Who is Alan McConnell?

Alan McConnell is a native of Indiana and became interested in photography while enrolled in a high school mini-course in the early 70’s. His first camera was a used, manual Canon. Alan has been teaching 7th grade science for over 30 years. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Purdue University. Alan is an associate member of the Lafayette Renaissance Academy & Gallery. Elaine, Alan’s wife for 25 years, often accompanies him on photo excursions. Many of the photos will have scripts that she has written to contribute to the thought or mood at the scene.

Alan has always been interested in nature and its innate artistic qualities. Alan enjoys hiking and backpacking and has traveled through Europe and much of the western United States. One of Alan’s philosophies is “life is memories.” He wants to gather as many memories in his life as possible with his camera. Alan loves to share his memories with others, especially his students. As a teacher, Alan incorporates his photography within his lessons. Alan initiated a photo contest for his 7th graders related to an annual field trip to Turkey Run State Park.

Alan likes to photograph what he is experiencing. He is particularly drawn to the tones, textures, lighting, and colors that nature provides. Water is one of his favorite subjects. Hiking back to a tumbling cascade or a thundering waterfall is all part of the experience. By filming wildflowers, rock formations, moss-covered bridges, or other unique elements along the paths, Alan offers the viewer a visual experience of his photo-journey. Alan is fascinated by the effect of water on lighting. When viewing a photo of water, he hopes the audience can hear the sound of water. He strives to capture this aspect of nature on film. Landscapes and abstracts in nature are also part of his repertoire.

Alan enjoys using both color and black & white films. He finds black & white to be rather intriguing. Being able to create a powerful image with a range of tones and colors is a difficult challenge that he always attacks with a mentality that says, “It’s not done until it is perfect.”