Originally from Canada, Allan found his feet in film and TV production early in his career. He spent many years working in the advertising industry in Toronto where he directed national and international TV commercials for major worldwide advertising agencies. In 2014 Allan moved to Sarasota, Florida, where he currently has a commercial photography studio. Throughout his career, Allan has been the recipient of many awards for his TV commercials and film work, as well as his commercial photography. But it was in documentary photography and photojournalism that he has found his true calling.

Allan first became interested in street photography and documentary photography 20 years ago when he produced a documentary film about “street people” for the United Way in Toronto. This very personal form of photojournalism became a sort of obsession for him – telling the stories of people in adverse circumstances, humanizing them and their diverse life journeys, and using the camera to peel back the superficial. Since then he has taken every opportunity to get behind the lens to document protests, progressive action and social justice causes across the United States and abroad. Most recently he has covered migration at the US/Mexico border, Black Lives Matter protests, and women’s rights marches. He was in Minnesota at the riots after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, and in Uvalde, Texas, after the school shooting in May 2022. Most recently Allan has curated and exhibited a selection of his work from his three wartime visits to Ukraine. In May of this year, Allan will be returning to continue that work.