Thursday, April 7, 2022

Photography has been part of Lewis Katz from a young age. An early memory is his dad looking down through the viewfinder of his twin-lens reflex camera. He soon graduated to a Konica rangefinder that was constantly by his side. Lewis vividly remembers the slide shows of family vacations, as well as more private moments shared by his parents. His first camera was the Olympus Pen F half-frame beauty, and he soon moved through the full line of Olympus OM models. Fast forward to the digital cameras and images of today. Lewis still shoots Olympus, but has added a Nikon to the bag.

Emotive displays were not commonplace in Lewis’s home growing up. The camera and the image became an outlet for suppressed feelings as well as for artistic expression. Many years after college, Lewis lived in southern York County Pennsylvania and its rural beauty. Although he had been out west as a teenager, it was here that he truly discovered landscape photography. 

After moving to Baltimore in 2001, he discovered and joined the Baltimore Camera Club. Lewis was quickly in awe of and humbled by the talent, and more importantly he found the companionship of fellow members so important to him to this day. The Baltimore Camera Club remains an integral part of his photography life. Lewis has been honored and have received many awards from the competitions at the club.

Teaching photography is another essential component of his photography life as he loves sharing his passion. Lewis currently teaches for the Johns Hopkins Odyssey program, for the Capital Photography Center of DC, and for private students as well. Lewis lives for those “aha!” moments that only teaching can provide.