Artist Howard Lewis explores light, form, and kinetic energy in this B&W photo exhibit, Kinetic Solitude, featured at the Dow Museum of Art, and by Lens Scratch Magazine. For the series, Howard was immersed thigh deep in cold water, all the while assessing the unpredictable movement of the water, and looking out for his safety and that of his equipment. "For the series I use my Sony A7rlll with a Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 lens and my Outex system"
From fossil hunting as a boy, to windsurfing and sail boating as an adult, Lewis has had a lifelong connection to water. Now he has turned his camera toward the water in order to seek out a different experience- solitude and the act of being present within nature. I asked him the significance of solitude within this work. He responded: “Some people might say it’s a kind of meditation, but I think of solitude when I’m photographing in the ocean as an opportunity to experience life at its fullest, not self-reflection.”
Howard Lewis is a New York based artist whose artwork explores the concepts of light, form and the perception of time. Through his camera, Lewis strives to capture the dimensional qualities of form as rendered by light, illuminating the texture and age of each subject through the synthesis of photographic elements.
My photographic series “Kinetic Solitude” seeks to create visual imagery that captures the mystery and unforgiving kinetic force of the oceans as darkness settles and signs of people are absent from the field of vision.
The exhilarating, kinetic beauty of the ocean is best experienced in storm-whipped waves in near darkness; at the height of its relentlessness. There is a visual rhythm seen through the lens that becomes somewhat predictable with time and practice; the foam will swirl right, the wave will break soon, white caps will appear by the upper corners of the frame.
When I’m photographing, I am often thigh-deep in cold water with the wind howling. I teeter at the edge of disaster, moving with the waves to get the right amount of visual motion, avoiding getting knocked over in the surf and at the same time protecting equipment. I wait for “contact moments” between and from waves to capture moments of uncertainty. The surface water, the undercurrents, the tides and I are all in motion, and there is only one ideal moment to hit the shutter and capture the right combination of wave and weather elements that creates my desired image.
I chose to print this black and white series emphasizing a maximum range of subtle dark and toned areas in contrast with luminous highlights to depict the character and energy of the ocean. The printing is intended to heighten the viewer’s experience and visualize my appreciation for the power, and the solitude of being present with nature.
The “Kinetic Solitude” Portfolio consists of 50 photographs created at twilight in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Photographed on digital media, the images are produced by the artist in limited editions on museum-quality archival paper.
