the Pakistan native read a story about the children of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Lihu‘e working to donate $800 to make Christmas possible for the children of St. Luke’s Church in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Dean has lived in Denmark for 42 years, but is the son of a Protestant preacher and was raised as a Christian in Pakistan. He said it was a wonderful gesture for the church to include Muslim children.
“The American kids helping the Pakistani kids was a beautiful thing,” Dean said. “I admire the Hawai‘i children and the church for helping and supporting with the Christmas spirit.”
In the 1970s, he said Americans had a large presence in Pakistan. The missionaries and the Christian schools and hospitals were the best, he added, and he dreamed of going to an American university.
After receiving a scholarship to attend a fine arts college in Ohio, Dean said he visited friends in Denmark and stayed. He never came to America.
“I was born in a small town but raised in the city,” Dean said. “I left Pakistan at age 23. I don’t visit often but I keep up to date on the news that is happening.”
After working various occupations in Denmark, Dean said he networked with friends and became a photojournalist. His photography education came from personal experience, joining photography clubs and taking correspondence courses through American photography magazines.
He worked independently by assignment for several news agencies over the past 42 years in Denmark. At the time, Paris was the hub of all European news services, and he enjoyed being the only Copenhagen-based photographer.
“They had no correspondents in Denmark, and I found this opportunity,” he said. “I sent out the roles of film. I never saw the photos, I just got the checks.”
Dean said he also had his photos appear in major American news magazines, from Newsweek to U.S. News & World Report. He is also a member of the National Press Photographers Association.
He said that English is the “office language” of Pakistan, where Urdu and local dialects are spoken in the homes and communities. The result is that most Pakistani’s speak English fluently, he added, and later learned Danish from scratch.
“I never lived in an English-speaking country but I speak fluent English from learning it in my school days,” he said.
Dean has been his own boss for an entire career. He did everything from assignments for local media and long-term work for more than 25 years with news agencies around Europe.
“I still have the contracts and I still get the royalties,” he said.
He formalized his service as Dean Pictures (www.deanpictures.dk), and specialized in covering the Danish government and the royal family. He also provided editorial and stock images.
Dean covered the prime minister’s weekly address, along with other activities of parliament. He also photographed visiting dignitaries, including U.S. President Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush when he was serving as vice president for Ronald Reagan.
Dean said he prefers the government and royal beat. They keep a strict schedule and there were seldom any surprises to the photo assignments. He said even in that setting the photographers capture the expressions and emotions of the moment.
For most of his career Dean has provided media with photography of Her Majesty The Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. He said there is no official court photographer, and so a small pool of media follow her around the country and on international trips.
“This is my passion, to take photographs of our royal family of Denmark,” Dean said. “Denmark has only 5.5 million people and so we are very close to the politicians and the royal family.”
Since retiring last year, Dean has visited the United States six times and has been to Kaua‘i twice. He visits friends at each location but also wants to learn the culture and meet the people of various regions.
