Allyson Ely is a fine art photographer living in San Francisco. Her work celebrates the uncommon beauty of industrial landscapes and explores urbanization along San Francisco’s Central Waterfront area. As a counterpoint, she also draws inspiration from the small lakes in Golden Gate Park.
In her professional life as a marketing executive, Allyson worked closely with ad agencies and photographers, and later enjoyed a second career as an interior architect for The Pfister Partnership in San Francisco. A former member of the National Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts USA and Girls Inc., she has also held Board positions at several Bay Area not-for-profits.
Allyson has photographed for the Cities of Oakland, Sunnyvale, and for the Harlem Children’s Zone, in New York. In conjunction with BART and the City of Oakland, she created a public art project combining photography and poetry that was installed in BART trains. A Critical Mass 2024 Top 200 finalist, Allyson’s work has been exhibited in the Center for Photographic Art’s International Juried Exhibition (2023, 2024) and won 1st place in the Landscape & Seascape category for the 20th Annual Julia Margaret Cameron Awards. In 2025, Allyson was invited to participate in Reservoir, a photographic incubator and mentorship program created by the Los Angeles Center of Photography. Cohorts of artists and mentors are creating new work for an exhibit in 2026 that responds to the global crisis of loneliness through visual storytelling. Her work has been exhibited nationally and resides in a number of private collections.
Now retired, Allyson is pursing her enduring interest in photography.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025
Members’ Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Allie Haeusslein, Carmel, CA
Black & White, Praxis Photo Arts Center, Juried by Ann Jastrab, Minneapolis, MN
Shades of Black & White, SE Center for Photography, Juried by Susan Burnstine, Greenville, SC
Black and White: 2025, Black Box Gallery, Juried by Todd Johnson, Portland, OR
2024
Winter Solstice, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA
International Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Elizabeth Avedon, Carmel, CA
The Shadow Aspect, Praxis Gallery, Juried by Elizabeth Flinsch, Minneapolis, MN
Focus: Black and White, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
Portals, New York Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Mark Sink, New York, NY
Abstraction, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
The Found Object, Praxis Gallery, Juried by Scott Olson, Minneapolis, MN
The Quiet Landscape, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
Black & White, Praxis Gallery, Juried by Elizabeth Flinsch, Minneapolis, MN
The Abstract Image, SE Center for Photography, Juried by Mia Dalglish & Lisa Woodward, Greenville, SC
Pretty in Pink, Gray Loft Gallery, juried by Ann Jastrab & Jan Watten, Oakland, CA
Three Artist Exhibition, Decode Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Monochrome, PhotoPlace Gallery, juried by Henry Horenstein, Middlebury, VT
Landscapes, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2023
International Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Shana Lopes, Carmel, CA
Capturing the Light, PhotoPlace Gallery, Juried by Ann Jastrab, Middlebury, VT
The Contemporary Landscape, SE Center for Photography, Greenville, SC
Members’ Exhibition, SE Center for Photography, Greenville, SC
Landscapes, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Order-Disorder, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Architecture ‘23, SE Center for Photography, Greenville, SC
Liquid-Sky, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Beyond the Lens, Decode Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Shades of Gray, Gray Loft Gallery, Juried by Ann Jastrab & Jan Watten, Oakland, CA
The Abstract Image, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Patterns & Shadows 2023, New York Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Traer Scott, New York, NY
2022
The Magic of Light, PhotoPlace Gallery, Juried by Ann Jastrab, Middlebury, VT
Trees, PhotoPlace Gallery, Juried by Wendi Schneider, Middlebury, VT
Dynamic: Shadow & Light, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
Greyscale, Decode Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Vision: Black & White, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
AWARDS
2024
Critical Mass 2024 Top 200, Photolucida, Portland, OR
Honorable Mention, Portals, New York Center for Photographic Art, New York, NY
Juror’s Choice Award, The Found Object, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Juror’s Choice Award, Landscapes, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2023
1st Place, Non-Professional Landscape & Seascape category, 20th Annual Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, juried by Elizabeth Avedon, Ann Jastrab, and Elizabeth Krist
People’s Choice Award, Beyond the Lens, Decode Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Honorable Mention, Fine Art category, Minimalist Photography Awards
Honorable Mention, Liquid-Sky, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Honorable Mention, Order-Disorder, Praxis Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Juror’s Selection, Patterns & Shadows 2023, New York Center for Photographic Art, Juried by Traer Scott, New York, NY
PUBLICATIONS
An Uncommon Beauty, BETA developments in photography magazine, Issue 53, October 2024
Light, Glorious Light 2023, LensWork
Minimalist Photography Awards 2023, Annual Book
EDUCATION
BA, Philosophy, Chatham College, Pittsburgh, PA
PMD Program for Management Development, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA
MBA, University of California, Berkeley, CA
BFA, Interior Architecture, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA