Lewis Kemper has been photographing the natural beauty of North America, and its parklands for over 40 years. During his travels, he has been to 47 states from Alaska to Florida. His international travel has taken him to over 10 countries including, China, Tibet, India, Iceland to name a few.
He received a BA in Fine Art Photography from the George Washington University in 1976. The grandeur of the west beckoned and Lewis moved to Yosemite National Park, where he lived for 11 years. From 1978 until 1980, he worked at The Ansel Adams Gallery. Working at the gallery gave him the opportunity to meet, observe and learn from some of the greatest photographers of our time.
Kemper’s photographs are in many private collections as well as in the permanent collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art, Kaiser Permanente, and UCD Medial Center. His work has been shown nationally in galleries and museums including: The Frederick S. Wight Gallery, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Cornell Museum, The Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, The Popular Photography Gallery, The Ansel Adams Gallery, Photographer’s Gallery and the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. Lewis teaches photography for many organizations including Palm Beach Photographic Centre, Santa Fe Workshops, Light Photographic Workshops, and Aspen. He served as one of Canon’s Explorers of Light for 10 years. And serves as a Tamron Ambassador.
He has written or photographed for many books and magazines. Lewis was the photographer for, “Ancient Ancestors of the Southwest”, published by Graphic Arts Center Publishing. Kemper’s monograph, “Capturing the Light” won the People’s Choice Awards in Fine Art in the 2009 Photography.Book.Now competition. His publication “Photographing Yosemite Digital Field Guide” was voted in the top 20 field guides. Lewis’ multimedia presentation, “My Stretch of the River: A Photographer’s Journal”, features a years worth of photography and journal entries on the American River in Sacramento, CA.
His work has been published in many books including publications by The Sierra Club, The National Geographic Society, Little and Brown, APA Insight Guides, Prentice Hall, and Hyperion Books. His pictures have appeared in calendars published by Audubon, The Sierra Club, The Mono Lake Coalition, Self Realization Foundation, Golden Turtle Press, Avalanche Publishing, Browntrout, The Nature Conservancy, Tide-Mark Press and others. His work has appeared in magazines that include: Backpacker, Women’s Sports and Fitness, The Walking Magazine, Sierra, Motorland, Environmental Protection Magazine, National Wildlife, National Geographic Traveler, American Photographer, View Camera, Digital Photo, Camera Arts, Shutterbug, PC Photo, Currents and Outdoor Photographer.