Artist Profile: Allen Quandee

Capturing God's Beauty

By Natalie Del Valle

A colorful ocean-side sunset, lush green foliage framing a waterfall and a snowy mountain range are just a few of the stunning sights Allen Quandee has photographed. For as long as he can remember, Allen has been capturing the world and all its beauty in mesmerizing snapshots. Its a wonderful stress reliever being out and enjoying nature. It inspires me. Its a gift instilled in me to capture Gods beauty, he says.

His passion for photography started as a child when his father bought him a Brownie Kodak camera, and his passion and interest in photography only grew as he became a teenager. I started getting serious in the 1960s, he recalls; I developed my own pictures and did my own processing in dark rooms. Amazingly, Allens photos are simply the product of a keen eye and years of experience. I took a few photography classes in college, but thats it, he says. Nowadays, his photos are receiving recognition and winning awards, including a second place prize at the Botanical Gardens Art Show that he won three years ago.

Allen has taken photos in a variety of locations in the United States and even some overseas. Ive taken photos all over. Some shots are of local areas in Tennessee, North Carolina and here in Georgia, while a few photos are taken in Canada, Japan and Korea, he says. But his favorite location to photograph is in the Grand Tetons National Park, in northwestern Wyoming, where there are plenty of beautiful and awe-inspiring landscapes and sights waiting to be captured. My favorite types of pictures to take are of landscapes, flowers and wildlife, he says, but wildlife is harder to capture. I have to be at the right place at just the right time. One striking wildlife photograph Allen managed to capture is of a gray and white wolf. The pictures up-close detail allows viewers to take in the animals golden eyes and black whiskers around its nose. The wolf had been injured and brought to a wildlife rehabilitation center. I was able to catch a snapshot of him in his natural habitat there. Its one of my favorite photographs, he says. He considers this picture to be the one of which he is most proud.

Since Allen has retired, he has had more time to focus on his hobby. Sometimes, I take a bunch of pictures within a month, and other times, Ill only take a few. It varies, but I do take photos more frequently now, he says. He displays and sells his work at fine art shows, and he involves himself in photography clubs and competitions. Until recently, he has been focusing mostly on photographing flowers and landscapes, but one of the new things he is working with is micro landscape photography, which is snapshots of the little details. I want to experiment with new techniques and push myself for new ideas, he says.