Dean Burke explores life ‘below the surface’. A passionate storyteller describing the connection between humanity and our shores, Dean’s photography takes place almost entirely “in-water.” But he is no scuba assisted diver—his best work is done swimming with minimal gear and the air in his own lungs. A two-time speaker at TED and at numerous events throughout the Salish Sea, Dean has been featured on NPR’s ‘THE WILD’ with Chris Morgan. He is the co-founder of the ‘SEVENTY48’ race, a human-powered contest spanning 70 miles in 48 hours where the rules are simple—no motors, no support, and no wind. Human power only— pedal, paddle, or row—from the Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma to Port Townsend, Washington. Dean has personally paddled solo on a stand-up paddleboard from Olympia, Washington to Victoria, British Columbia, and been featured in multiple podcasts and news outlets. His unique photography has been celebrated globally through the ‘Ocean Culture Life’ organization out of the UK’s Channel Islands, on a magazine cover for “Daughters of the Sea”, and at Washington State events like Ocean Fest and Port Townsend’s Art Walks. The Tacoma Rainiers minor league baseball club even collaborated with him on an event called, “We R Tacoma and the Sea”. He has been documenting and sharing experiences about our local waters for more than a decade. The underwater photographs were all shot off Point Defiance in Tacoma—from Owen Beach, down the tip of the Point itself, and out into Dalco Passage. Images such as these have been created by other photographers in warmer waters much further south, or elsewhere around the world, But we're not familiar with even a single other photographer who is shooting this kind of work here in the chilly waters of the Pacific Northwest, where there are usually more Orcas swimming than people... “How is my photographic art created? Come out for a swim sometime and I'll show you. We’ll slip into the water at sunrise when the winter air temp is 29 degrees and the water temp is 48, and a strong current is pulling offshore. You'll watch my creative partner, Jill, shiver and fight to eloquently compose herself. I’ll hand you the giant camera housing, adding 20lbs of weight, and let you struggle with not being able to use your arms to swim. We’ll swim out until the sea floor is a few hundred feet below, and I’ll hand you 5 square yards of fabric that feels like an anchor and a sail, all at once. Maybe we’ll do all this during a storm as well? It’ll be fun. These images are not simulated nor faked. No artificial lights. No air tanks. No ropes. No rails. No extra hands. Just two people, swimming, on breath holds, using the natural, cold, and wild Salish Sea as a backdrop.” -- Dean Burke Dean’s daily axe is a Sony a7riii, tucked inside an AquaTech water housing. His lens choices vary, but are always Sony G-Master level. Find Dean on Instagram @tacomaandthesea. We’re proud to feature Dean Burke and his unique underwater photography at Barlow Gallery. To shop for prints of Dean's photography in various sizes and materials, click HERE.