John’s quirky take on life

21-year old John Allengame’s passion for photography stems from a very powerful influence.

Having grown up in his hometown of Bendigo, John said his decision to move to Melbourne to study at the Photography Studies College was prompted by another influential photographer – his father.

“Dad was definitely a powerful influence,” he said. “It (photography) was something that I always enjoyed doing, just going out on weekends, heading out into the bush and taking photos,” he said.

“I thought I still want to do this, I want to continue doing this because it’s quite relaxing and quite fun.”

Raised as a photographer’s assistant for the majority of his life, John said he first picked up a camera during his final years at high school.

However, it was around this same time when John learnt that his father had contracted cancer which, he said, provided all the more motivation to pursue photography.

With his father now well and truly on the road to recovery, John said the passion for his chosen art was increasing everyday.

“Dad’s got over cancer now and I’m still asking him for more equipment and stuff like that everyday, which is pretty good,” he said.

“The passion is definitely growing with my dad getting better everyday.”

Since starting at the Photography Studies College in 2012, John has now completed his final year of a commercial major in the full-time Advanced Diploma of Photography.

His final body of work has been widely recognised for a combination of imagery, which showcases not only John’s creative brilliance but also his slightly left-of-centre style humour.

While his images capturing everyday life are breathtaking in their own right, it is his pieces portraying other childhood influences such as rubber ducks and miniature figurines acting in an obscure manner, which stand out the most.

“It was very evident in some of my pictures there that I like to incorporate a little bit of humour,” he said.

“It’s very dry sometimes, but it can be very fun to play around with and try and actually emulate that out to other people through my work.”

While still young, John said he was already looking to his next challenge as he weighed up a number of career options, ranging from crime scene photographer through to a job opportunity with PSC.

In the mean time, he said his credentials as a photographer’s assistant continued to go from strength to strength thanks to his time networking and learning at the Photography Studies College.

“It feels really satisfying to have completed three years now and more and more people ring me up everyday now,” he said.

“I’m getting more phone calls, like I got a phone call as I was walking in this morning asking whether I can assist them in the next couple of days and I can’t because I’m already booked out with somebody else.”

To see more of John’s work visit www.facebook.com/JohnAllengamePhotographic