Loomis Dean (September 19, 1917 – December 7, 2005)
Times Online obituary was a veteran ''

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

who shot pictures of circus clowns, crown princes, celebrities, Madagascar

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 exist ...

s, and

SS Andrea Doria SS ''Andrea Doria'' , was an ocean liner for the Italian Line (Società di navigazione Italia) home-ported in Genoa, Italy, known for its sinking in 1956, where of the 1,706 passengers and crew, 1,660 were rescued, while 46 passengers and crew ...

survivors in a five-decade long career. His low-key manner disarmed his subjects and put them at ease, enabling Dean capture such images as the prince of Liechtenstein in his long johns and

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

in a tuxedo in the desert.

Early life

Loomis was the son of a grocer and a schoolteacher, and originally from

Monticello, Florida Monticello ( ) is the only city in Jefferson County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,506 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jefferson County. The city is named after Monticello, the estate of the county's namesake, Thomas ...

. He became fascinated with photography while watching a friend print a photograph in a

darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...

, and later chose to study photography at the Eastman School of Photography in Rochester, New York. His first photography job in 1938 was advance man and photographer for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was an Army Air Forces photographer in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, and he later got his first job as a press agent for the Ringling Brothers circus. He rode the circus train across the country, shooting clowns, acrobats and lion tamers and processing his pictures in hotel bathtubs.

''Life'' magazine

In 1947, he joined the staff of ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'', photographing celebrities including

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

, and

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

. He also shot pictures of royal weddings, popes, fashion shows, riots and wars. In 1956, while sailing to Paris aboard to take a job in the magazine's bureau there, Dean photographed the sinking and the rescue of passengers from the ocean liner . In 1965, out of 400 contestants, Dean won the Papal Prize in the Vatican's Ecumenical Council Photographic Exhibition. The winning color photograph showed white-robed bishops bearing the pope's tiara marching in solemn procession through

St. Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the pope, papal enclave and exclave, enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbor ...

. It appeared in ''Life'' on November 2, 1962.

After ''Life''

After ''Life'' magazine folded in 1972, he worked freelance for movie studios and news magazines. He also was an accomplished sailor and a collector of cameras. At any given time, he rarely had fewer than three cameras around his neck.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Loomis Photographers from Florida United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II 1917 births 2005 deaths Life (magazine) photojournalists People from Monticello, Florida