Remembering Bob McClenahan – a new photography exhibit in Napa is open
A few years ago in April of 2022, I saw the late Napa Valley photographer Bob McClenahan at one of the many events he annually covered. When I spotted him at a winery that day, I was surprised and overjoyed to see him waiting for guests to arrive. He was quietly surveying the scene and naturally anticipating the moments that he would capture to visually tell the story.
I said something akin to, “I am SO happy to see you!” He grinned, and I paused before saying, “You know why.” I did not want to get into it, as health matters are deeply personal and private. But Bob had bravely let people know that he had battled a rare form of cancer. I was delighted to see him back at it with cameras in hand, still healing and thankfully in remission.
In March of this year, Bob McClenahan unexpectedly passed away after cancer returned. He left behind his wife and two teenage sons.
To benefit his family, Festival Napa Valley, in collaboration with the Culinary Institute of America at Copia, is presenting “The Beauty of Napa Valley: Photography of Bob McClenahan,” a free exhibit through Sept. 1 at CIA at Copia in Napa.
The show honors the photographer’s legacy with a selection of images available for purchase, and drawn from a portfolio Bob assembled shortly before his untimely passing. All photographs on display are available for acquisition, with 100% of proceeds benefiting the college scholarship funds for his children.
Many of the images of the Napa Valley that the world sees are the work of Bob McClenahan. He worked for Visit Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Vintners Association, the Yountville Chamber of Commerce, too many glossy magazines to mention, high-end wine brands and more. His list of clients, subjects and events, seemed to be endless. The sunsets he captured were brighter, the people more gorgeous. I call his work ethereal.
Because I have worked as a journalist, writer and publicist for decades, it would have been strange if I had not met Bob. Writers and publicists always need images to illustrate their stories.
It was more than a decade ago that I worked on the promotional team of a then-new event that was set to be held at Lincoln Theater Napa Valley on the campus of the Veterans Home in Yountville. I worked with the theater for more than eight years, and this event needed visual assets so that we would be able to promote it in subsequent years.
The director of the event kept saying to me, “Call this guy Bob. He really wants to work. He is establishing himself as a photographer in the Napa Valley.” So, I called Bob to cover the first CabFest Napa Valley. That led to a series of photo shoots and events over the years, and whenever I had the chance, I always called Bob.
When CabFest returned for a second year, a companion hardcover book was published to accompany the event. I was invited to write the introduction for “Napa Valley Cabernets,” and Bob graciously donated one of his images for my two-page spread, which to this day is one of my most prized professional works.
Bob McClenahan was at the top of my list for winery, restaurant and special event clients seeking photography. Not only was Bob fair in pricing his work, he was also very fast in making images available, often the same day. Plus, he was nice, reliable and a very good photographer.
Most of all, though, Bob McClenahan was a good guy.
Being on site staffing a photo shoot can require some unexpected things. Once I was a hand model for a high-end wine brand Bob was shooting, another time we climbed up onto the bar at a bougie restaurant so that he could shoot a dish from a high angle, yet still capture the distinctive bar surface as the backdrop. I was typically helping by either keeping passersby away or holding a diffuser or bounce card so that he captured just the right light.
Wine bottles, gourmet meals, landscapes and plain people – once his camera was in hand, Bob had that je ne sais quoi that made everything look, seem and feel better. He was also generous with his work, and whenever I asked if he might have a photo to illustrate a story, he would allow the use, simply in exchange for photo credit.
While he was known for shooting superstars on the world stage of the Napa Valley as well as the rock stars commanding audiences at BottleRock, a number of years ago Bob did a series of individual portraits of people. Many were friends and colleagues in the wine industry; others were local movers and shakers and musicians. He had a knack for telling an entire story with an image. The simple expression he could capture embellished their tale.
Bob posted the portraits on Facebook for his audience to enjoy. Each image had a title. He would name the portrait to match his perspective of that person. One day, an image of an attractive woman popped up. The title of that portrait? “I love her.”
Julie McClenahan, Bob’s wife, graced the Facebook page that day. While we had chit-chatted about kids and families and the basics of daily life when working together, those three words told his story, their story, and for me it solidified the kind, devoted and loving man that he was.
In early 2020, and I know that it was early that year because it was just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Bob announced that he was beginning a project shooting portraits of veterans at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville. His idea was that he would shoot them, and then eventually install a show at the Yountville Community Center where the veterans would be the stars of that show.
Because my father, Jay Adams, was a Vietnam veteran, I asked, and Bob welcomed him to the program. It ended up a very emotional and teary experience, some of which I have on video. As Bob was photographing my father, we were discussing the Vietnam experience, and the difficulties that those who served and their families faced when service members returned home.
Two years later, when my dad passed away, Bob gifted me the portrait of my father, which we used at his memorial, with his obituary, and our family members have it in our homes to this day.
Along with hundreds if not thousands of people in the Napa Valley and beyond, I continue to mourn the passing of Bob McClenahan. I was honored to recently attend the opening of “The Beauty of Napa Valley: Photography of Bob McClenahan” at Copia, and hug his wife Julie. I told her, grief has no timeline. We do know, though, that he loved her.
“The Beauty of Napa Valley: Photography of Bob McClenahan”
Presented by Festival Napa Valley through September 1, 2025
at CIA at Copia, 500 First St., Napa. Admission is free.
