ENTRY DESCRIPTION
It has been a dream to pair one of the world's most celebrated mountains with one of Africa's most iconic elephants for several years. I have lost count of the times I have had a clear mountain but no tusker or vice versa. After nearly 100 days in Amboseli, my dream finally came true.

This image highlights a couple of key things for me. Very little would be different in this photograph, whether it was taken today or 100 years ago. However, years ago, the snow on Kilimanjaro would have stretched down to the cloudline, highlighting our need to take drastic measures to improve the health of our planet. On the other hand, this image brings me great hope. The elephant, known as "TJ", is only 34 years old and has one of Africa's most impressive sets of ivory. They are, in fact, more prominent than Tim's were at this age. TJ will indeed become one of the most immense elephants to walk the plains of East Africa in modern history. Considering all the challenges elephants have faced, I find it inspiring that mammoth-like elephants still exist today. Special mention must be given to Big Life Foundation for this image because, without their work, TJ's tusks would most likely have been cut into small pieces in the Far East by now.

I love how the top of TJ's head and ears appear similar to the shape of the mountain above and how the texture and folds of his skin echo on the mountain. It provides the perfect connection between these two icons of Africa.

I sincerely hope to remake the portrait in 15 years when TJ could be the most impressive tusker in Africa.

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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