After 36 years in photography...
presentng
the favorite photo of John Allee...
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The story behind the photo as told by John Allee, with help from Henri, Ansel, and friends Few things are decisive in photography except for “The Moment.” Henri Cartier-Bresson’s concept of The Decisive Moment loosely means the time when all elements of a photograph are at a peak. For the photographer it is an unbelievable feeling. He just knows he got it. But before you can get it, you have to learn technique - enter Ansel Adams and friends. Back to my moment: In the 1970’s, I worked as a news photographer at the Newark Advocate. I had occasional assignments at Starlight School for physically and/or mentally-retarded children. It occurred to me that this would make a great independent project. I worked at getting release forms from the parents of every child in the entire school. I decided I needed help. I asked fellow Advocate photographer Joy Ream to join the project. We shot in the school in our off-duty spare time. After about two weeks we were having second thoughts. We were not connecting as we hoped. One morning, we were in the hallway. I was kneeling down adjusting my equipment when a door opened. A girl who was seven or eight years old came out, looked me in the eye and gave me a big hug. Then another child did the same until eight kids, all seemingly on cue, as if to say “Come on, John, stick it out - you have to tell our story.” I looked over at Joy. At first she was stunned. Then she was mortified as she exclaimed, “I can’t believe I didn’t get one shot!” We left for the day. The next day at recess “The Moment” thundered through my camera viewfinder. It’s a shot of eight kids in a line holding each other as they snaked their way through the playground - just having fun. That these were just kids having fun became the concept of the project. Granted if you look closely you can tell the kids probably have a disability of some sort. To me they are just kids. They are more like other kids than they are different. I know that there are a lot of people out there who can’t see that. I have probably applied for a job from a number of them and my physical deformities were all they saw. It is said you are only as good as your most recent work. So what have I done in the last 36 years? I have jumped into digital photography and the wonderland of Photoshop. |
John Allee: His chase for "the photo" was never interrupted
John Allee
has for many years produced his own unique visual record of Licking
County and its people, beginning in 1970, when he came to The Advocate.
Seven years later he resigned that job to open the Allee Photography
business from his rural residence east of Newark. During his newspaper
years, the hauling of photographic gear, the long hours, the
day/night/weekend assignments and inconveniences that photojournalism
requires never interrupted his chase for "the photo" that told, as best
could be told, "the visual story."
John's trail of fine pictures is vast. There were plenty from which to draw for two one-man shows at the Licking County Art Gallery: "Alaska, Land of Contrast," in 1973, and 12 years later, a retrospective collection. Among his trophies is the one for first place in the Associated Press contest, Spot News Category, 1974.
One would assume, therefore, that the chore of selecting a single favorite image for display at this web site might require a stretch. But John knew immediately which photo he valued above all others: It's the one displayed above. It hangs as a poster on a wall at home. He values it for what it says, how it says it, and who it's communicating about.
To define the photographic art of John Allee requires more than the mention of talent. It's that, plus a blend of dedication, hard work, communicative skill, along with the most important element, and that is soul.
John's trail of fine pictures is vast. There were plenty from which to draw for two one-man shows at the Licking County Art Gallery: "Alaska, Land of Contrast," in 1973, and 12 years later, a retrospective collection. Among his trophies is the one for first place in the Associated Press contest, Spot News Category, 1974.
One would assume, therefore, that the chore of selecting a single favorite image for display at this web site might require a stretch. But John knew immediately which photo he valued above all others: It's the one displayed above. It hangs as a poster on a wall at home. He values it for what it says, how it says it, and who it's communicating about.
To define the photographic art of John Allee requires more than the mention of talent. It's that, plus a blend of dedication, hard work, communicative skill, along with the most important element, and that is soul.
by
Bruce Humphrey
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