Lewis is an environmental and cultural large format photographer. His goal is to show and tell and to give the viewer an opportunity to look with time to reflect. By photographing on a large format camera he has the time himself to reflect on the purpose of the image.
Lewis’s artworks in this exhibition are a small part of a journey exploring the rainforests of the British isles. Not many know of this unique environment which is extremely rare around the world, it covers less than 1% of the earth’s surface.
Temperate rainforest can be found along the western seaboard of the United Kingdom, from Cornwall and the south west, south, west and north west Wales, the Lakes, as well as the Highlands and remote north western regions of Scotland.
When working in a habitat such as this there is no point in rushing, this is where the process of large format cameras and film sheets are a joy to work with in such a landscape.
The oldest form of photography in an ancient environment, then waiting on the light, the seasons, the weather and the oceanic climate that creates the species of fauna that can be found tucked away.
The Process:
“The film sheets are purchased, different films for different situations, slide and negative. The film is loaded into film holders, this is done in a light sealed tent so the sheets are not exposed to light. Once loaded they are placed into my camera bag with the rest of the equipment. Once a scene is found and a lens is chosen, the bellows of the camera are extended until focus is found whilst placed on a tripod. Tilt and shift, rise and fall may be needed for further tweaking.
Exposures are read with a hand meter, then F-stops and time are dialled into the lens, the shutter opens and the light hits the film that drinks in the scene. The negative, when back ,is taken out of the holder in the light tent and boxed at the same time, again no light must touch the film. The negatives are then sent away for development and returned when ready. You then look at your negative on a light box, the nerves are jangling in case of a mistake in your exposure. When you are happy the negative is then drum scanned for optimum quality and you create the artwork that was in the mind’s eye when at the scene.”
