Dustin Randall Keirns was born in Loveland, Colorado in 1988. He has been captivated by the photographic medium since grade school. In those early years he began to experiment with slide film and a camera that his grandfather leant him. He was heavily influenced by his grandfather’s obsession with nature photography and joined him on photo trips in Colorado and the American Southwest. Those experiences nourished a deep appreciation for the outdoors and sparked an undeniable love for the art of photography.

Dustin received a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2010. During his studies, he spent a semester abroad studying at L’École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ÉCAL) in Switzerland. He was awarded a grant from SVA for his thesis work entitled “David and Gabriel” as well as a darkroom fellowship from the New York Camera Club in 2011.