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
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.
Jeffrey Mims – New Mayor Of Dayton, Ohio
Wright Brothers Photographs To Be Included In Photography Exhibit in Los Angeles
I received a great email last week. “Thank you for taking the time to put together such a well formulated application. We have concluded reviewing your submission and have selected your work to be included in our 8th Annual Photography Exhibition; PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO NOTICE in Los Angeles. We received almost 1000 individual works for consideration; of those, we selected only 52 photographs.” The show will be at the Dab Art Co. gallery in Los Angeles from February 26th through April 23rd. Their website is https://www.dabart.me/los-angeles. I won’t be able to go out to California to see the show, but check it out if anyone is in the area. It should be a great exhibit. They are publishing a book with all 52 images from the show.
The two images selected for the exhibit were Kite Flying and Horse Drawn Carriages from my Wright Brothers: Then and Now book and series. I took the photograph for Kite Flying at Wright Brothers national park in North Carolina, and Horse Drawn Carriages was from in Pau, France. You can see all the photographs from this series at www.ClearyFineArtPhoto.com . On the site there is also information about the book Wright Brothers: Then and Now.
