ENTRY DESCRIPTION
I have never even dreamt of encountering a moment like this. It’s a moment I thought impossible to capture with a wild leopard. But right at this second, years of searching for unique moments in the wild came together into one unforgettable experience. I couldn’t have been in a better place at a better time.

The previous afternoon, I had been at the exact location with a young male leopard hiding high up in the canopy with a bushbuck kill. The following morning, we were in the same area and could see the tree in the distance. My guide asked, shall we go back and see if that leopard is still there? There hadn’t been a photographic opportunity the day before, but I felt it would be crazy not to revisit and see if the leopard was still there, perhaps in a better part of the tree.

To our surprise, we found this large male sleeping on a low-level branch, and the bushbuck carcass was now in a different part of the tree. After a few minutes of trying to figure out what had happened during the night, we heard movement high up in the canopy, which to our astonishment, turned out to be the young male leopard moving towards the kill. It was obvious that this large male had stolen the kill for himself. With the movement high up in the canopy, the large male woke immediately and gave a warning growl. Within seconds, he stood up and walked to the bottom crook of the tree. I suddenly realised what might be about to happen and rapidly adjusted my camera settings. In a flash, the leopard leapt across to another branch and went to guard his stolen food.

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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