GD WHALEN PHOTOGRAPHY

from Charleston Style & Design Summer 2023

KATHARINE FLANDERS

AS a child, Gary Whalen fell in love with photography, taking photos with his Kodak Instamatic camera and finding magic through the lens. In college, he took photography classes and had a darkroom in his bathroom.

Despite his passion for the craft, he did not pursue it professionally but instead followed his athletic acumen onto the professional tennis circuit and owned a tennis club in Florida. It was not until his later years that Whalen turned his focus to photography, working in various formats, including largeformat film, medium-format film, 35mm film, medium-format digital and FF digital.

Utilizing light and shadow much the way Rembrandt did in his paintings, Whalen tends to be very classical in his style, capturing sharp images and employing little, if any, Photoshop work with his animals and landscapes. “I used to do a lot of portrait and fashion work,” he says.

Whalen utilizes the lighting skills he learned as a fashion and portrait photographer in his landscape and animal work. His work leaves viewers with a sense that they are seeing something unfold, candidly part of a moment that they might not otherwise experience. “I shoot my nature work as if I am taking a portrait of whatever the subject is,” he says.

Whalen is a member of NANPA and PPA as well as a Nikon NPS member. He is presently participating in art festivals all over the South and has a complete online store on his website.