Timothy Allen
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Timothy Allen (born 1971) is an English photographer and filmmaker best known for his work with indigenous people and isolated communities around the world.


Early life

Timothy Allen was born in
Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated populat ...
, Kent, England, the second son of two school teachers. He attended
The Judd School The Judd School (often known simply as Judd) is a voluntary aided grammar school in Tonbridge, Kent, England. It was established in 1888 at Stafford House on East Street in Tonbridge, where it remained for eight years before moving to its present ...
and took further education at
Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
where he received a BSc in
Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
. Whilst at university, Allen undertook a three-month ecological research project in remote jungle on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi during which an encounter with a reclusive forest dwelling tribe proved to be a pivotal point in his life. Subsequently, after graduating from university he returned to Indonesia where he spent a further 3 years travelling and studying. It was during this time that he discovered his passion for photography. At the age of 27 he began a part-time diploma in photography in Hereford and for his first year project he joined an aid convoy to
Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...
during the town's struggle to rebuild itself after the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
.


Career

After returning from Bosnia, Allen was offered his first job as a freelance photographer working at ''
The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'' in London. A year later, after commissions from all of the British broadsheet publications, he eventually settled into a six-year position at ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
.'' A member of Axiom Photographic Agency from 2002 to 2011 his more recent work has revolved around
indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
. It was a personal project in Bhutan, India and Nepal designed to escape the "rat race back home" that lead the BBC to commission him as part of the '' Human Planet'' team. In 2012 Allen signed with the International film production company ''Great Guns'' who currently represent him worldwide. In 2017 Allen was the subject of a documentary on
Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...
titled ''Epic Animal Journeys'' in which a film crew followed him on a midwinter nomadic migration across the
Yamal Peninsula The Yamal Peninsula (russian: полуостров Ямал, poluostrov Yamal) is located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of northwest Siberia, Russia. It extends roughly 700 km (435 mi) and is bordered principally by the Kara ...
in Siberia with a Nenets family. In 2020 Allen was on the winning team of notable Alumni from the
University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
who won the Christmas edition of the BBC's
University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
programme. They were the first non-Oxbridge team ever achieve first place in the tournament. Allen owns a production company and is also the host of his own Podcast.


''Human Planet''

In 2008, the BBC commissioned Allen to work on the documentary project '' Human Planet.'' This was the first time that the BBC had employed a dedicated photographer on a landmark series. He spent over a year and a half travelling with 4 teams, covering stories of human endeavour in over forty countries around the world. Using the newly released first generation of
DSLR A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between a ...
cameras with HD video capabilities, Allen shot content for the programme and its accompanying multimedia projects as well as imagery that was published in a best-selling BBC book, formed an exhibition and was used in the program's worldwide branding and publicity. He wrote a weekly blog for BBC Earth, documenting his work during Human Planet.


Timothy Allen Photography Scholarship Award (TAPSA)

In 2016 Allen created a photography scholarship award in conjunction with the
Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...
Government Media Bureau. Each year the scholarship is awarded to 5 photographers from around the world and includes a 10-day trip to the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
to work alongside Allen.


Awards

*One time overall winner in Travel Photographer of the Year *Six times category winner in Travel Photographer of the Year *Five times runner up in Travel Photographer of the Year *The Pangea Award of Excellence at SIPA 2016 *Press Photographer's Year Award *Arts Photographer of the Year *Twice nominated Photographer of the Year at the
British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of United Kingdom, British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The Sunday People, The People'' and ''Campaign (magazine), World's Press ...
*'Human Planet' has won a host of awards including two BAFTAs and an Emmy Award as well as the ITB's Cultural Book Prize


References


External links

*
BBC News audio slideshow conversation with AllenInterview on NBC's Carson Daly ShowBehind the scenes film shot during one of Allen's expeditions through MongoliaBBC Radio 4 'From Our Own Correspondent' despatch from Allen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Timothy 1971 births Living people English photojournalists Photographers from Kent British portrait photographers People from Tonbridge Photography in India Alumni of the University of Leeds People educated at The Judd School The Independent people