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.
Latest Blog Posts
Burkhardt Library Art For Wright Brothers Display
The Dayton Montgomery County libraries are finishing a multi-year reconstruction of all their buildings. The latest building to be completed is the Burkhardt Branch in east Dayton. This building is close to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and in the building, they have a children’s display of the Wright B Flyer. I was asked to create a piece of wall art to go behind the flyer. The library people knew I had made a series of photographs using historic Wright Brothers photos and asked me to create something showing the Wright Brothers flying at Huffman Prairie. I then showed an Air Force C-17 Globemaster, stationed at the base, passing through the air. And, at the top of the image, they wanted a rocket taking off into space.
I had the historical Wright Brothers photograph and created a new image at Huffman Prairie at the bottom. I layered these two images together. The C-17 aircraft stationed at Wright Patt flight path takes them directly over Huffman Prairie. Because Wright Patt wouldn’t tell me exactly when the planes would take off, I had to try and figure out when was t good time to be there to capture the next picture. Luckily, the cloud formation worked well with the bottom image, working together seamlessly.
I researched the NASAs website and found a clear photograph of a rocket taking off in March 2022. I emailed NASA and asked if I had permission to use this picture in my project. They said yes, I could use the photograph of the rocket taking off. I had the stars picture in my system and placed the rocket taking off on top of the stars to finish the whole image. The library was pleased with the result and was ready for the public opening on August 10th.
Studio Commercial Photography
Product Photography
I received a call the other day asking if I did product photography. I said yes and asked what the project was. His company manufactured a product for a national brand. The national company was getting ready for a trade show and wanted to use its product prominently in its display. My client said,”I could have found someone with a nice camera to take a snapshot but knew wanted a professional photographer.” I finally asked what the product was, and it turned out to be an 18-wheel truck mud flap with the NAPA auto parts logo on it.
Creating the perfect photograph
It was a flat black rubber piece about 18 inches by 30 inches. What are the tricks to photographing a black piece of rubber? First, a small amount of dimension with highlights and shadows must be created. The rubber is a flat mat surface, but the NAPA logo is a high gloss. As a professional photographer, I must ensure the NAPA logo doesn’t have any blown-out highlights. NAPA would be mad if their logo didn’t look good. Last, the exposure needs to be the same on all sides. In other words, I don’t want one side to be light and the other to be dark. Luckily, my years of experience let me quickly create this seemingly simple photograph in the studio. The last part of the process is retouching all the manufacturer’s blemishes. When a truck travels on the highway, you can’t see all the flaws. As part of a trade show display three times its normal size, you would see every mark.
Dan can meet your deadline
Did I mention the client needed the photograph ASAP? My client dropped off the truck mud flap in the morning, and I had the photograph to him by the end of the day. He was lucky I had the time to work on it, and I am fortunate to have a new client to help with future projects. You can see more examples of my commercial photography at ClearyCreativePhoto.com
The Wright Brothers Make It To California
Wright Brothers Historic Photographs
Today, I sent two photographs from my series Wright Brothers: Then and Now to the Dab Art Company gallery in Los Angeles, California, to be part of the 8th Annual International Photography Exhibition; People Are Starting To Notice. The gallery said they received almost 1000 individual entries, but only 52 were selected. I was lucky to have two chosen, Kite Flying and Horse Drawn Carriages. The photography show will be up in the gallery from February 26 to April 23. During the length of the show, I am offering a 10% discount on all photographs on my website, ClearyFineArtPhoto.com. This will be 10% off my book Wright Brothers: Then and Now or any photography prints. You can see images from my new series Latitude Longitude on the site. Just put “10%” in the discount box as you check out. Remember this is only until the end of the show on April 23.
History of Flight In Southern California
The Wright Brothers didn’t make it to California during their lifetime. However, a replica of their 1902 Glider, as seen in my photograph View From The Top Of Big Kill Devil Hill, is at the California Science Center. Very soon after the Wright Brothers became famous for their discovery of lighter-than-air-controlled flight, southern California became an entrepreneurial hub for flight. The Los Angeles International Air Meet was held in January 1910 at Dominguez Field. Many famous people took their first flight at this event, including Hurst. Cal Rodgers left New York City on September 17, 1911, in a Wright Flyer B and landed in Pasadena on November 5, completing the first U.S. transcontinental flight. The first municipal flight school and the first municipal airfield were located in Long Beach, California, in 1919. Southern California was also the home of Douglas Aircraft Company, Lockheed Aircraft Company, and the Hughes Aircraft Company, to name a few.
Dayton By Number Art Photography Posters
I started a series of photographs in 2021 that I have turned into posters. I call these Latitude and Longitude posters. This photograph is of the old Dayton Daily News Building in downtown Dayton, Ohio. The building is empty, and the only section left standing is the original parts of the building. I took this photograph in front of the building, looking straight up. I wanted to keep the tonality of the columns white with just a hint of color in the door and windows at the top. You can see this and the rest of the photographs from this series at www.ClearyFineArtPhoto.com.
This is the second photograph in my Latitude and Longitude series. I had taken several photographs in downtown Dayton during the day and thought I should look to see what I could find a night. This photograph was taken on 5th street, next to the Neon Theater. I took several pictures at that location, letting cars pass through my 5-second exposure. When working on the final image in PhotoShop, I enhanced the taillights’ red line and the blue lights at the top of the picture. This photograph and the Dayton Daily News building photograph are part of this year’s Works On Paper show at the Rosewood Gallery in Kettering. The opening for the show is this Friday at 1 pm. There is so much great art being made in the Miami Valley, and this is a great showcase. Remember, Rosewood is a gallery, and much of the art is for sale. You can see more photographs from my Latitude and Longitude series at www.ClearyFineArtPhoto.com.
The Miami River flows past RiverScape Metro Park is in Downtown Dayton, Ohio. I have taken many photographs of downtown Dayton with the river in the foreground. I wanted to create a photo from putting the riverfront and center. I woke up at 5:30 in the morning to be there as the sun came up. It was tranquil and peaceful. While waiting for the sun to come up, I was visited by a family of ducks and a beaver. The final exposure was a 10-seconds long, which allowed the water’s movement to be the star. Back in my office, when I was working with the image in PhotoShop, I had to edit out some debris from the other shoreline. I also wanted to mute the tone in the picture, which made the water almost turn black. You can see this and additional posters at www.ClearyFineArtPhoto.com.
