Photography a Winner for Ex-Drummer

Sometime in the ‘80s, Allen Erwin put down his drumsticks and picked up a camera.

For the past two years, he has taken portraits of his wife, baby girl, co-workers and friends in his home studio. And recently, all that shooting paid off. He walked away with a camera bag full of awards from the Los Angeles County Fair.

The 37-year-old Glendale Community College student’s work was recognized for the first time after he entered five prints in the Los Angeles County Fair’s “New Photography” exhibition.

One snapshot of a friend and co-worker, titled “Katherine,” earned him a $200 first-place award in the portraiture field, while three others were accepted into the show, featuring 400 prints that were seen by 400,000 people, fair organizers said.

Erwin also received $50 for a fourth-place honor in the fine art category.

He and three other Glendale college photography students took home a total of $475 in cash awards--the highest among entries from 50 colleges nationwide, said Andi Johnson, the exhibit’s assistant coordinator.

Gregg Segal, Susan Nikels and Craig Chanowski of Glendale Community College mainly received second- and third-place awards in photojournalism categories.

All entries were judged by Susan Spiritus, who owns a gallery in Newport Beach, and Pamela Hassell, photo editor of Buzz magazine. The exhibit, which opened Sept. 10, ended Oct. 3.

Erwin said he started photography after trading in his drumsticks as a rock ‘n’ roller in the 1980s.

“When I wasn’t in a band anymore, there was kind of a void there for creativity,” said Erwin, a property manager for Stevenson Property Management in Glendale.

He started taking classes in still-life photography in 1990 and became interested in portrait photography a year later. His first-place portrait featured his co-worker and friend, Katherine Johnson. It’s a picture of “a strong person--a person with determination,” Erwin said.

He’s looking forward to his next project but says he needs volunteers.

“I would like to do a series on overweight people and show them in a good, positive way.”