Canada & Beyond
Canada et d'ailleurs
David H. Clendenning – Photographic Artist
ABOUT
David Clendenning is an architectural photographer specializing in design and architecture within urban environments. His distinctive “culturescape” photography captures compelling perspectives of architectural, heritage, and natural spaces from his travels across Canada, Europe, and the United States.
WORK PORTFOLIO
David’s rich and vibrant imagery reflects his deep appreciation for art and craftsmanship from antiquity to the present.
His work is driven by a desire to showcase the aesthetics, character, and history of the landmarks he photographs.
A recurring theme in his photography is the visual exploration of heritage elements, including decorative art and design,
ornamental ironwork, stained glass and stone statuary.
Continuously expanding his collection, David has exhibited his fine art photography in juried exhibitions, solo shows, and private presentations since 2007.
His prints are part of private, corporate, and institutional collections in Canada, the U.S., and internationally.
BACKGROUND
David had a distinguished career as a Canadian diplomat and Trade Commissioner (1971–2011).
With a strong international background, he has lived in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Turkey, and Trinidad and Tobago.
A graduate of the Algonquin College Photography Techniques Program (2016), David currently lives and works in Ottawa.
David Clendenning, Photographer & Observer, near Keltic Lodge, Cape Breton, 2014.
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Trademark logo of David Clendenning
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The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Clendenning Services
- Beautiful, high quality fine art prints
- Reprography for appraisers, museums, collectors, art galleries. estate insurance, art experts, restorers and conservationists.
- Photography work for real estate companies, insurance coverage, developers, companies.
- Portrait photography
- Digital memories - scanning and photographing family memories, memorabilia, homes and cottages, etc
"The photographer has to have a sense of passion and a sense of purpose"
Robert Frank, Photographer, 1956.
When my Photography really started
David Clendenning, Trade Commissioner, Canadian High Commission. Visit to the Maiduguri market, Borno State, Nigeria, 1981, during the State Visit of PM Pierre Trudeau.
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David Clendenning, Trade Commissioner, Canadian Embassy, at Ephesus, Turkey in 1989.
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David Clendenning visiting an old friend, Antiochus 1 from about 50 BC, at the sacred site of Numerat Dag, eastern Turkey in 1989.
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Title: David Clendenning at Izak Casa Palace.
Order No.: A1-1988.
Location: Eastern Turkey
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Title: David Clendenning in Jaipur, India in mid-1990s.
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Title: David Clendenning in Killarney Provincial Park, Northern Ontario, 2012.
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Travel Photos
Visiting New Zealand: David Clendenning and Tony Burger, 2011.
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With friends in London, England.
David Clendenning, Richard Ashton, Paul Phillips, 2011.
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David Clendenning & Gay Haskins in Tuscany, Italy, October, 2014
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David Clendenning with Ely Cathedral guide on the roof of the 800 year old bell tower, October, 2016
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David Clendenning with his Amigo at Gibraltar, 13 Dec. 2017
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David Clendenning in Seville, Spain, November, 2017
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David Clendenning, Former Director and honorary Board member of the Canadian Turkish Business Council (CTBC) with his good friend, Mike Ward, Executive Director, CTBC. Photo taken at the Canada-Turkey Business Conference in Toronto, December, 13, 2018. David served in Turkey at the Canadian Embassy, Ankara, 1987-89, and Mike at the Canadian Consulate, Istanbul in the early 1990s.
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Title: Clendenning Family Christmas in Boston, 2019. Brother Philip, Max, David and Sara.
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Gay Haskins and David Clendenning at the Henley Regatta, 28 June, 2022.
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David Clendenning at the Henley Regatta on a windy day. June 28, 2022.
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David at Castle Howard, Yorkshire. July 5, 2022.
David Clendenning with David Prodger, UK D/High Commissioner at a Sir Winston Churchill event, Ottawa, Nov. 26, 2024
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Brian McKenelley, President, Irish Regiment (Sudbury) Association (IRSA) and David Clendenning, Honorary Life Member of the IRSA. at the 110th Anniversary of The Irish Regiment of Canada, Sudbury Armories. March 15, 2025.
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Photography is a craft, an art, a point of view.
