Dustin Randall Keirns (b. 1988, Loveland, CO) is a photographer based in Denver, Colorado. Since returning to Colorado in 2014, he has made the state’s backcountry a central protagonist in his work, capturing the raw wilderness and the natural abstractions he encounters on his adventures. Keirns creates imaginative dramas of epic landscapes using scale, form, and color to evoke an emotional and psychological resonance of place. His work examines the natural world and its intersection with humanity, examining how people navigate their surroundings to deepen the understanding of their environment.

This intersection of humans and nature often begins with roads that lead to trails, granting access to wild places. As people journey into these landscapes, they confront the complexities of their connection to nature—how it mirrors their fragility and challenges their understanding of belonging. Through his photographs, Keirns examines the intrinsic relationship between humans and the environment, exploring what it means to exist within it.

Dustin earned a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York and studied abroad at L’École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ÉCAL) in Switzerland. His thesis work earned him an Alumni Scholarship from SVA, and he was awarded a darkroom fellowship from the New York Camera Club (now Baxter Street). His first solo exhibition, Reminiscence, opened in January 2025 at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver, CO. As a part of the exhibition, he is holding a lecture about the photographs in the exhibit which explore remnants of towns and buildings that remain in the landscape from Colorado’s mining boom in the late 1800’s. He was recently selected for a solo Issue (No. 24) for Pearl Press’ online publication and his debut photo book titled Poems for Colorado is set to release Spring 2025.