ENTRY DESCRIPTION
After Tim's passing (the largest tusker in 35 years), Craig is the most famous of all African elephants. Of course, it was primarily due to his mammoth-like tusks, but Craig is such an exceptional elephant in that his character is as unique as his ivory. I found it hard to understand how trusting and friendly this elephant was when he is well aware of the danger his most magnificent feature places him. I have spent a lot of time with several tuskers over the past few years. On several occasions, I have witnessed them sticking their tusks inside bushes to hide them from humans, face the opposite direction, or other elephants moving in front to conceal the mighty tusks.

His character is as unique as his tusks because, within the same Ecosystem, other tuskers such as Tolstoy do not have anything like the same temperament. If Craig were not the legend that he is, this portrait would not exist.

I wanted my portrait of Craig to be different from anything I had taken before, which is why I chose to visit Amboseli in October when the dust becomes the defining feature of the area. I used a remote-controlled camera not to disturb him with a vehicle blocking his path. However, when he heard the first click of my camera, he stopped, which caused the ultra-fine Amboseli dust to rise around him. I took five photographs before he continued walking towards the water, and in the next frame, the dust covers the bottom half of the frame, distracting our attention from his tusks.

I see the end photograph as an almost biblical scene with Craig appearing to be standing within the clouds. What could be a better setting for one of the largest and most famous elephants on our Planet?

AUTHOR
James Lewin is a rapidly emerging contemporary photographic artist. He has a passion for conservation, focusing his attention on capturing African Wildlife in its most natural form.

By exercising an immersive and intimate approach, Lewin stives to connect people with East Africa’s magnificent yet vulnerable inhabitants. To capture his striking portraits, he utilises wide- angle lenses from highly unique perspectives, allowing the viewer to feel as if they were beside the animals within the frame. He views his work as an influential tool to raise both awareness and funds for the creatures he admires and spends time with. Twenty percent of every sale feeds directly back to conservation projects in Africa.

Lewin’s photographs have a timeless quality and convey that his wildlife subjects are endangered and may one day only be remembered through photography. He finds black & white a powerful reminder of this as people often associate a monochrome aesthetic with history. Like the photographic masters such as Sebastiao Salgado & Terry O’Neil, Lewin prints his work on silver gelatin. These prints are made using traditional photochemistry and are far superior in archival rating to other printing methods.

James' work has been awarded in multiple International Photography Awards, including the Monochrome Awards, Nature's Best Awards, Monovisions Photography Awards, ND Awards and Outdoor Photographer of the Year. James was ranked number 1 B&W Photographer in the UK and number 4 globally in the 2021 One Eyeland Top 10 Black & White Photographers Award. This included winning Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Wildlife Category. James was also a Hasselblad Masters Finalist which is one of the most prestigious professional photographic competitions in the World.

James' work is represented by The Drang Gallery (UK), ARTITLEDcontemporary (NL), Lyons Gallery (AUS) and Isabella Garrucho Fine Art (USA).

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