Each time Chris and Tim Whitney show their photographic work in public, they have to field a common question: "So who did this one?" It's a valid query after all; very few artists consider their work a team effort. Not to mention, the very act of taking photographs is normally a solitary venture.
"The answer is it's both of ours," says Chris, who's been shooting weddings and portraits in Doylestown since the 1980s. "There isn't a single image that doesn't have both of us in it." That could mean Chris took the shot and son Tim performed the editing or vice versa. And even though their interests are similar – both are drawn to landscape photography – each takes a different approach. "I come as a portrait photographer mesmerized by landscape, and Tim comes from an art-history point of view," says Chris. "It's a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts."
Although neither can imagine working without the other, the father-and-son partnership had a somewhat serendipitous start. Two days before Chris was due to shoot a wedding, an assistant canceled. Without much time to find a replacement, Chris turned to Tim, then only 11 years old. He was a natural with the camera and quickly became his father's apprentice. Soon after, he was toting a camera up and down the streets of Doylestown, shooting on his own and returning home to develop his efforts in his father's darkroom.
However, it wasn't until the advent of digital photography that the collaboration really clicked. "It became exciting to work in color because it allowed us to really play with the images," says Tim. Chris, a longtime devotee of black-and-white portrait photography, immediately took to the medium as well. "We didn't have control over color [in film]," he says. "Suddenly, I had the control I wanted over photos."
But for both members of the team, editing their work isn't just a matter of refining the image and enhancing color. Their dedication to the craft reflects both their individual and collaborative styles and love for the medium. "I put a lot of time into it, tweaking bits of color so it really captures the whole moment,” says Tim. “I want to bring out the feeling of being there.”
The results highlight the natural beauty and pure simplicity of the landscape. The details, from the snow-tinged tree limbs to the stately mansion in the background of a wintry Fonthill scene, are meticulously rendered and realistic, yet breathtaking enough to hang in a gallery of fine-art painting.
And if you ask the Whitneys, that’s exactly what they’re hoping to accomplish. "I try to capture the look and feel of a scene as was when you first saw it," says Tim. That means their work is far from over after a photo is taken. "Do you want to take an image, or do you want to create an image?" asks Chris. "We do both."
Today, the duo are busy sifting through the thousands of images they've taken from locales as far-flung as Copper Canyon in Mexico to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. "We're always going back and looking at old images, even if they weren't that inspiring at the time,” says Tim. “You go back and see these images, and suddenly, there's something in them.” But even though they have their hands full preparing for this year’s art festival circuit –possibly including Doylestown’s own annual summer event, where Chris serves on the Board of Directors – father and son are determined to find time to travel and shoot together.
"Being able to have such a positive relationship with Tim is my proudest accomplishment," says Chris. "Working with him is really a wonderful thing for me."
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