In 1978 I was two years out of college and traveling the country in a Dodge van. I was running out of money and landed in Yosemite National Park where I got a job as a dishwasher at the Ahwahnee Hotel. My father told his friends “Lewis is in California into ceramics.” After washing dishes for about 8 weeks, I learned there was an opening at The Ansel Adams Gallery and I applied for the job. As they say, “the rest is history.” Working at the gallery was a dream come true. It was as if I stepped into my “History of Photography” textbook. I met many famous photographers such as Paul Caponigro, Ruth Bernhard, John Sexton, Ernst Haas, and Morley Baer to name just a few. I got to teach with Philip Hyde and Cole Weston. The gallery opened up many opportunities for me.

I lived in Yosemite National Park, California for 11 years. Some of these images are from that time, others are more recent.