Finding the Wonder in the Simple The Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I was surprised at how beautiful this little preserve is as it follows the cascading Tucquan Creek down to the Susquehanna River. The hiking trails look well traveled so I was happy to be there on a cold weekday that was free of the weekend and [...]
Why We Photograph What We Photograph This photograph is part of a series about the ruins of an 18th century stone house. It was a bit of a surprise to find this building during a hike, especially one made of stone where this home is located. I thought it may be a good idea to discuss how I made the image. Vision It is important to have intent in your art. The method [...]
For Everyone Else, Creating Something from Nothing I recently had the amazing privilege of leading a group of photographers on my first Pine Barrens Photography Workshop. It was a great experience showing off this special place to both local and not-so-local photographers. When I teach workshops, I am not there to take photographs. Most of the time, I don't even bother to [...]
We all can use some serenity, right? When color landscape photography is posted on social media, it is the colorful, over-saturated and dramatically composed images that seem to rack up the likes. Here is an interesting fact. Scientific studies show that while images, photographic or otherwise, with intense color catch the attention immediately, they tend to not be remembered in the long term. I'm [...]
Mixing Hiking and Photography When it is time to clear one's head or just find a little peace and quiet, the woods are the best place to be. Around here, that woods is the New Jersey Pine Barrens. After spending weeks preparing for my first solo exhibition of photographs from the Franklin Parker Preserve in the Pine Barrens, I felt a [...]
A Morning In 17th Century It's amazing how a nice sunrise can provide an incredible sense of peace. That is what I found one morning in the Village of Sleepy Hollow, New York. There is an old historic site there called the Philipsburg Manor that dates back to 1693. Normally this place is full of people enjoying a pleasant spot on the Hudson River. However, at 6am on [...]
When Ordinary Becomes Beautiful Cold Winter Light by Richard Lewis 2017 It doesn't snow much in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, so when it does, it's time to head out to find something to photograph. This old bog in the Franklin Parker Preserve seemed like a nice place to look. Usually the stumps of these old cedar trees look like abstract designs, however [...]
The Struggle Between the Inner Artist and Inner Engineer Fading Winter Light by Richard Lewis 2017 I love going out on New Year's Day to hike to get a first photo of the year. This year the first photograph of 2017 was made on January 8. Why? Because I've been feverishly preparing for a solo exhibition of my New Jersey Pine [...]
My First Desert Storm For a guy from New Jersey, the the power of the desert is very impressive. It is a harsh environment that requires strength to survive, let alone thrive in. Yet it is also a place of amazing beauty and Joshua Tree National Park is a great example of that. This is why I keep being drawn back there. As many times as [...]
What happens to a seaside paradise when the seaside gets toxic The story of Bombay Beach, California is an unusual one. In the early 1900's an attempt to control the Colorado River for irrigation backfired when flood waters filled the Salton Basin creating the Salton Sea. This new sea in the desert may have been an environmental disaster, but was and still is the largest lake in [...]
Morning in the California Desert I love the "tortured landscape" of Joshua Tree National Park. Under the right light it can range from dramatic to alien with just a touch of the surreal. On this particular morning the soft diffused morning light was pretty consistent, so it was not necessary to work quickly to catch that quickly vanishing moment of perfect light. I took advantage [...]
The remains of a South Jersey Farm Abandoned Farm House by Richard Lewis 2016 I noticed this old abandoned farm house by accident while driving. I just happened to glance at the side of the road and saw it at the end of a long and very overgrown driveway. The house is a typical early to mid 19th century South Jersey [...]
Missouri's Rugged, Beautiful Landscape Here are more photographs from my trip to the Ozark Mountains in Southern Missouri with photographer Craig McCord. In my previous post I showed the old mills we visited which were set in a beautiful and rugged landscape. The photographs below show more of that landscape. There were not a lot of opportunities to photograph the grand landscape of the Ozark [...]
The Old Mills and Landscape of Southern Missouri When I signed up for Craig McCord's photography workshop in the Ozark Mountains, he probably thought I made a mistake. Why would a guy from New Jersey go to southern Missouri to take pictures? Shouldn't I be going to the Grand Canyon, the Grand Tetons or some other place with grand in its name for great photography? Well, I [...]
An evening on the Ben Franklin Bridge What makes South Jersey an interesting and unique place to live is that you are close to the wilderness forests of the New Jersey Pinelands and the City of Philadelphia. One can enjoy both city and country life without traveling very far. There is a pedestrian walkway on the Ben Franklin Bridge that spans the Delaware River and connects [...]
A Remnant of Personal History 2018 Update: When I posted these photographs in 2016 I had no idea what would happen. These photographs have inspired former campers at Cejwin to share their experiences in the comments. This post has gone from being about photography to being a community. If you are here to see my work, also read the comments so you [...]