2022-2023

There has been an opening up of all of Ken’s retail outlets on Merseyside. All major trips are still on hold, just days out on his local patch. In 2022 Ken was given the opportunity to shine in Gordale Garden Centre. He has a comprehensive range of prints for sale in the Gallery. He is also supplying homeware products in the form of Glass Worktop Protectors. In 2023 he supplied Nature Products to North Wales Wildlife Trust to sell in their outlets in North Wales. This year things are looking very positive and Ken has a week planned recording the flora and fauna in Anglesey which is a honeypot for wildlife. And there is more positive news still, Liverpool is hosting The Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. And not to be left out, the Wirral is hosting the Open Golf Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake.

2020 Onwards

The last three years due to covid etc saw kelimages impacted greatly. No trips away and no business opportunity whatsoever in 2020 all outlets were closed. But in 2021 things did pick up in a small way. Then in 2022 there was a marked upturn due to the world coming back to some kind of normality.

2020

Ken has been awarded The Northern Enterprise Award for Nature Photographer of the Year (North West). (Click on Image to read article)

November 2020
After many hours of burning the midnight oil and early mornings, kelimages finally a secure website for payment etc It is not simple to change to a secure site but with the help of Emma of Robinson Designs and a multitude of emails to jumpline.com the process is completed if you click on the lock on top left you see that this is the case. The reason for his site to be secure is in the future Ken is hoping to offer Credit Card payment alongside Paypal which he uses now.

What a year it's been with very little business due to Covid-19, but Ken has been out with his Canon G10 on local walks in the last couple weeks before the new lockdown. Ken has been Informed that he has been named. Nature Photographer of Year 2020 in the North West this is for his Nature Images on his website. It's been late coming, better late than never.

2019

His business went into hyper drive, which was a blessing in disguise and kept his mind of negative thoughts, there were no time for tours, just a few one day shoots, and lots of sales of his many products.

2018

At the end of August the 31st saw Ken’s only son Paul Francis Lewis passed away after 8 years of Mental Health problems , Ken and his family where devastated If you listen to the song Starry Starry Night you will understand. To this present day when he looks at his picture and he says to him self what a waste of a beautiful human being. Sleep the long sleep PF.

In June Ken was off on a nature tour to the Island of Islay with his long standing photo friend Robert Devenish for one week, the weather was set fair what could go wrong? a lot!
They had their sights set on Hen Harriers and Maritime Otters. They were told by the RSPB warden that Harriers were behind with incubation and were not hutting much. Ken called this the Lewis luck. In fairness we did see them most days but weere unable to capture them on the wing.
As for Otters again we saw them but always a long way away. They decided to visit the Island of Jura and while waiting for the ferry Ken got out of the 4x4 to look for them , a large dog Otter was swimming away just 10 foot away but he had no camera not even a mobile phone. It’s the Lewis luck again.
The next day they both staked out the this location for the hole day but the Otter never appeared and that was that, “ it is what it is” apparently Otters only active feeding and bathing in fresh water for two hours a day, which is a small window of opportunity for a shot.
They decided to go on Wildlife Tour with Garry for the day and it turned out to be waste of their time and money, what they did see was just dot on the Horizon.
Kens favourite mammals our Brown Hares were spread all over the Island, they used the 4x4 with scrim netting on the windows to break up their profiles, they managed some evening sweet light GSO’s and using this technique Ken managed the shot of the week with a Meadow Pipit with lots of insects in it’s beak, Robert missed this one he was on the wrong side of his the vehicle, “ he was not a happy bunny “

 
Early June has been booked for a week on the Island of Islay Scotland. Ken is hoping to capture on camera Hen Harriers hunting, and Golden Eagles souring on the thermals, and if he is really lucky he may encounter a maritime Otter. Islay has one of the highest population of Hen Harriers in the UK thanks to the sterling work by the RSPB with simple land management. Last year there were six pairs of Harriers on Islay and between them they raised 20 chicks. In the whole of England there were just three pairs of Hen Harriers. It is estimated that there is enough habitat in England for at least three hundred pairs but due to greedy land owners who will not tolerate Hen Harriers on their grouse moors or any other wildlife that might affect their lucrative income. This is a National scandal. “ YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE “ are day will come.

