LARRY BOERSMA
Even those who went to school with Larry Boersma might not be aware of his award-winning career. No wonder, either, since he goes by Larry Allan professionally. Actually, he’s built quite the résumé with both names. After earning a BA (1953) and MA (1955) from UNO, he made it big in the magazine business — as Boersma. He moved to New York City and progressed from advertising sales to marketing director to vice president and associate publisher for such magazines as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies Home Journal, Saturday Evening Post and Photo World. In 1977 he switched gears, moving to California to take up pet photography and eventually becoming an expert in photographing the wild animals of North America. He’s 40 years into that trade — under the pen name Larry Allan. He has written a book on photography, “Creative Canine Photography,” and has authored and/or illustrated 15 other books about the wildlife of North America. His work also has appeared in magazines and movies and on TV. In 2005, the Sierra Club awarded him its Ansel Adams award “for superlative use of still photography to further a conservation cause.” He’s still at it, too, recently publishing “Florida Animals for Everyday Naturalists,” and a DVD, “Little Lost Mountain Lion.”