Meet Allison Shaw

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Shaw. 

Hi Allison, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have had an interest in photography since I was 15 years old, our family got a Kodak digital camera for a trip back home to Oregon for Thanksgiving, and even though it was a Family camera I ended up using it mostly myself and taking pictures of whatever, I thought was pretty or cool looking, mostly flowers and inanimate objects from different angles. When I was 16, I had one of my photos published on a Jones soda label, anyone else remember those? it was a big deal for me because in the letter that I received letting me know about my photo being published they said that 1% of all the photographs submitted get published by the Jones soda staff. 

I went to Kendall College of Art and design in 2009 but unfortunately had to leave due to a sepsis infection that nearly killed me and I was put on strict bed rest by the doctor, that and not being able to afford to register for my next semester of classes I had to give up my dream. For a while there I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do in case photography didn’t work out and I’ve tried a few hats at other things career-wise but I have found myself back in photography and have been doing it as a passion in hopes of making it a source of income for the past four years now. 

There’s just something about photography that I enjoy more than any other art medium, the adventures and exploring my city finding something to capture, I really love the architecture downtown especially, and architecture has been my main focus in my photography in the past couple of years. There’s a lot of beautiful old buildings downtown and with the changes and modernization of everything I worry about some of these buildings being demolished and remodeled for something unsightly or something that we have seen in every other city. These buildings have rich history not only in their architecture but in their presence downtown. 

My goal is to move back west either to Oregon or to Nevada and continue my photography and expand it to an e-commerce business. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While I am still on the road it definitely has not been easy but then again, that’s life and it’s to be expected. I don’t have the privilege of having well-to-do parents or family to help fund me with my passion projects and everything I have done in regards to my photography I have done for myself. While I don’t have a lot to show for, I am proud of what I have. My photography is not for everybody and that’s fine, I like to show people the beauty in architecture or even liminal spaces. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My photography is digital, and I specialize in architecture and nature as well as night photography. I think I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve had one of my photos at a young age, 16, being posted on a Jones soda label which I was a big fan of back in the day and part of what made Jones soda so popular was all of the random photos on their bottles. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/capsule_28_photography?utm_medium=copy_link