William Allard offers 165 images in his book. | ZOOM |

        William A. Allard's first assignment as an intern for National Geographic in 1964 was to photograph the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pa.

        It was a daunting task for Mr. Allard, then 26 and fresh out of the University of Minnesota's journalism school. He knew the Amish were notorious for not wanting their pictures taken.

        “For some reason I had a certain confidence in myself,” he says. He also had what he calls “the bliss of ignorance. I didn't realize at the time that (the magazine) had sent a staff member out earlier, and he had not been able to succeed.”

        Mr. Allard relied on straightforward honesty. He introduced himself, explained what magazine he was working for, what he wanted to do, and why it was important. Eventually he earned people's trust, and as a result produced an intimate photographic essay.

        That approach has served him well in a 37-year career, much of it spent in the United States working for National Geographic. His fifth book, Portraits of America (National Geographic Books; $50), was published this month. On Wednesday Mr. Allard will be signing copies and showing slides at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Norwood.

IF YOU GO

Cohen Stadium, Class AA Texas League, El Paso, Texas (1990). | ZOOM |     What: Book signing and slide show by National Geographic photographer William Allard.   Where: Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Norwood.   When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.   Information: 396-8960.

        Mr. Allard, now 64, says the title was carefully chosen. The book is not “a portrait of America,” which would imply a photographic collection covering all facets of American life.

        Rather, “It's portraits of parts of America that I've found appealing over the years, and it includes a long love affair I had with the American West.”

        He is particularly fond of Montana, where in 1969 he entered the world of the Hutterites. The religious group lives communally, observes a restrictive lifestyle, and, like the Amish, often refuses to be photographed.

        Mr. Allard cultivated friendships among the Hutterites that last to this day. He devotes a chapter to them in Portraits of America. As in much of his work, the photos mostly focus on people: children at a prayer meeting, a young woman braiding her hair, a boy in a horse barn.

        Each chapter begins with an essay by Mr. Allard. In the chapter titled “Out West,” he writes: “When it comes right down to it, there isn't much that's really romantic about being a cowboy when you consider the hard work under baking or freezing conditions, the long days, and low pay.”

Amish boy in Lancaster County, Pa., holds a pet guinea pig (1964). | ZOOM |

        More telling are the accompanying photos, which include shots of calf branding, horse wrangling, a cow camp at dawn and portraits of buckaroos.

        As much as he loves the West, Mr. Allard's favorite assignment was making photos for a 1997 National Geographic article titled “Traveling the Blues Highway.” The article told the story of African-Americans migrating from the Deep South to the north, and how their music, which they brought with them, evolved.

        Covering the story meant spending considerable time in blues bars. It was hardly a hardship for Mr. Allard, who says his next choice of career would have been musician.

        “What could be better than going to a club, staying up late, listening to some great music,” he says. What's more, potential pictures were plentiful.

        “(But) it doesn't mean your pictures are great. When you get into a situation where pictures are everywhere, that's when you better watch out. It's like a hunter walking through a field, and a covey of quail gets up. The instinct is to shoot at that covey. But you've got to pick a bird.”

Jimmy Lee Robinson at Smokedaddy's in Cgicago (undated). | ZOOM |

        Likewise, he found the potential for sensory overload when he accepted an assignment on minor league baseball in the summer of 1990. He traveled to ballparks in nearly a dozen states.

        “When you walk into those places, there's always that (adrenaline) rush about how it looks and how it feels and how it smells. El Paso ... was just a kick. All these blues and oranges and greens and yellows. It looked like a fiesta.”

        But it's people that stand out in his photographs, from the forlorn look of an El Paso Diablos pitcher in the dressing room after a bad outing, to the gleeful faces of the Diablos celebrating a division title.

        Mr. Allard's work has taken him to about two dozen countries, but he has never lacked for fascinating subjects in America. That's what has kept him in America for most of his career.

        “I often think how lucky I am that I'm doing something that I love as much now, or maybe even more, than when I started. But that's also what keeps the juices going. I'm still growing.”

Photographer creates portraits of America
KNIPPENBERG: Singer draws heavenly crowds
KIESEWETTER: Networks get real, pull reality TV
Get to it
Islamic women called to be faithful to family, God
King, Straub dark partners
Humorous, but serious, encounters with 'pets'
Tristate best sellers list
What Tristaters are reading
Owner is boutique's best ad
Linda Love puts on a show