He was born in 1974 in Racine, Wisconsin. He studied at the Southeast Museum School of Photography in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he learned all the basics of photography and print making. Allen excelled in Fine Art photography and Alternative Processes, developing his own variation of the â€œPaper Negativeâ€. Allen worked for 3 years at The Southeast Museum of Photography. There he had the opportunity to meet and talk to many of the worldâ€™s leading contemporary fine art and professional photographers. He was also often surrounded by works of the Masters of Photography.