Biography
I’m not interested in reality….I want somebody to look at my work and think “I haven’t been to this place, but if I went there, that’s how I would feel” Alain Briot
I became interested in Landscape Photography kind of by accident. A relative in the USA used to send over a copy of the Arizona Highways calender every year, and I would spend ages admiring the photographs contained within it. At the end of every year, when the next one arrived I would tear out the pages I liked and stick them up on my wall, in amongst the posters of Metallica and Iron Maiden.
I always admired the photos, and although I had no understanding whatsoever of exposures, ISO speeds, filters and how the light interacts with the landscape, I knew what I liked and I suppose it's always had an influence on my photography. Once I discovered photography that is!
In 2003 I was serving with 4 PARA - the Reserve Parachute Regiment, and after returning from being mobilised for a tour of duty in Iraq I purchased my very first digital camera.
I started trying to take landscape photos as soon as I picked up a camera, without much success, and over the years my equipment and skills have progressed to the stage I am at now.
The quote from Alain Briot at the top of the page isn't meant to make me sound all 'arty farty'. However I make no apology if it does, as it sums up the way I feel about my photos. I'd like people to have some sort of emotional response to a shot, rather than just looking at it.
I work shifts with my current job, which limits the time I get away with my camera gear, so the time I spend away gets planned quite far in advance - direction of the sunrise, sunset, weather conditions. I also look at other peoples' photos to see what an area looks like if I have not been before and all sorts of other things.
More often than not however, it's mother nature who has the last laugh, and that's usually at my expense!
I hope you enjoy my work. Feel free to add to the guestbook with comments or ideas. (I'm always looking for ideas for locations!)
Lewis
July 2009