'In whatever one does, there must be a relationship between the eye and the heart'
Lengendary French Photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson 1908-2004
Clendenning Photographic Fine Art Prints
Clendenning fine art photographs allow viewers to connect with locales across Canada and beyond that retain the traces of the natural and culture elements that withstand the passage of time.
David Clendenning believes that its the detail and clarity seen in beautiful prints that creates its universal appeal, and that quality prints are as collectable as other applied visual art formats.
Clendenning prints are a perfect fit for display areas in residences, estates, villas, cottages, museums, government and corporate locations.
David Clendenning believes that its the detail and clarity seen in beautiful prints that creates its universal appeal, and that quality prints are as collectable as other applied visual art formats.
Clendenning prints are a perfect fit for display areas in residences, estates, villas, cottages, museums, government and corporate locations.
Canada - Ocean to Ocean
Illustration of a early Photographer in the Canadian West, 1908
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"Beauty is the visible expression of man's pleasure in labour" |
The natural environment in art
The Canadian landscape has inspired artists since the country’s early settlement. David Clendenning draws significant influence from the works of early prominent artists and photographers—particularly those who traveled during the late 19th century to document the beauty of central and western Canada during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Their striking landscape imagery, along with the wilderness paintings of the Group of Seven in the early 20th century, played a pivotal role in shaping both national and regional identity in Canada.
Visual Contribution
Many of Clendenning's wilderness photographs evoke the style and essence of Canada's historical oil and watercolor landscape paintings.
Their striking landscape imagery, along with the wilderness paintings of the Group of Seven in the early 20th century, played a pivotal role in shaping both national and regional identity in Canada.
Visual Contribution
Many of Clendenning's wilderness photographs evoke the style and essence of Canada's historical oil and watercolor landscape paintings.
Mount Edith Cavell,
Order No.: L3-6709,
Canadian Rockies
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Canadian historical artwork -
Mount Stephen, Canadian Rockies (watercolour),
Frederic Bell-Smith (1846-1923),
Canadian landscape painter.
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Organizations Membership
Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers
Canadian Foreign Service Alumni Forum
Irish Protestant Benevolent Society of Montreal, est. 1856
NATO Association of Canada
Canadian International Council (CIC), Ottawa
Garden Writers Association
Royal Canadian Military Institute, Toronto
Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa
Heritage Ottawa
Canada-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce
Canadian Association of New York
Canadian Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Toronto/Ottawa
American Research Institute in Turkey
The Irish Regiment of Canada (Sudbury) Association
Canadian Foreign Service Alumni Forum
Irish Protestant Benevolent Society of Montreal, est. 1856
NATO Association of Canada
Canadian International Council (CIC), Ottawa
Garden Writers Association
Royal Canadian Military Institute, Toronto
Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa
Heritage Ottawa
Canada-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce
Canadian Association of New York
Canadian Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Toronto/Ottawa
American Research Institute in Turkey
The Irish Regiment of Canada (Sudbury) Association
Publications - Photographic Collaborations
Our Legacy of Stained Glass Windows: The Church of the Sacred Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Wolfe Island (near Kingston), Ontario. 2018. Printer: J. C. Accuforms, Scarborough, Ontario. Photographs of the stained glass windows by David Clendenning
The Forgotten Flag: A Rare Discovery of an Early Canadian Red Ensign, Circa 1868 by David Clendenning. bout de papier: Canada's Magazine of Diplomacy and Foreign Service. Vol. 31, No.1, 2019, Ottawa
Precious Glass - The "Ottawa" Window, the Stained Glass Masterpiece of Wilhelmina Geddes by Will Pearson. Photos by David Clendenning. Broadview Magazine, November 2019, Toronto
Red Ensign - Discovering and Saving a Rare Canadian Flag by David Clendenning. Quebec Heritage News. Spring 2023
Irons in the Fire: The Well-wrought Clendinneng Family by David Clendenning, Quebec Heritage New, Vol. 16, No. 3, Summer 2022
The Gates at Rideau Hall: Heritage in Iron and Stone by David Clendenning, Heritage Ottawa Newsletter, June 2023, Volume 50, No. 2
The Windows of St. Alban's - A century of Illumination by Jane Lovell & Diane Berlet with photography by David Clendenning, November, 2023.
