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When someone asks me where my passion for photography comes from, I feel the immense pressure to say, “It was my destiny!” Anyone else?
Truth is, this is not the case for me. In fact when my parents used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer for many years was: “I want to be a dinosaur” (I know, don’t ask).
Don’t get me wrong, I had a camera as a young whippersnapper, a Canon Powershot, and I burnt that shutter button clean out! I took pictures of everything: sea creatures, seascapes, landscapes, insects, textures and my grandma’s outstanding wallpaper. But partly, this was just me being a kid. The other part, the deeper creative drive – which I didn’t realize at such a young age – would be the reason for reshaping my future from 26 onwards.
My passion for photography stems entirely from the ocean. I was born and raised in a delightful part of the UK called Leicester (East Midlands). I can’t make fun of it; I had a childhood many wished for, living in the countryside for most of it and in nice houses with land. My parents allowed me to spend my weekends building dens, falling headfirst from trees and making my own mistakes, but they also did a great job of making sure I turned out to be a respectful, polite and well mannered man despite my flaws.
When I wasn’t in Leicester following the set route (being late for school, home-time, demanding food, bypassing homework to hang with mates), I was venturing down south to Cornwall with my parents. My dad is, and has always been an avid Skipper, on motorboats to be precise. They started out as small powerboats in the early days of my parents’ marriage, then slowly but surely they got bigger and better. The final boat we settled on as a family was a 50ft Sealine, white and blue, with a small crane on the back which cradled my Tender (a small inflatable Rib with a 15hp Yamaha outboard engine on the back – Yeah, nice). This, or so I liked to think, was MINE, my escape from the world, my transport to the nearest adventure, and my vessel for unknowingly breaking most of the boating traffic laws.
The most notable moment in this endless mission was the sighting of an Eel as I patrolled the beach like Tom Hanks in Cast Away… I spotted it swimming up a tidal stream which was flowing back down into the sea from a rocky jetty – I had never seen an eel before. My parents watched from afar, as I scurried up the jetty like a crazed person, sliding and face planting every other bound. “I GOT IT!” – I yelled turning round to my parents in sheer excitement to reveal the foot long slimy eel, and my now shredded arms and legs of which the razor sharp barnacles had made light work.
"A strange child for sure, but I was free. I was a kid and yet in my mind I was a coastal adventurer with nothing to worry about other than the sole responsibility of having fun and maximising each day, rain or shine."
Through my own research and photographs taken, I became very knowledgeable of marine life and I slowly built up the aspiration to become a marine biologist leaving the dinosaur idea as plan B. I was even blessed with a baby brother to take with me on these excursions and show him the ropes.
Then young adulthood attacked – college, house moves, girlfriends… The boat was sold, marina fees had increased to an unworkable price and my dad suffered an almighty blow from the 2008 recession. Meanwhile, I finished my education and it was time to enter adulthood. Regrettably, the Marine Biologist plans had slowly fizzled away due to lack of time around the ocean. I’d always considered the idea of joining the military but wanted to remain connected to the sea, so the Amphibious Royal Marine commandos was the direction I went for and before I knew it I was serving at 40 Commando as a trained Royal Marine. I travelled all over the world on training exercises, blazing the hot deserts of Jordan, the humid Belize jungles, Gibraltar, Dubai, Abu-dhabi, Bahrain, Albania, Southern California, Norway and many more.
It was an unusual change of lifestyle and pace. Now I was surrounded by the big boys, men who have just returned from long and arduous tours of Afghanistan, men who understandably had very little time for new guys! But life was good, I was travelling, I was working hard, and I was happy. Like many others, I thought being a marine was purely about being tough, possessing large biceps and having 0% fear – All of which does not apply to me. The reality is very different. Most marines are humble and have no desire or need to brag or shout about their job title, and more often than not they are – in appearance, no different to any other person.
However, the truth is, it’s a mental robustness. My childhood was long forgotten, and even some of my personality seemed to have faded into the past. During 32 weeks of intensive training you are pushed beyond what you thought you would ever be capable of. You surpass physical and mental limits that really do make you question why you are voluntarily putting yourself through it, especially when it’s 3am on a wet Saturday winter morning and you’re being put through a seemingly never ending physical training session.
Nevertheless, I can say without doubt that it has been a career that has given me an abundance of strengths, skills and knowledge that I would have otherwise been without, and will now possess for the rest of my life. I know I have the knowledge, and baseline skills, safety awareness and understanding to conduct creative work in any climate, especially the mountainous and coastal regions. My time in the marines will soon be at an end to pursue a new direction in life.
"It is funny how the most seemingly insignificant choices can have impacts that change the entire course of your life. For me, it was the choice to hire a surfboard and try my luck at one of my local beaches, Croyde."
I had left 40 Commando and had been moved to a base further south in North Devon. The work was undesirable and more logistical than infantry/soldier work, and I began to lose my passion for the military lifestyle. I felt unfulfilled, but due to the location of this base, I was surrounded by a very nostalgic environment, the coast, and I had no idea it was about to absorb me once more.
