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Photographer invites you to see 'Visions of My World'
Pictures show Clarksville, nearby vistas
By STACY LEISER • The Leaf-Chronicle • November 4, 2009
Cliff Whittaker had a heart attack about a year ago, then welcomed 2009 with pneumonia and a
cascade of other maladies. He hasn't been fit to go on four-day camping trips or spend early
winter mornings wandering the streets of downtown Clarksville shooting photographs.
"That's when you get the best pictures, when everybody else is still sacked out or the weather is
too bad to get out," Whittaker said. "You get the stuff no one else gets."
Now that the year is almost done, Whittaker is the picture of glowing good health. He will soon
return to carrying his backpack and 35-pound tripod into gorgeous and sometimes unseen locales
in and around Clarksville, but for now, he is pausing for a brief look at where he has been.
Whittaker spent much of 2009 winnowing down over 12,000 digital images to the 45 or so in a
new show, "Visions of My World." His one-man exhibition opens with a reception 5-8 p.m.
Thursday at Downtown Artists Co-op Gallery, as part of First Thursday Art Walk.
About half of the show has images of downtown Clarksville, including The Roxy Regional
Theatre, Blondie's, Front Page Deli and Blackhorse Pub & Brewery. The other half has mini
vacations in photographic form, breathtaking scenery from Whittaker's trips to nearby natural
wonderlands such as Land Between the Lakes and Big South Fork.
"When I go out and I'm working, I put the camera on a tripod and I leave it there," Whittaker
said. "I want everything to be rock solid, as sharp as I can get it."
Whittaker works in color as well as in black and white, toiling for hours on a single image to get
the subtle tonal variances to reproduce accurately. Now a digital convert, he was once the biggest
film snob around.
"I shot film for 46 years before I ever got into digital. I was the most resistant person to digital
ever," he said. "I hated it. All I could see was digital killing film."
Now, he gleefully shoots with a Nikon D300, a 12-megapixel digital SLR.
"Things change," Whittaker said. "I wouldn't go back and shoot film for anything. I can get better
quality with digital."
The photographer, who once worked with large format film cameras that required labor-intensive
setup before each shot, still does the composing before he ever clicks the shutter.
"Usually when I stop and shoot something, I already have the picture done up here," Whittaker
said, tapping his head. "Then, it's just the mechanical process of capturing it."
Get a glimpse into Whittaker's world starting 5 p.m. Thursday and running noon-6 p.m.
Wednesdays-Saturdays through Nov. 28.
Stacy Leiser is a features writer for The Leaf-Chronicle. She can be reached at 245-0720 or at
stacyleiser@theleafchronicle.com
Cliff Whittaker talks about how he achieved some of his images of downtown Monday as he
prepares for "Visions of My World," an exhibition of new photographs opening Thursday at the
Downtown Artists Co-op. (Beth Liggett Cogbill/The Leaf-Chronicle)
'VISIONS OF MY WORLD' BY CLIFF WHITTAKER
WHEN: Opening reception 5-8 p.m. Thursday as part of First Thursday Art Walk, with the
exhibit continuing noon-6 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays through Nov. 28.
WHERE: Downtown Artists Co-op Gallery, 96 Franklin St.
COST: Free.
Pictures show Clarksville, nearby vistas
By STACY LEISER • The Leaf-Chronicle • November 4, 2009
Cliff Whittaker had a heart attack about a year ago, then welcomed 2009 with pneumonia and a
cascade of other maladies. He hasn't been fit to go on four-day camping trips or spend early
winter mornings wandering the streets of downtown Clarksville shooting photographs.
"That's when you get the best pictures, when everybody else is still sacked out or the weather is
too bad to get out," Whittaker said. "You get the stuff no one else gets."
Now that the year is almost done, Whittaker is the picture of glowing good health. He will soon
return to carrying his backpack and 35-pound tripod into gorgeous and sometimes unseen locales
in and around Clarksville, but for now, he is pausing for a brief look at where he has been.
Whittaker spent much of 2009 winnowing down over 12,000 digital images to the 45 or so in a
new show, "Visions of My World." His one-man exhibition opens with a reception 5-8 p.m.
Thursday at Downtown Artists Co-op Gallery, as part of First Thursday Art Walk.
About half of the show has images of downtown Clarksville, including The Roxy Regional
Theatre, Blondie's, Front Page Deli and Blackhorse Pub & Brewery. The other half has mini
vacations in photographic form, breathtaking scenery from Whittaker's trips to nearby natural
wonderlands such as Land Between the Lakes and Big South Fork.
"When I go out and I'm working, I put the camera on a tripod and I leave it there," Whittaker
said. "I want everything to be rock solid, as sharp as I can get it."
Whittaker works in color as well as in black and white, toiling for hours on a single image to get
the subtle tonal variances to reproduce accurately. Now a digital convert, he was once the biggest
film snob around.
"I shot film for 46 years before I ever got into digital. I was the most resistant person to digital
ever," he said. "I hated it. All I could see was digital killing film."
Now, he gleefully shoots with a Nikon D300, a 12-megapixel digital SLR.
"Things change," Whittaker said. "I wouldn't go back and shoot film for anything. I can get better
quality with digital."
The photographer, who once worked with large format film cameras that required labor-intensive
setup before each shot, still does the composing before he ever clicks the shutter.
"Usually when I stop and shoot something, I already have the picture done up here," Whittaker
said, tapping his head. "Then, it's just the mechanical process of capturing it."
Get a glimpse into Whittaker's world starting 5 p.m. Thursday and running noon-6 p.m.
Wednesdays-Saturdays through Nov. 28.
Stacy Leiser is a features writer for The Leaf-Chronicle. She can be reached at 245-0720 or at
stacyleiser@theleafchronicle.com
Cliff Whittaker talks about how he achieved some of his images of downtown Monday as he
prepares for "Visions of My World," an exhibition of new photographs opening Thursday at the
Downtown Artists Co-op. (Beth Liggett Cogbill/The Leaf-Chronicle)
'VISIONS OF MY WORLD' BY CLIFF WHITTAKER
WHEN: Opening reception 5-8 p.m. Thursday as part of First Thursday Art Walk, with the
exhibit continuing noon-6 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays through Nov. 28.
WHERE: Downtown Artists Co-op Gallery, 96 Franklin St.
COST: Free.
| Cliff Whittaker talks about how he achieved some of his images of downtown Monday as he prepares for "Visions of My World," an exhibition of new photographs opening Thursday at the Downtown Artists Co-op. (Beth Liggett Cogbill/The Leaf-Chronicle) |
