When the economy took a turn for the worst in 2009, Ballardite Thomas Whipple, a long-time interior finish carpenter, lost his job.

"Carpenterting just dried up and I couldn’t find any more jobs," he said.

But while many struggle emotionally in unemployment, Whipple found inspiration.

When jobs became scarce, Whipple went back to his artistic roots and reached for the camera.

Originally an art school graduate, Whipple said his whole world view changed when he graduated from South Seattle Community College in 1976.

"I would look down the streets and see lines and design and composition. I had block vision. I looked at the world through new eyes," he said.

But life intervened and he gave up his artistic pursuits to make a living, until that was recently halted as well.

"I picked up a digital camera [again] and started dabbling in photography," he said.

Researching photography on the internet, Whipple discovered a technique called High Dynamic Range imaging. HDR photography is a technique in which a series of photographs with various levels of exposure and dynamic range are merged together into one image using computer software.

Merging underexposed and overexposed images into one allows for certain colors to really stand out, and the image takes the shape of neither photo nor painting.

"When I discovered this technique, it really attracted me. It has a completely different look," Whipple said. "I knew right away that I had to learn it."

For the last eight months, Whipple has thrown himself into studying the HDR technique, experimenting and finding his style for up to 10 hours a day.

"I have had time on my hands and I thought I saw a niche in this," he said. "I think software has allowed photography to undergo its first real significant change since we switched from black-and-white photography to color."

During those eight months, a friend of Whipple took him along to England and Portugal where Whipple shot thousands of photos.

“They believed in my eye and my photography,” he said. "And I came back with a huge trove."

Whipple continued to work on his techniques until he found his own unique look.

"I stopped before my images became too overburned and I started working on the next move of learning how to matt and frame my art," Whipple said.

Some of these art pieces are now on display at Firehouse Coffee in Ballard and were featured in the Ballard Art Walk.

"The Ballard Art Walk was a 110 percent success," Whipple said. "My family was here, my friends came out, and I got my start."

Whipple said he is happy to have found a way to share his artistic worldview with everyone - something he's wanted to do since art school.

"Art is everywhere you look and in everything you do," he said. "There are stories in everything."

Each piece of Whipple's art comes with a story about either the subject of the image or about the time when the image was taken. Whipple said he's planning to release these stories in eBook format some time in the near future.

For now, they can be found in the artist statements below the images on display.

A liveaboard for over 14 years, Whipple's art often features boats, nature, and water animals. But his subjects also include motorcycles, cars, tattoo, and portraits which he photographs on assignment and turns into pieces of art.

"Now that I have a portfolio, I'm offering my services to businesses and individuals. It's a story of economic survival," he said.

Visit Whipple's exhibition at Firehouse Coffee, 2622 Northwest Market Street, or visit him on Facebook.