Allegheny Township teen finds Alle-Kiski Valley towns, the outdoors compelling photographic subjects

Tyler McCandless is a teen shutterbug.

Photography is his go-to hobby, trekking solo locally and regionally — hiking and photographing small historic towns and natural landscapes.

McCandless, 18, lives in the Markle section of Allegheny Township and is a freshman studying environmental engineering at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

He was born in Maine and lived in Ohio but has called Western Pennsylvania home since moving here in the second grade.

He said the photography bug hit when he was about 12.

“I’ve always liked taking pictures, and my mom put me in photography lessons when I was little,” McCandless said. “But I’m really self-taught. I like to challenge myself creatively and randomly — just by going outside anytime of the day and trying to get something good out of it.”

He describes himself as always “exploring, learning or working” on his Facebook account.

Two jobs in Allegheny Township, one at River Forest Country Club and another at The Crossroads Inn, help to finance his hobby.

He shoots with a Canon EOSR camera and said his hobby can get expensive.

“The camera body is about $2,000, and then the lenses cost more,” McCandless said.

Leechburg is one of his favorite towns to focus on.

“I like small towns in general. The architecture of Leechburg and Market Street is always of interest to me,” said McCandless, a Kiski Area High School alumnus.

McCandless frequently posts his photographs of Leechburg to The Leechburg Beat, a private Facebook group.

“I live here. I stay local. Not many people are photographing these small towns,” McCandless said. “You have to stop and look at things. And I love the bridges around here.”

He recalled a photographic highlight last summer during a solo hike in West Virginia.

“It was the Fourth of July, and it was super hot. I was hoping it would rain. I hiked 12 miles to get that trail shot,” said McCandless, describing a stunning trek that resulted in a memorable shot of the trail and surrounding mountain vista.

Tyler’s mother, Candace, said she noticed his interest in photography at a young age.

“He was 5 or 6 years old with a Fisher Price camera, and about 11 or 12 when we got him a nice one,” Candace McCandless said. “He’s always loved nature and our weather. I love that he’s exploring our state forests and small towns.”

For McCandless, studying engineering equates to what he hopes will be job security down the road.

“The photography industry can be unstable,” he said. “My plan is to go on with engineering even though I’ve sold a few prints.”