Arts

A consummate storyteller, Allard produced his first significant series of photographs in 1964 while an intern at National Geographic. Regarded as a landmark in the history of the magazine, his piece on the Amish also had a profound effect on him, channeling his focus definitively on people. Over the years, he has contributed more than 40 articles to National Geographic both as a photographer and writer. He relished its lengthy assignments that were almost like mini grants, allowing him to delve deeply into his subjects and polish his oeuvre.

Allard comes across as a fearless individualist who saunters to the beat of his own drum. One can understand his affinity for cowboys and the Anabaptist Hutterites of Montana, a pacifist communal people who trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the 16th century. Both these groups are composed of independent souls, within which a trenchant code of honor and integrity exists. Allard, who with his wife Ani owns a second home in Missoula, Montana, possesses a genuine magnetism; he’s confident without being arrogant, warm and sincerely interested in people, whether they’re subjects for his lens, or the photography students he’s so willing to nurture.

Calling himself a “street photographer,” Allard says that he runs with the conditions at hand: “Whatever light I’ve got, I’ve got,” is how he puts it. On assignment, he never has preconceived ideas about what kind of photographs to take, but embarks on his forays with an open mind. He says that he prefers taking pictures on the “edges of a situation,” where perfect little serendipitous moments happen—a fleeting glance across a café, children running down a street, sunlight raking a pony’s mane. Allard is known for his innate color sense and the grace and balance of his compositions. According to New York gallery owner Steven Kasher, “Allard is Manet with Kodachrome, wielding slashing strokes of blood red and bullhide black. Allard is Hemingway with a Leica, crafting complex tales of matadors and cowboys, of fishermen and farmers. His characters struggle, with dignity and grace. They attend to the ceremony of their own survival, alone, but in touch with sympathetic others.”