In the Spring Ken is hoping to photograph at the RSPB Reserve at Minsmere. Target species, Stoats, Weasels and Avocets on the many scrapes.

2017

This was a sad milestone year for Ken. After many years of using his motorhomes to travel the length and breadth of this wonderful island he sold his brand new motorhome which was a Swift. Although they gave Ken a lot of pleasure and an opportunity for business, the problem was that they were constantly breaking down and not reliable.
Photographically, the highlight of this year was covering the International Clipper Race which started in the River Mersey and will finish in 2018 in Liverpool. It was a great photographic opportunity. Ken has a Clipper  Race Limited Edition dibond print 71 cm x 54 cm in Dee Fine Arts, Heswall.

March 2016

Ken was off to Gibraltar for a week in the spring. His target species were birds of prey on migration across the Straits of Gibraltar, but due to unfavourable wind conditions the migration was not taking place. So Ken, turned his attention to the colony of Barbary Macaques and he also had several boat trips photographing common and bottle nosed dolphins. It was not the best time of the year, July being the most optimum time. He did manage some good images though.

October 2015

October saw Ken working on the Great Orme in Llandudno. His target species were cashmere goats rutting and the rare elusive Choughs. Due to a warm autumn the former was not happening, but he got some good behavior shots anyway. He also achieved a first with some very usable flight shots of Choughs and Kestrels.

September 2015

High pressure was well in charge and Ken was off in his new motorhome. At last the weather looked settled which is what he needed. He was off to a beautiful part of the country, St David’s in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales. He booked in with the Thousand Island jet boat which takes you out to the Celtic Deep an area of sea twenty miles off the coast of St David’s. What a spectacle this was. He was surrounded by diving gannets and common dolphins. It was difficult to know where to point the camera. He also had a day on Ramsey Island which is an RSPB reserve. In his own words “I have never seen so many raptors in one area as there were on Ramsey Island. Well worth a day out”

.

May 2015

May saw the magnificent 3 Queens visit the Port of Liverpool for the 175th anniversary of the Cunard celebrations. They included Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and last but not least, Queen Victoria. What a stunning day it turned out to be with estimated crowds of one and a half million to see this once in a lifetime extravaganza, and yes of course, Ken was there and got a fabulous image of all 3 with the Red Arrows crossing the Mersey. In Ken’s words and I quote, “It’s been the most lucrative image Ken has ever taken in all his career as a Freelance Photographer”.

March 2015

Spring - the spring started very poor with all his locations he usually visits, ie, Marshside, Carr Mill Dam were drawing photographically poor results. I conclude it was due to strong cool winds which held up breeding season.

October 2014

Ken headed to St Davids in his Hymer motorhome.   The tour was to photograph Common Dolphins leaping and interacting in the Celtic deep offshore, but again the weather thwarted his ambitions.   But it is penciled in for next year

Early Autumn September - Gannets at Bass Rock

After a failed first attempt to photograph the Gannets due to adverse weather conditions, ie, gale force winds.  With two of Ken’s photographic friends, Carol and Robert, Ken once again headed north of the border to North Berwick, Scotland.   This trip turned out to be the piece de resistance of Ken’s year.  He booked a landing on the island of Bass Rock with the Scottish Sea Bird Centre and on the return trip to Dunbar he did an hour of intensive chumming.  In Ken’s own words, “It was truly stunning to see hundreds of Gannets diving for the fish just feet away from the fishing boat”.  This will be an annual event I am sure for Ken.

Summer July 2014

Ken was given a media pass by Liverpool City Council to cover the 3 Giants visit to Liverpool.  It was a 4 day event which he covered photographically.  The 3 larger than life marionettes operated by the Grand de Luxe Company of Nantes brought into Liverpool millions of visitors to watch this spectacular street theatre extravaganza.   From the images that Ken achieved he has made a montage of all 3 marionettes which can be purchased on the site. 

Spring 2014 March to May

Ken visited one of his favourite locations on Merseyside which is Carr Mill Dam.  It is probably  one of the finest locations in the UK  to photograph Great Crested Grebes.

He managed an image which has been on his wish list for many a year.  After mating the male leaps off the female which is pretty spectacular and this image was achieved at last.  Also, a series of “Ahhh” images of the young chicks interacting with their parents.