From self-taught artist, a snapshot of happiness

Photographer develops his passion into signature portraits of noted lives

Noted for his classy demeanor and elegant portraits, Joseph Daniel Clipper has been capturing the lives of local and national figures for more than 40 years.

His specialized large portraits on canvas look like paintings and have included the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the late Ben Ali, founder of D.C. landmark Ben's Chili Bowl.

"My life's goal is to create as much happiness as I can through my love of portraiture -- my vehicle to adding happiness to other people's lives," said Clipper, 71.

Clipper has become well known in the District for shooting portraits as large as 40-by-60 inches. He uses several classical poses and includes a personal item from each subject's life in his portraits. At each photo shoot, Clipper wears a full suit and often a top hat.

Born in Bethesda on Dec. 3, 1937, Clipper moved to the District in the early 1950s. As a student at Armstrong High School, he rode the streetcar every day and passed the studio of George H. Scurlock, a longtime Washington photographer known for his portraits of African American notables.

"That really made an impression on me," Clipper said. "I knew photography was something that had a hold on me."

After graduating from high school, Clipper became a nursing assistant at the National Institutes of Health.

In 1961, Clipper was drafted into the Army and stationed in Fort Lewis, Wash., for two years. While there, Clipper saved enough money to buy his first camera, a $13 35mm Atlas. In 1962, he bought a $325 Hasselblad 2 and a quarter square reflex camera. He still uses the Hasselblad.

While in the Army, he took photos of other soldiers and of people in the city. Not yet dubbed "Clipper Classics Portraits," his business began by charging $3 for a small photograph. Today, a 16-by-20 inch portrait shot by Clipper costs about $4,995.

"Nobody, including me, took it seriously," he said of his earliest years taking photos.

Clipper, then self-taught, would develop his own film and eagerly wait to see whether the roll would produce the images he shot.

In 1963, Clipper was discharged from the Army and returned to the District, where he enrolled in several photography courses. He also went to work as a golf caddy at Burning Tree Golf and Country Club. He later was a lab technician in the NIH photography department.

During those years, Clipper studied at the Country School of Photography in South Woodstock, Vt., and at the Winona School of Professional Photography in Winona Lake, Ind. Through various connections, he studied under and became a mentor of several photographers, including Canadian portraitist Yousuf Karsh.

By the early 1970s, Clipper had gained a name for himself among Washington's elite. In 1973, Rep. Louis Stokes commissioned Clipper to photograph members of the Congressional Black Caucus. In 1976, Clipper quit his job at NIH and opened his first studio, at 3636 16th St. NW. Since then, he has photographed dozens of influential people.

Clipper was married and divorced three times and has two daughters, Juana Danita Clipper, and Hope Clipper. In his free time, he enjoys listening to jazz.

Over the years, Clipper has earned the respect of fellow photographers. Award-winning photographer Jason Miccolo Johnson said he can tell a Clipper portrait when he walks into a room.

"What he does, he does by design; it's not by happenstance," Johnson said. "He sticks to a few things that he does very well."

Recently, Clipper photographed Ali in his District home just weeks before his death. Ali is seen wearing a black suit, selected by Clipper, standing next to Ali's favorite living room chair. His wife, Virginia Ali, remembers the four-hour photo shoot fondly.

Ben Ali "had not done a picture portrait before," she said. "Mr. Clipper had him to relax. They shared stories. My husband thoroughly enjoyed it."

The large portrait of Ali was unveiled Oct. 16 at a memorial service for the businessman. It sits at the back of Ben's Chili Bowl.

"Clipper's portraits are very classy -- the kind you hang behind your sofa in the office," said Donna Wells, a photography historian and archivist . "That's indicative of who he is."

Clipper now works from home and conducts his shoots where his subjects live. He also is working on a book project.

"There is an energy, an excitement to be able to create what I create," he said. "I feed off of having the skills to take a subject -- a human being -- and suggest clothing for them and pose them."