Dan Cleary was voted best photographer in the region by Dayton Magazine readers for 2024.
With years of experience and a genuine passion for photography, Dan Cleary at Cleary Creative Photography captures the essence of your most meaningful moments. Dan brings creativity and a personalized touch to every session, from family portraits that reflect deep connections to high school senior photos that showcase individuality to professional headshots that exude confidence. As a Certified Professional Photographer and a Master of Fine Arts graduate from the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art, Dan combines technical skill with artistic vision. Recognized as a Proud Dayton Original by the Dayton City Commission, he embodies the city's spirit of innovation and creativity. Trust Cleary Creative Photography to tell your unique story through images you'll cherish for a lifetime.
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Next Photography Class Is Sunday, April 7th
Teaching How To Be Creative With A Digital Camera
Honoring a Legacy of Artistic Exploration and Education in Dayton
My next Seven Steps To Better Photography class will be on Sunday, April 7th. Instead of holding the class at my studio like I usually do, the class will be at Front Street Art Center in downtown Dayton. The class is being held at a different location because I am part of a special exhibition about an organization called The Friends of The Living Arts Center. Before there were arts magnet schools, the Living Arts Center was an arts magnet school. The Dayton Board of Education received a federal grant to start an arts program for 5th through 12th-grade students. There were five departments: Creative writing, dance, drama, music, and the visual arts. It was open from 1967 – 1977. I took my first photography class there in 1975. The Living Arts Center was one of the country’s first-of-this-kind programs. The Living Arts Center aimed to help students with creativity and self-expression. The Living Arts Center wasn’t trying to train students for a career in the arts but to encourage them to live a creative life. My time at The Living Arts Center started me on a path to becoming a professional photographer and helped me to serve 1000s of people with my creative skills.
During April, The Friends of The Living Arts Center will hold an exhibition of photography, paintings, mixed media, and textiles. Exhibitors of this art show include alums, teachers, and friends of Living Arts. I will show some fine art photography from my Wright Brothers: Then and Now and the Indianapolis 500 series at this exhibit. There will be an opening reception on Friday from 5-9 pm and another on Sunday, April 21st from 11 am – 3 pm. The Front Street Arts complex is at 1001 E. Second Street near downtown Dayton. Many artists have studios on Front Street, and there are multiple gallery spaces for artists to hold exhibits. It is part of the arts district in Dayton. You can read more about the Front Street arts building and the exhibit at FrontStreet.com/events. You can see more information about my photography class at ClearyCreativePhoto.com/PhotoClass.
Two Local Police Departments Seeking Professional Portraits
If the police call, should you answer? I know that is a weird way to start a paragraph. In my case, yes, answer the phone. Sometimes, there is unexplained synchronicity in business. I work for the City of Huber Heights, creating portraits of the mayor and council members. The Huber Heights police department got my name from one of the staff people I know there. They want me to photograph all 75 police personnel and create a large display that will hang in their lobby. After talking to Huber Heights, I received a call from the Miamisburg Police Department to do the same thing. Miamisburg only has about 45 people, but interestingly, two different city police departments had the same idea at the same time to do the same thing. I’ll start the Miamisburg project in a couple of weeks. The Huber Heights project will begin in the fall.
Wright Brothers 120 Year Anniversary Of First Flight
December 17, 2023 Will Be The 120th Anniversary Of First Flight
December 17, 2023, will be the 120th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In his diary that day, Orville wrote, “I got on the machine at 10:35 for the first trial. The wind, according to our anemometers at this time, was blowing a little over 20 miles. The machine lifted from the track just as it was entering the fourth rail. A sudden dart when a little over a hundred feet from the end of the track or a little over 120 feet from the point at which it rose into the air ended the flight.” John T. Daniels took the famous photograph of the first flight. Daniels was a member of the U.S. Life-Saving Station in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, and knew little about photography. His job was to squeeze a rubber bulb, forcing air through a tube that pushed the camera lens’s shutter release. Daniels didn’t remember squeezing the bulb. I am very familiar with this type of shutter release system, and I can imagine that when he saw the plane take off, he instinctively tightened his hand around the bulb in excitement. The Wrights knew that the shutter had been released but didn’t know if they had a photograph until months later when they processed the film in their home darkroom.
