William Albert Allard: Five Decades

by William Albert Allard

This gorgeous gift book reveals nearly 50 years of photography by seasoned National Geographic photographer Bill Allard. Allard was a pioneer of color photography with a style that called for entering people's homes and hearts; by winning their confidence he was able to capture "off guard" moments, and reveal the depth of human nature as never before seen in the pages of National Geographic. Always in search of "what is happening at the edges," his work reveals beauty, mystery, and a sense of adventure. Part photography retrospective and part personal memoir, this book paints a full picture —through images and narrative —of the life of a globe-trekking photographer over the past half century.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2010

Reviews

[John Verna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful images. But couldn’t connect with what the author was writing—too harsh with a massive ego.

[Bob Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Photojournalism at its very best. Haunting, magnetic photographs. Plain, but gripping, essays - Hemingwayesque. Encompassing the fifty-year sweep of an iconic National Geographic photojournalist. One of the best people photographers around. Spend time savoring each photograph.

[Juliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photographs by Allerd--who among other achievements was a writer/photographer for National Geographic. This work has photos taken from around the world, but I'm especially partial to his portraits of American Cowboys.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intimate, colorful, dramatic and impactful photojournalism.

[Brian Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you believe that photographs should stand alone and speak for themselves, then this is not the book for you. WILLIAM ALBERT ALLARD: FIVE DECADES is a retrospective of Bill Allard’s life as much as it is a retrospective exhibition of his photography. The text is intensely personal, taking the reader through the suicide of his brother, the death from cancer of a son, the dissolution of his first marriage, and the implosion of has National Geographic career. But the text also takes the reader through the images and conveys Allard’s love of the craft which seemed to remain the dominant influence and, if I’m allowed to speculate, may have preserved his sanity if not his life.

The images, of course, are excellent; and the reproduction superb. There are images here that have appeared elsewhere, but much new as well. For many photographs, Allard explains the underlying emotional content he aimed to capture, although capture is too strong a word because, as Allard explains, “And many of these pictures were not really taken, they were given. The subjects trusted me. They projected something of themselves to me, and it became my privilege and pleasure to receive that something, look at it, arrange the space in which it resided, find what seemed to be order within chaos, and make the photograph.”