ABOUT / MIKE LEWIS
A swimmer’s eye.
A life in the water.
I’m Mike Lewis. I photograph swimming from the perspective of someone who has spent a lifetime in it.
The connection
comes first.
I grew up racing, carrying a camera to swim meets, and trying to catch the moment a butterfly swimmer broke the surface. Swimming took me to UC San Diego and into open water. Photography became another way of understanding the place where I felt most at home.
After years working in sports performance administration with the U.S. Olympic Committee, I committed to photography professionally in 2011. My career has included serving as SwimSwam’s chief photographer, creating images for swimwear brands, and being appointed USA Swimming’s official photographer in 2019.
The work has taken me from intimate portrait sessions to the World Championships. Wherever I am, the relationship with the person in front of the camera matters. I want athletes to feel comfortable enough to let something of themselves come through.
I’m grateful for the trust swimmers have placed in me, and for the recognition this work has received. My aim is to show the beauty, character, and feeling of a sport that has shaped my life.
A DEFINING IMAGE
The photograph
that opened a door.
This ring-bubble photograph of Anthony Ervin helped launch my career. Our shoot following the 2012 Olympics led to a magazine cover and a turning point in how I saw the possibilities of my work.
It remains one of the images that means the most to me.
“I view my work as a collaboration between me and those on the other side of the lens.”
Selected interviews
IN CONVERSATIONCONTACT
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