I had two people purchase 7 Hawthorn Street from my Wright Brothers: Then and Now series this holiday season. To create this image, I used a famous Wilbur Wright quote in the 7 Hawthorn Street photograph, “If I were to give a young man advice as to how he might succeed in life, I would say to him, pick out a good Father and Mother and begin life in Ohio.” Orville Wright made the historic photograph in 1897 of Daniel Henderson on the sidewalk in front of the Wright house at 7 Hawthorn Street. Orville was interested in photography, and the Wrights even sold camera equipment in their bike shop. When I saw this image in my mind, I immediately thought of Orville taking his camera out on a beautiful day to ensure the camera was in good working order. Along comes Daniel Henderson, and after seeing the camera on a tripod, he asks Orville, “Hey, Mr. Wright, what yah doin’?” This imagined encounter was the source of my inspiration for this image. It made me look at the Wright brothers as photographers instead of two men using photography to document their trials.
All I had to do to create my image was photograph their house on 7 Hawthorn Street, but where is the house? Henry Ford acquired the Wright Brothers’ home and cycle shop and relocated the buildings from Dayton, Ohio, to his Dearborn, Michigan, museum complex in 1937. What now remains at 7 Hawthorn Street in Dayton is a replica of the front porch and house façade, which was enough to create my photograph.
The last photograph in my Wright Brother: Then and Now series and book is titled Scipio. On March 10, 1917, a new resident moved into Hawthorn Hill. It was a sixteen-pound St. Bernard puppy that Orville had purchased from Nina Dodd’s White Star Kennel in Long Branch, New Jersey, for $75. Orville built a pen, and soon, he became a family member. Katharine named him “Scipio” after the famous Roman general who had defeated Hannibal and thwarted Rome’s invasion. Orville loved his dog and took many photographs of him. Scipio died in 1924 after only seven years. Looking through Orville Wright’s archives, you’ll find many pictures of his dog.
What I liked about this historic photograph is the expression on Scipio’s face. It’s the face of a dog who also loves his owner, the photographer. I can tell that the photograph was processed by hand in a home darkroom. There are three air bubbles at the bottom of the frame. Also, the edges of the image are uneven. I call these “beauty marks” from a photographer’s point of view. These beauty marks tell me that Orville himself probably processed the film. I previsualize this photo from the beginning. I liked this historic vertical photograph, so when I was on the porch at Hawthorn Hill, I created many pictures, knowing one would work. I liked how the history and my photographs worked together. The problem was I didn’t have a quote that worked perfectly. It took me several months of research to find the quote I used in this photograph. Dayton History at Carillon Park gives tours of the Wrights’ house, Hawthorn Hill, in Oakwood, Ohio. One of the stories they tell is about the photograph of Scipio found in Orville’s wallet when he passed away. “When Orville Wright dies in 1948, they only found one photograph in his wallet. It wasn’t of the first flight, or of his sister or parents, or of he and his brother. It was a photograph of his dog Scipio, who had died 25 years earlier.”
Professional Headshots Business Portraits
There's Still Time To Get A New Headshot Business Portrait This Year
There is still time this year to update your profile photo with a new headshot. Or maybe you are already considering updating everyone in your company’s image for 2024. This past fall, I photographed the Board of Directors, Deans, and Faculty Advisors at Sinclair Community College. I brought the studio to them, and it was convenient to create photographs of 30 people. As they say, big or small projects, I can do them all. To see more examples of the way I have helped other companies and people go to daytoncreativephotography.com/professional-business-photography-dayton-ohio/. Call or email me to start the process. 937-298-6776 or Dan@ClearyCreativePhoto.com