I decided to head out and seek a new adventure and try my luck surfing for the first time. I went out with the attitude that because I was a marine it would be a piece of pie. I nearly killed myself on the backline with all the pro’s on a huge orange foam board in 6ft swell – I thought I could outmatch the ocean and was quickly put in the hurt locker.
But after four hours of battling, I caught one wave and stood up for a mere two seconds which felt like a lifetime. I fell in love instantly. Something was triggered deep within being back by the coast after so many years since the childhood days in Falmouth. I felt genuine happiness flood my body as I floated on the board and absorbed one of the most beautiful sunsets I’d ever seen…
"I was a kid again at the age of 26. And I wished I could have saved what my eyes were seeing so I could have referred back to it and re-lived that moment. I wished I could have shared it with others. And just like that, I realised I was missing one thing - I needed a camera."
I have plans to dive deeper into coastal themed photography but also to expand my niche of land/seascape and outdoor adventure to other climates such as mountainous regions in the colder months like Snowdonia, North Wales, Scottish highlands and across seas to Iceland and the Faroe Islands. But regardless where I end up, I now know for sure that I am destined to be living and working by the sea, where I have always been, and always will be, my happiest self.
"I have always struggled with the concept that humans can live happily in an artificial world without adequate exposure back into Nature."
I strongly believe this to be true – for everyone, some of us just haven’t experienced it yet. When we look at the majority of conflict, unease and lack of happiness and mental unrest, we can see the percentage is far greater in urban environments such as towns and big cities, and far less present in rural/natural ones. I truly believe this is because we are not made for long term concrete living; we are naturally designed to be amongst nature and should cease every opportunity to revisit it and escape the cities we are tied to. There is a reason we all flock to the beaches or the great outdoors during holiday seasons – It’s what the soul desires. That cannot be ignored. Whether we class ourselves as a “city person” or not.
When we are kids, the only responsibility we have is to make sure we are having fun, and for many like me, this was achieved by long days being outside. And then when I became a teenager I left this behind and took up gaming consoles, social media addiction, endless nights out and buying clothes to make myself look like someone I wasn’t. For many youngsters now, this lifestyle starts even earlier – childhood is 90% indoors, gaming,TV and computers, not to mention being glued to social media on the latest iPhone. And whilst this is fine in moderation, it very rarely stays in moderation. I now know having felt the mental strain of that type of lifestyle myself, that this is simply not living. As soon as I changed this, I was forced to go out and adventure again, on the never ending hunt for naturally sourced dopamine.
I now find myself feeling uncomfortable in urban environments for anything more than a social night at a bar or restaurant with friends. I long to be immersed back into nature, back by the sea or in the mountains.
My favorite photo actually represents an important encounter whilst wandering the Valley of Rocks in North Devon. Here I found Jeff, an old mountain goat that approached me as if he was expecting a private modelling shoot. He was calm and confident, wearing his wisdom like armour while making his way up the mountain. I enjoyed his company for a few minutes as he posed against the foggy backdrop before taking the shot with my first Canon 80D camera, and after which I would take the leap to Sony and bankrupt myself.
The end result was a side portrait of Jeff with a misty foggy background, which to this day remains my favourite photo (and wallpaper). The reason for this being my favourite shot is the emotions I was feeling at the time. I was (and still am) working with the Royal Marines, but I had a camera and a brewing passion for taking pictures. The never ending anxiety and overthinking of how and if I could make something from photography, or whether I should just enjoy it as a hobby.
At that moment in time I was so nervous, terrified in fact – to let go of a stable career and income source to pursue such a long journey of uncertainty, something far less secure and risky. I had no confidence in my ability to take this journey on and just trust the process. Jeff however, was confident, he had never seen me before nor I him, he had no reason to trust me but he did.
"He saw his path up to the peak of the rocks, a journey that was hindered by a human standing close by, a potential threat to his comfort, but he took the risk and pursued his path. And I took his teachings."
As a result, Jack Lewin Photography arose, and will be subject to many changes in the coming years. I think the first major change will be a renaming of the brand, this is due to the latest venture working with video as well as photography. In conjunction with this I will make continuous improvements to my website and a better colour palette flow on my Instagram feed and editing process. I’m not satisfied with my current editing style, although I am heading in the right direction and finally grasping a foot hold. I honestly believe this is a natural and common process of striving for false “perfection”. I don’t think we are ever 100% happy with our work, and I also believe this is a good thing, because the moment we think we are at a state of “perfection”, we have limited our own ability for growth and improvement.
My editing style at the moment is dark and contrasted. Mood and feel is a style I love to experiment with; my style will usually flow with my current state of emotions and this for me is a way to vent happiness, sadness, joy, and sorrow. I will however experiment with lighter, and more vibrant colours to blend more with the warm season. Whenever I get an idea for an image or vibe, I act on it. When I feel a creative light bulb ignite in my mind and find myself thinking on it for more than 5 minutes and developing it further in your head, I write it down. Failure to do this may result in completely forgetting that potentially game changing idea for good! I’ve fallen short on this many many times and now I don’t let that happen again.
"I have many ideas for the future and especially, I am hoping to immerse myself further into coastal photography with a potential route of underwater photography, perhaps even revisiting my love for marine life research and connecting with ocean activist teams to help protect and preserve what means so much to me."
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