A camera for Christmas from his brother started Allan on a journey that would last a lifetime. At the age of 48, and a chance meeting with Richard Garrod, took that journey to new heights. He no longer took pictures, he now made photographs. The relationship of mentor and pupil continues to this day and shapes his vision every time he picks up his camera.
Their walks at Point Lobos State Reserve without their cameras in tow, talking about what they saw and how it could be presented in a final print, honed his skills and his eye for images.
Allan has won many awards for his photographs including best black and white print of the year by the Northern California Council of Camera Clubs. His photographs have twice been displayed in the California State Capitol.
When not taking photographs, he enjoys working with wood. He makes his own frames for his photographs from alder (salvaged from a dumpster), cherry (his favorite wood) and walnut. Many have commented that his frames are as much a piece of art as his photographs.
Artist Statement
The grand landscape gets all of the attention because its, well, grand. It’s big and you can’t miss it. But lower your point of view downward to the smaller things at your feet, these things are grand, too, just not big and in your face.
It’s the small things that I have always been drawn to photograph. The small things around us mostly go unnoticed if someone did not take the time to photograph them and bring them to our attention.
That is what drives me, the small, obscure, mundane, old and weathered, discarded detritus. It’s my job to show you they can be just as grand and beautiful as the grand landscape.
aculver_photo@hotmail.com