TONY DEAN / COURTESY PHOTO One of the many spring flowers at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.

Tony Dean has been chosen as Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge's "Photographer of the Month" for April. An album of 12 of his photographs from the refuge is currently being featured at www.friendsofhagerman.com.

Dean, of Sherman, became interested in photography as a young man, but the hobby was too expensive to continue. It wasn't until he purchased his first digital camera that he began pursue the hobby in earnest. He now uses a Canon Rebel 10.1 and two different lenses.

"I can take hundreds if not thousands of pictures. This really helps because, as an amateur photographer, I can pick out the right single images from the shoot," says Dean.

Dean enjoys shooting natural scenes with wildlife and flowers and Hagerman offers many opportunities for that.

"Hopefully, I can grab some images that will last a lifetime for me," says Dean. "In my work (as owner of DSBWorldWide), I have reviewed thousands of pictures over the years. Composition is key to a great image. That is what I look for when taking or picking through my photos."

The Friends of Hagerman "Photographer of the Month" program completed its first year at the end of 2008. In addition to Dean's work, an album of 2008 Favorites is on the website. Visitors to the Friends website during 2009 can help select the 2009 Favorites by choosing one photograph from each month's album and sending both the photo title and name of the photographer to friendsofhagerman@gmail.com. The same address may be used to inquire about photo submission.