The interior of St. Alban’s United Empire Loyalist Church is a true gem, featuring exquisite stained glass from early Canadian studios and Victorian encaustic tiles from England’s renowned Minton Tile Works. These tiles, covering the interior walls, are uniquely inscribed with the names of United Empire Loyalists, making the church a significant historical site. A must-visit for anyone interested in Canadian history and heritage.
The Windows of St. Alban’s A century of Illumination by Jane Lovell & Diane Berlet with photography by David Clendenning.
Producing the book was a collaborative effort. Jane is the long-time editor of the Adolphustown-Fredericksburgh Heritage Society newsletter and researcher. Diane is a founding member of the Friends of St. Alban’s, the custodian of the church, and the author of her previous book, The Loyalist Tiles of St. Alban’s. David is a former Canadian diplomat and a well-known fine art and documentary photographer based in Ottawa.
With over 90 brilliantly coloured photographs, this new 86-page book explores the history and artistry behind the extensive memorial stained glass windows of St. Alban's, a Gothic Revival limestone church built in 1884 to commemorate the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists in Adolphustown, Ontario, a century earlier.
By shedding light on the ancient techniques employed in crafting these windows and exploring the symbolism they convey, the stage is set for telling the stories of the benefactors behind these windows and the people in whose honour they were created.
The first memorial windows to be put in place emerged from the McCausland studios of Toronto, by that time a world-renown manufacturer of stained glass. McCausland went on to craft a total of fourteen windows for the church, representing one of the most comprehensive collections of work to be produced by the company. Other well-known Canadian stained glass studios created the remaining windows over the lifetime of the church. A section of the book profiles each of the companies responsible for the many stained glass windows that now fill St. Alban's.
Each of the twenty-one memorial windows is photographed and documented individually. In addition to discussing the symbolism of the images portrayed, the descriptions indicate the date of installation and attribute the work to one of the five stained glass studios involved in making windows for St. Alban's. Indexed biographies chronicle the lives of the people memorialized in the windows and those who sponsored the work.
All proceeds from books sales to go toward the preservation of the architectural, artistic, and cultural heritage of St. Alban's.
TO PURCHASE, GO TO: stalbanscentre.ca/membership/ols/products
Producing the book was a collaborative effort. Jane is the long-time editor of the Adolphustown-Fredericksburgh Heritage Society newsletter and researcher. Diane is a founding member of the Friends of St. Alban’s, the custodian of the church, and the author of her previous book, The Loyalist Tiles of St. Alban’s. David is a former Canadian diplomat and a well-known fine art and documentary photographer based in Ottawa.
With over 90 brilliantly coloured photographs, this new 86-page book explores the history and artistry behind the extensive memorial stained glass windows of St. Alban's, a Gothic Revival limestone church built in 1884 to commemorate the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists in Adolphustown, Ontario, a century earlier.
By shedding light on the ancient techniques employed in crafting these windows and exploring the symbolism they convey, the stage is set for telling the stories of the benefactors behind these windows and the people in whose honour they were created.
The first memorial windows to be put in place emerged from the McCausland studios of Toronto, by that time a world-renown manufacturer of stained glass. McCausland went on to craft a total of fourteen windows for the church, representing one of the most comprehensive collections of work to be produced by the company. Other well-known Canadian stained glass studios created the remaining windows over the lifetime of the church. A section of the book profiles each of the companies responsible for the many stained glass windows that now fill St. Alban's.
Each of the twenty-one memorial windows is photographed and documented individually. In addition to discussing the symbolism of the images portrayed, the descriptions indicate the date of installation and attribute the work to one of the five stained glass studios involved in making windows for St. Alban's. Indexed biographies chronicle the lives of the people memorialized in the windows and those who sponsored the work.
All proceeds from books sales to go toward the preservation of the architectural, artistic, and cultural heritage of St. Alban's.
TO PURCHASE, GO TO: stalbanscentre.ca/membership/ols/products
Front Cover of The Windows book.
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Saint Martin Window #11, Page 50
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MISSION |
FINE ART PHOTOGRAHY |
SPECIALIZING IN |
CULTURESCAPES |
Heritage Architecture |
Decorative Ornaments |
Architectural Surfaces |
Landscapes |
Gardens & Botanicals |
Natural Spaces |
Digital Memories |
Commercial Solutions |
Website Design |
Portraits |
Reprography |
Global & Domestic Assignments |