Mark Allen

Photographer | Educator

I entered a darkroom for the first time when I was 10 years old. I was immediately taken with the magic of photography and the warmth and refuge the darkroom provided. In high school I was inspired by an amazing teacher who supported young creative minds by exposing them to great films, filmmaking and boundless expression.

While an undergrad in way upstate New York, I managed the school darkroom and had my first experience bringing the magic of photography to students as a volunteer at the Oneida Nation. This experience led me to launch a literacy program at Ben Franklin Middle School in San Francisco’s Fillmore district. We used photography and film making as the creative honey to encourage students to develop personal stories expressed with writing and content creation.

For something completely different, I ended up aboard the U.S.S. Wabash with the 7th Fleet stationed at Subic Bay in the Philippines. As we travelled the seas from Subic Bay to Japan to the Persian Gulf, I taught college accredited photography courses to distract the sailors from the monotony of life at sea.

For the past five years I have been a substitute teacher with SFUSD while also volunteering with two fantastic youth photography nonprofits; First Exposures and Working Assumptions.

I am privileged to be part of the amazing 81 Bees Collective which keeps the magic alive and challenges me to continue to grow as a photographer.

CONTACT:

Email: markallen.bsnsdev@gmail.com
IG: markalleninsf
www.firstexposures.org
www.workingassumptions.org