Penny Clute
Penelope Clute – Photographer
Penny showed serious interest in photography after graduating from Michigan State University in 1967, when she bought a 35mm camera, and moved from Michigan to her first job in Philadelphia. Taking black and white photos of the people and buildings around her, she learned to use a darkroom. Penny continued “capturing images” after joining VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) in 1968 Chicago. Two of her photographs from that period were published in the book Human Rights – Issues for a New Millennium by Linda Jacobs Altman (Enslow Publishers 2002).
From VISTA, Penny went to Wayne State University Law school, worked as attorney at the Michigan Department of Corrections and then private practice with Clute Clute & Thompson in Plattsburgh, New York. From 1989 through 2001 she was the Clinton County District Attorney, and was then the Plattsburgh City Court Judge for ten years beginning in 2002. All of this was so time-consuming, she rarely picked up a camera until the mid-2000’s. A Christmas present to take private lessons from Plattsburgh photographer Shaun Heffernan rekindled her interest, leading to a Canon digital SLR 35mm camera. Next Penny took a weekend course in the Adirondacks taught by the late photographer Nancy Rotenberg. Nancy was a very inspiring and encouraging teacher, and Penny was fortunate to take three week-long workshops from her in Zion National Park, the Oregon Coast, and Crested Butte, Colorado.
In 2010 Penny took a leap and began showing her photographs at the artists’ cooperative Stonybrook Gallery in Morrisonville, New York. No longer a judge, Penny says she is enjoying nurturing her “inner artist!” Able to spend more time on photography, Penny recently went to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, a feast for the eyes!
