Unraveled Expert Artist | Allie Clarke, UEA
We are beyond happy to welcome Allie Clarke to the blog today! We would like to congratulate her on becoming an Unraveled Expert Artist and we look forward to having her as an Instructor with us this year as well! The future is bright – and beautifully bold – with Allie and her photography here with us!
Allie is a documentary family photographer living in Lawrence, KS with her two crazy boys, husband, and big black lab who sheds everywhere. Her work seeks to reveal the beauty in the everyday and elevate the mundane moments of parenthood into something worth noticing and cherishing. She makes everyday life interesting with her compositions and storytelling. She's currently working towards offering longer "Day in the Life" sessions for her clients in order to tell a richer story of daily life with littles and we look forward to watching her grow along the way!
Congrats Allie! We feel so grateful to have you in the UA community!
For more inspiration from Allie:
Instagram | Website | Facebook
Here is Allie, Unraveled…
What inspires your art?
So many things, but surprisingly it's just seeing boring things take place in beautiful light. Feeling rather "stuck" at home has taught me to be inspired by the way the light moves through our home at different times of the day and how my kids travel through it. I'm inspired by the way they move, how they interact with the world, and how they experience emotions so freely. I often get down on their level to change my perspective and that often gets me excited!
I've become the keeper of most of our old family photos and they're some of my most cherished possessions. Not the awful church directory portraits taken of our family every year, although those are fun little fashion nightmare time capsules, but the messy chaotic ones on ordinary days. I love seeing the house I grew up in at all it's different stages of remodel and the stories written in the clutter: hand-me-down roller blades, glittery red jelly sandals I wish I still had, and the little white jukebox containing what I can only guess contained Hanson's one hit album just to name a few. Maybe it's nostalgia or the fear that I'll forget the details and wish I had photographs to remind me. Maybe it's losing some of the family members in those old photos that inspires me to hold on desperately to things while they're still here. I just know it when I see it and I keep my camera close by always so I don't miss a thing.
What do you shoot with? Camera body and favorite lens?
I shoot solely with a Canon 5D mark IV and 35 mm 1.4 II. That lens hasn't left my camera since I got it! I shoot everything from client to personal work with it since it's such a fantastic storytelling lens. I long to experiment with the 24 mm though!
What other ways do you express your creativity?
Writing is big for me, but I don't handwrite in a journal (I've never been able to commit, and I have about 10 journals with just the first page filled out to prove it). Part of it is that I can't write fast enough to get the thoughts out before they're gone, so I find that typing them works better for me. This year I've started using my Instagram captions as sort of journal entires where I can get my thoughts out!
I also have an unhealthy obsession with buying vintage clothing. I love the thrill of the hunt and feeling like the piece was truly meant to get another life with me if it fits. Unfortunately I don't have many places to wear fun things right now, and some of the pieces I love so much that I'm too afraid to wear them, ha!
How do you de-stress at the end of the day?
P-U-Z-Z-L-E-S! I'll forget everything that happened that day; all the spilled cheerios, tantrums, and unending piles of laundry disappear. It's just me and the pieces that all have a spot on the table. It brings order to the disorder for me. My husband thinks puzzles are absolutely, mind-numbingly boring and totally doesn't get the appeal AT ALL.
What kind of music do you listen to while editing?
It depends on what I'm editing! If it's personal work I'll listen to Tommy James and the Shondells radio on Spotify, Shannon and the Clams, Eagles of Death Metal or (if I need to mellow out) I'll opt for some Blaze Foley. Music is big in our house! If I'm editing a client session I'll probably be too bored with music and put on a show I don't have to pay close attention to like "the Office" or "Parenthood".
What is your favorite book?
Ah man this is hard. I really love the Dennis Lehane novel series that contains "Gone Baby Gone" and "Darkness Take my Hand". I don't really have time to read much anymore though and totally rely on my Audible account.
Name one movie that inspires you.
I felt stumped and punted this one to my husband. I hardly finished asking before he said "Duh, 'Amelie'. It's the movie you never shut up about." He knows me well.
How do you handle self-doubt or creative slumps?
Hmm therapy? Haha, but really talking things over with my therapist and trying to back away from comparing myself to other photographers. If I'm in a slump it doesn't really help me to stare at everyone else's incredible work; that just keeps me stuck. Over the last few years I've recognized the cycles I go through and have learned that they those periods of self doubt do end. They end with the shot that gets me excited again and it only comes if I remain open to finding it again. I have to keep looking for that inspiration and allowing myself the grace to take some shitty photos in the process. Take them and move on without judgement!
What has been the most difficult part of your creative journey?
Feeling like I couldn't be good enough to even start. After getting my BFA in Photography in 2011 I got so bogged down in my day job of waitressing and discouraged watching my classmates continue on to creative jobs that I nearly gave up on it entirely. Eight years later I found myself still working there while taking care of two kids, struggling with postpartum depression, and watching my Dad's health rapidly declining. I was so scared I'd lost my ability entirely and squandered my degree slinging cocktails and changing diapers. Finding my voice took some really amazing people believing I could do it and support my efforts entirely (Justin Clarke, Leah Evans, and Anna Tenne I'm talking about you). It's been exactly one year since I quit working at the restaurant to pursue photography full time and I'm so proud of myself for plunging into the unknown.
What is your favorite pizza topping?
Anything green really. Gimme some kale on that pie!
What is your most favorite kind of light and why?
Directional window light. I love how it casts a spotlight on life in the home and highlights little details.
Who is one of your favorite photographers?
Chloe Lodge is an absolute legend in my book. She is a master in any style she touches and I'm always in awe of her work. As a documentary-style photographer I do have to give Kirsten Lewis some honorable space; she was a serious trailblazer in the business!
What is your favorite course or lesson at Unraveled?
I just finished "Family Filmmaking with a Twist" by Catherine Lubbat and I'm so inspired to take my documentary family work to the next level with video! I'm scared shitless and extremely overwhelmed by all the technical stuff, but it's a major goal of mine to figure it out!
