Mike Lewis
After attending film school at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Mike worked in film for about five years, during which time he wrote and directed several short films and an hour long documentary. His work in film culminated in a feature film that he wrote (with brother, Mark Lewis) called The Thaw, starring Val Kilmer and directed by his brother, Mark. After three years in the writer’s chair, Mike craved a creative change. Looking for something completely opposite to writing, he set a goal to develop his photography, which had always been little more than a hobby, and have a show in a real gallery. Two years later in 2009, Mike had his first solo exhibition at the Jem Gallery in Vancouver. Instead of feeling a sense of closure, this experience had stirred in him a deep passion and compulsion for image making. He found that fashion photography offered a combination of what he loved about filmmaking channeled through his new passion for the still image. Feeling that Vancouver had little to offer an aspiring fashion photographer, Mike moved to Toronto later that year.
Mike had an instant love for Toronto. The people moved quickly and gave straight answers, something he had been desperately seeking. He found that even the biggest people who once seemed so out of reach would give him the time of day, usually to tell him that his work “needed work”. But the feedback was helpful and Mike set off building an entire new body of work. The energy and enthusiasm of the Toronto fashion community was palpable and Mike had no trouble finding talented and ambitious people to work with. Three and a half years later, Mike has firmly established himself as an up-and-coming Canadian fashion photographer. He works in a variety of formats and with as many different cameras as he can. Don’t ask him if he is a Canon OR Nikon guy unless you want a long-winded dissertation on why that is the stupidest question anyone could ever ask a photographer. Needless to say, his passion and love for photography is stronger than ever.
You can see Mike’s work here.