Photographer has studio in arts center

Hadley McCann has been taking photographs since his teens. Now retired from the FBI, he recently opened Sisters’ only photography studio in the Sisters Arts Works building.

McCann’s work has gained remarkable recognition in the year since he turned his love of photography into a business.

His photo “Elk Meadow” was selected for the juried photography auction at last year’s premier fundraising event for the Central Oregon Family Resource Center. The St. Charles Foundation selected him to participate in its Expanding the Vision through Photography exhibit in which photographers portray areas of health care at St. Charles Medical Center. The exhibit will travel throughout Central Oregon including a reception at Sisters Art Works on Friday, April 28.

Nugget readers will notice his photographs in this newspaper as well as the annual Sisters Oregon Guide. One of his photos was selected for OPB’s 2006 Oregon Field Guide calendar and his photos are in Portland Monthly magazine and an upcoming issue of the Portland Business Journal.

“It’s kind of amazing,” said McCann of his busy year. “I’ve had a very nice response to the work.”

McCann has long enjoyed shooting landscapes and nature subjects such as flowers and birds. He said since going public he has had opportunities to shoot subject matter he never would have imagined. His jobs have ranged from shooting a series of yoga poses to product shots for marketing materials, children and weddings.

“Portraits are a lot of fun — to try to bring people out a bit and capture their spirit,” said McCann.

Photography seems a long way from his 30-year career as a special agent with the FBI. He served as superintendent of the Violent Crime Squad in Portland and later as Regional Polygraph Examiner for the Bureau.

One of his most public cases was the criminal investigation into the cult started by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh on a ranch in Wasco County. The cult and its orange-robed disciples were in the news in the 1980s as McCann and his colleagues investigated multiple felonies including attempted murder, the use of biological weapons and drug smuggling.

McCann said photography has long provided him a good balance to seeing the sordid aspects of society.

“There’s something that’s very nice about that outlet,” said McCann.

Even now, McCann comes face-to-face with criminals in his second business, which is administering polygraph tests. He said there is some transfer of skills between doing polygraph tests and portraits since in both situations he wants to build rapport and gain trust. His polygraph business keeps him traveling up to 40,000 miles a year.

“I spend a lot of time on the road but my camera is always in my car,” said McCann.

While McCann learned photography as a boy with a film camera, he enthusiastically embraced digital technology when it arrived. He said there was a “huge learning curve” but that he now brings his images to life using a “digital darkroom” rather than an old chemical darkroom.

“It’s amazing what you can do with it,” he said.

McCann enjoys having his new photography business in the Sisters Art Works building where he interacts with other creative professionals. He is available by appointment and can be contacted at 549-3096 or through his Web site at http://www.hadleymccann.com.