Allyson is a fine art photographer living in San Francisco. Her work reveals the uncommon beauty of industrial landscapes and explores industrial decline and urban redevelopment in the Bay Area.
The Los Angeles Center for Photography recently invited her to participate in Reservoir, a photographic incubator and mentorship program. Working with Rodrigo Valenzuela, Allyson joins cohorts of artists and mentors creating new work for an exhibit in 2026 that responds to the global crisis of loneliness through visual storytelling.
Allyson's project, A Place Out of Time, will be exhibited in a solo show at the Soho Photo Gallery, and was recognized as a Critical Mass 2024 Top 200 finalist. Her work was shown in the Center for Photographic Art's International Juried Exhibition in 2023 and 2024.
She has photographed for the cities of Oakland and Sunnyvale, and the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York. In conjunction with BART and the City of Oakland, Allyson created a year-long public art project combining photography and poetry that was installed in BART trains.
Her professional positions included Director, Department of Community Relations, City of Sunnyvale, and Executive Director of the Santa Clara County Girl Scouts. After receiving an M.B.A. in 1977 from U.C. Berkeley, she worked for Bendix, and retired as V.P. Retail Marketing for Charles Schwab. Allyson enjoyed a second career as an interior architect for The Pfister Partnership in San Francisco.
Allyson is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Center for Photographic Art, Carmel. She has previously served on the National Boards of the Girl Scouts USA, and Girls Inc.
Allyson holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Chatham College, Pittsburgh, Pa., an M.B.A., from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and a B.F.A. in Interior Architecture from California College of the Arts, San Francisco. She attended Harvard Business School's Program for Management Development.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025
Purple!, Gray Loft Gallery, Juried by Ann Jastrab & Jan Watten, Oakland, CA
Members’ Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Allie Haeusslein, Carmel, CA
Black & White, Praxis Photo Arts Center, Juried by Ann Jastrab, Minneapolis, MN
Shades of Black & White, SE Center for Photography, Juried by Susan Burnstine, Greenville, SC
Black and White: 2025, Black Box Gallery, Juried by Todd Johnson, Portland, OR
2024
Winter Solstice, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA
International Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Elizabeth Avedon, Carmel, CA
The Shadow Aspect, Praxis Gallery, Juried by Elizabeth Flinsch, Minneapolis, MN
Focus: Black and White, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
Portals, New York Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Mark Sink, New York, NY
Abstraction, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
The Found Object, Praxis Gallery, Juried by Scott Olson, Minneapolis, MN
The Quiet Landscape, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
Black & White, Praxis Gallery, Juried by Elizabeth Flinsch, Minneapolis, MN
The Abstract Image, SE Center for Photography, Juried by Mia Dalglish & Lisa Woodward, Greenville, SC
Pretty in Pink, Gray Loft Gallery, juried by Ann Jastrab & Jan Watten, Oakland, CA
Three Artist Exhibition, Decode Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Monochrome, PhotoPlace Gallery, juried by Henry Horenstein, Middlebury, VT
Landscapes, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2023
International Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Shana Lopes, Carmel, CA
Capturing the Light, PhotoPlace Gallery, Juried by Ann Jastrab, Middlebury, VT
The Contemporary Landscape, SE Center for Photography, Greenville, SC
Members’ Exhibition, SE Center for Photography, Greenville, SC
Landscapes, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Order-Disorder, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Architecture ‘23, SE Center for Photography, Greenville, SC
Liquid-Sky, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Beyond the Lens, Decode Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Shades of Gray, Gray Loft Gallery, Juried by Ann Jastrab & Jan Watten, Oakland, CA
The Abstract Image, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Patterns & Shadows 2023, New York Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Traer Scott, New York, NY
2022
The Magic of Light, PhotoPlace Gallery, Juried by Ann Jastrab, Middlebury, VT
Trees, PhotoPlace Gallery, Juried by Wendi Schneider, Middlebury, VT
Dynamic: Shadow & Light, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
Greyscale, Decode Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Vision: Black & White, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
AWARDS
2025
Winner, International Portfolio Competition, Soho Photo Gallery, New York, NY
Merit Award, 2025 Portfolio Contest, Black and White Magazine, Issue #173
2024
Critical Mass 2024 Top 200, Photolucida, Portland, OR
Honorable Mention, Portals, New York Center for Photographic Art, New York, NY
Juror’s Choice Award, The Found Object, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Juror’s Choice Award, Landscapes, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2023
1st Place, Non-Professional Landscape & Seascape category, 20th Annual Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, juried by Elizabeth Avedon, Ann Jastrab, and Elizabeth Krist
People’s Choice Award, Beyond the Lens, Decode Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Honorable Mention, Fine Art category, Minimalist Photography Awards
Honorable Mention, Liquid-Sky, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Honorable Mention, Order-Disorder, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Juror’s Selection, Patterns & Shadows 2023, New York Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Traer Scott, New York, NY
PUBLICATIONS
An Uncommon Beauty, BETA developments in photography magazine, Issue 53, October 2024
Light, Glorious Light 2023, LensWork
Minimalist Photography Awards 2023, Annual Book