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Douglas R. Clifford - Photographer
Douglas R. Clifford

Photographer

During my childhood my parents had curated a couple hundred issues of National Geographic magazine, which I remember studying for hours, for years, while growing up in St. Louis, Missouri. I was inspired by the vivid stories of people from every corner of the world. It was a natural evolution that I ended up studying photojournalism at the University of Florida. I joined Times Publishing Company in 1998, and began documenting storytelling moments for our daily reports – spot news, features, sports, portraiture, food, fashion, etc. My secret (to success): stay focused on the most storytelling elements while remaining open to the unexpected. Photojournalism can also be creative, and I believe it’s my passion to create, along with my personality - adventurous, intense, tenacious, compassionate, confident, patient, curious, evolving - that inspires me to get up each day and do it all over again.

  1. In Clearwater, Hanukkah celebration comes with heightened security
    • Clearwater
    From left: Marc Silver of Palm Harbor and Rabbi Levy Hodakov of Clearwater watch as Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector lights the first menorah candle on a licorice-themed menorah while participating in the Chabad of Clearwater’s Chanukah Concert and Celebration on Sunday at Coachman Park.
  2. Lightning players join 24 kids for holiday shopping event at Target
    • Lightning
    Lightning center Yanni Gourde transports 4-year-old Saniyah Wells and her haul of toys through a gauntlet of registers during the Lightning Foundation’s holiday giving initiative Friday at the Target store on West Gandy Boulevard in South Tampa.
  3. Pinellas County paid Gandy mobile home residents to move. Where are they now?
    • Environment
    Workers are shown removing roofing materials from a mobile home slated for demolition at the Twin City Mobile Home Park on Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg on Oct. 29.
  5. In Tarpon Springs, shoppers fuel a waterfront economy
    • Life & Culture
    Visitors stroll past shops at the Sponge Docks on Dodecanese Boulevard on Friday in Tarpon Springs. The area’s economy still leans on a blend of heritage and hospitality more than a century after Greek sponge divers transformed the town at the mouth of the Anclote River into the center of Florida’s sponge industry.
  6. Curlew Hills Veterans Day ceremony remembers those who served
    • Photos
    United States Marine Corps veteran and Silver Star recipient Alan Elfman, 94, of New Port Richey, attends Curlew Hills Memory Gardens' annual Veterans Day ceremony on Tuesday in Palm Harbor.
  7. Local students study seagrass recovery in Tampa Bay
    • Photos
    A stand of turtle grass flows in the surf while students work with volunteers with Orlando Health to study and document the health of se grasses with AMIkids in Tampa Bay off St. Petersburg.
  8. Clearwater Beach icon Pier 60 partially reopens to public
    • Photos
    Rick Ruzzo of Parrish casts a pinfish while fishing Monday on Pier 60, where public fishing reopened last week after last year’s hurricanes damaged railings, utilities and shifted deck slabs by several inches.
  9. Students return to class across Tampa Bay for the first day of school
    • Photos
    The sun rises at Lakewood High School, 1400 54th Ave. S, as students arrive and make their way to the front entrance on the first day of school, Monday in St. Petersburg.
  10. Scenes from outside Hulk Hogan's memorial service in Largo
    • Tampa
    Friends and family of Terry Bollea professionally known as Hulk Hogan are seen outside Indian Rocks Beach Baptist Church.
    11 Images | View Slideshow
  11. Tampa Bay residents gather in 1,000s at ‘No Kings’ protests across region
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Thousands of protesters take to the streets in front of City Hall during the nationwide "No Kings" protest on Saturday in Tampa.
  12. Photos: Clearwater Ferry crash
    • Transportation
    Law enforcement investigate an accident involving a Clearwater Ferry at the Memorial Causeway on Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Clearwater.
    20 Images | View Slideshow
  13. Honeymoon Island renourishes dunes ahead of hurricane season
    • Photos
    Sea oat plants grow in a dune restoration area Monday along the beach at Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin.
  14. New Harriet Tubman sculpture in St. Petersburg inspires young storytellers
    • Life & Culture
    Students observe and inspect the 13-foot bronze statue, Harriet Tubman — The Beacon of Hope, created by award-winning sculptor Wesley Wofford, while visiting the Woodson African American Museum of Florida’s Legacy Garden on Friday in St. Petersburg.
  15. Ybor’s Columbia Restaurant overhauls its historic tiles
    • Life & Culture
    A motorcyclist passes the Columbia Restaurant, where a panel of tiles was being installed on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at 2117 E. Seventh Ave. in Ybor City.
  16. Trailside Jammers share love of folk music
    • Photos
    The Trailside Jammers perform an old-time music set on Feb. 5 in downtown Dunedin. The group, which meets weekly on the Pinellas Trail, was founded eight years ago by folk music enthusiasts dedicated to preserving the North American folk tradition. Old-time music, a predecessor of modern country, features acoustic string instruments like the fiddle, banjo, guitar and mandolin.
  17. Veterinarians perform cataract surgery on bald eagle in Brandon
    • Photos
    Veterinarian Katie Myer uses a mask to deliver inhaled anesthetic gases to Thunder the bald eagle on Thursday before her cataract surgery at Fetch Specialty and Emergency Veterinary Centers in Brandon.
  18. We toured the making of Busch Gardens Tampa’s newest land, Wild Oasis
    • Life & Culture
    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is planning a renovation of its previous drop tower ride and for Wild Oasis will have state-of-the-art digital effects, sound and video imagery as part of the revitalization of the former Jungala area. It is set to open in spring 2025.
  19. MOSI’s Digital Dome Theatre set to dazzle Tampa Bay in 2025
    • Life & Culture
    Alex Richter, field service engineer with Cosm of Salt Lake City, experiences the Mobius Loop while helping to calibrate image projectors on Tuesday at MOSI’s Saunders Planetarium and Digital Dome Theatre in Tampa.
  20. Photos: 2025 Epiphany celebration
    • Photos
    Luc Boillot, 17, of Plantation, retrieves the cross during the 119th Epiphany ceremony at the Spring Bayou on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Tarpon Springs.
    20 Images | View Slideshow
  21. Hanukkah celebration calls for release of hostages in Gaza
    • Life & Culture
    A bow-shaped cloud hovers over Clearwater as Tampa Bay Rays mascot Raymond, right, circulates with a battery-powered menorah while attending the Hanukkah celebration Thursday at Coachman Park in Clearwater.
  22. Pictures that defined the year in Tampa Bay
    • Photos
    Times photographer Dirk Shadd on assignment at City Hall in St. Petersburg.
  23. Excited shoppers welcome new Trader Joe’s in Palm Harbor
    • Business
    Trader Joe’s crew member Dave Chesebrough, left, rallies with customers and other team members outside the new Trader Joe’s during its grand opening Thursday at 33597 U.S. Highway 19 N. in the Highland Lakes Plaza in Palm Harbor.
  24. Families officially come together during adoption event in Tampa
    • Hillsborough
    Maxine Brown, left, leans into a kiss with her grandson, August Brown, 3, of Riverview, moments after his adoption was finalized on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.