We were lucky to catch up with John Allen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi John, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

“Forever forward progression, charge towards opportunity.” My life’s mission after reading the book “The Rhinoceros Success” it’s a quick read with silly rhino photos. I got my dad to read it and he loved it. I was working in the corporate world at the time and had just made a big move for a job in a field I had zero experience with. Not knowing it would consume everything I had in my tank. I was thinking of what I really wanted to do with my life. I quit that job and moved back home with my dad, and two weeks later my dad passed away. Now I was really thinking: what am I going to do now? I distinctly remember my dad always telling me I had an eye for photography, so I bought a camera and started offering photography sessions. Portrait work at first, then I got hooked on landscape and Astro photography. Leaned into some product photography and decided… I just really love taking photos! So here I am over 5 years later a professional freelance photographer following that forward progression and charging towards opportunity.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a 32 year old father of two and devoted husband to the love of my life. We are currently living life on the road and traveling to contracted events that I photograph across the country. We weren’t always traveling. I had a 9-5 for a long time. When Covid first hit I lost a year of photography work. I was pushed back into the work force which started with me working at a tiny vegan grocery store in my hometown of Bisbee, Arizona called POCO. After a tough year I saw there was still a lot to be done within my community especially the homeless and underserved population. I applied to to be an outreach specialist working with the homeless and specifically the Severely mentally ill homeless or “smi” luckily I got the job. I have a brother who experiences addiction and homelessness so I really wanted to understand more of that world. Another year or so more an opportunity came along that would change everything. Becoming an event photographer for a company that hosts some of the largest outdoor overland events in the world. It’s called Overland Expo. I have Eva Rupert to thank for this opportunity because she needed photos of herself on a very cool Africa twin motorcycle. Sticking with my work I was told to apply to be a Community Health Worker for my county where I could ideally be the one stop shop for resources for the homeless and underserved while still working out of the shelter. The conversation between my wife and I kept coming up… rent isn’t getting cheaper and we are missing out on so much time with our kids.. so what do we do? We rally family and tell them our plan. We’re going to hit the road. At least a year and see how it goes. It’s been a wild ride so far but we’re having the time of our lives. My wife is a photographer also and none of this would be possible without her determination and planning. We get to see the world, our children, and photograph the journey.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

100% being a salesman. Don’t get me wrong.. you need to sell in my industry but not like I was trained up to be. This field of photography is all about building relationships and branching out in ways you’d never imagine. I was so focused on money and selling in the beginning that I lost joy rather quickly. I knew I needed to pivot. I’m naturally a people person and I will strike up conversations with anyone anytime. So I slowed down, and really started to engage with people genuinely.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Everything I have invested into myself was my own money. Cleared out savings a few times to keep it going and maintain gear for the industry standard but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.whosjohnallen.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/whosjohnallen

Image Credits
@whosjohnallen