Photographer Kenneth Edward Lewis : KELimages Nature Photography

All About KELimages And Its Proprietor

The Beginning Of A Passionate Relationship

Kenneth Edward Lewis in working attire

Ken Lewis' life in nature photography began with a general fascination with the natural world. He was introduced to nature by his late father, and Ken fondly remembers, as a young child of six years old, walking to the far end of Lake Bala in North Wales. His father would point out the widlife and the sounds they make. This is a memory which has stayed with Kenneth to this day, as he recalls, "my father pointed out the enchanting call of the curlew and, at that moment in time, my direction in life was changed forever".

The Beauty Of A Locality

In his thirties, Ken joined the Merseyside Naturalist Group, which gave him a greater insight into a world of natural beauty close to his home turf, and a knowledge of sites of interest and beauty to visit throughout the North West of England. However, this alone was not enough for Ken who, not satisfied to simply to watch the world of nature on the sidelines as a casual observer, wanted to explore further, to understand the things he saw, and to capture them forever.

Photography, of course, was the answer, and with assistance from his brother Allan - a freelance Photographer - Ken took his first steps into nature photography.

Introducing The Camera

Kenneth Edward Lewis on location in Ecrins National Park, France

Many years later, and you are looking at the result of Ken's work. An astonishing and beautiful portfolio of work which not only shows Ken as a first-class photographer, but also as someone who has immersed himself in his subject, understanding it, respecting it, and - above all - continuing to be passionate about it. In his own words, "it has been a great experience which has taken me into Europe and further afield. I am still fascinated by the natural world and all of its diversities. You only see what you know."

A Professional Understanding

From those humble beginnings at Lake Bala, Ken has turned his passion into his profession, and has managed to combine a professional approach to photography with an understanding of the world surrounding us. Ken's images represent the natural world at its most truthful and innocent, opening up to us a world of flora, fauna, and exotic species of animals that many of us will never see. But, behind the innocent beauty of the images there is the work of a master of his trade. Behind the lens, there is a host of craftsmanship and technology at work.
KELimages began a number of years ago, although Ken has used the name KEL since studying Graphic Design as a youngster at Laird School of Art. He used to sign his work KEL, which stands for Kenneth Edward Lewis, and the name stuck with him. It seemed a natural progression that it should go on to become the name of his company in later years.

The Technical Details Of Nature

An enormous amount of equipment goes into the process of nature photography, and Ken knows this only too well. Currently, he uses a multitude of cameras and lenses. Ken regularly uses Canon Eos photographic equipment to capture his images, plus several tripods and a number of hides. He also uses a 4X4 and a caravan to keep running costs to a minimum. As you can see, it takes a lot of equipment and a lot of time to produce the right image.

Kenneth Edward Lewis on location in Provence

Into The Digital Age

Ken, like many photographers, is discovering the pleasures of digital photography and imaging at the moment, and is experimenting with a digital camera, an Apple iMac, digital image manipulation software, and a professional slide scanner. He prints his images on an Epson 2001 Archival Printer. The arrival of professional quality digital photography gives Ken full-control over his images, from clicking the shutter to framing the finished print.

Writing The Image

In addition to his photographic work, Ken Lewis is a published writer, having authored numerous articles about the natural world, and also presents slide lectures on his work. His first illustrated article was about fly fishing, published in the Trout & Salmon Magazine.
Ken's written and visual work can often be seen gracing the pages of the Canon EOS Magazine, and in 2001 he had a number of photographic-slides of bird images accepted by Dorling Kindersley for their Encyclopaedia of Animals. Ken has lately been working on a number of introductory articles for several magazines.
In April an illustrated article was published in Cheshire Life about the Red Rocks Nature Reserve, Wirral. In July French magazine published an illustrated article on the Ecrins National Park in France.

Links to more pages on KELimages.com:

Nature photographs by UK photographer Ken Lewis - Kelimages.com