R. Allison Ryan, a South Hadley native, now works and lives in Northampton where she has practiced medicine as a neurologist for twenty years. Ever since her high school best friend introduced her to the magic realm of the SLR and the B&W darkroom, photography has been her favored avocation, enriching her experiences, exotic and mundane.Her photographic style has evolved mostly by experiment and feedback from fellow shutterbugs, augmented by periodic workshops such as the Maine Photographic Institute. She has been fortunate to focus her lens on many faces of the planet. She treasures her images from trips to Nepal, the Pacific Rim, East Africa, China,Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, Peru, Mexico, the Caribbean as well as both US coasts. When close to home she delights in discovering patterns both natural and constructed. She is especially captivated by transient juxtapositions in the reflective realms of water, metal and glass.

Although her patients have enjoyed her office room images and she has shared her photovisions with friends over the years, her first foray into a wider public exposure was the Valley Portfolio Grand Opening in April 2001. When her entry "Kayak Reflections" won second place in the amateur division she was encouraged to pursue other venues for her work. Since then she has exhibited in Portland, Maine and Ajijc, Mexico, as well as at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Northampton's Forbes Library, and the Springfield Tower Square Valley Portfolio Gallery.

Her images are taken with a Canon EOS SLR, currently the digital 10D version. Most are printed full frame without significant digital enhancement. Many are triple exposures through the lens. Increasingly, however, she is experimenting with the endlessly fascinating alchemy of Adobe Photoshop.

"I would like to share some images from the October, 2003 trip I was privileged to take to Cuba. Cuba's color palette is supremely photogenic. Cuba's people, architecture, and landscape delight the eye with a range of subtle pastels to vibrant primaries, all enhanced by the spectrum of tropical light. All images were taken the Canon 10D digital camera.

Her photos are often on display at The Edwards Bookstore (2nd Floor, Tower Square Springfield) as well as other venues such as the Baystate Medical Center gallery.

She can be contacted via e-mail at

Images:

1. 3973
   
2. Cover Photo
   
3. Arcadia
   
4. Dandelion
   
5. Oxbow