Join us for the gallery opening of American Landscapes.
Oct. 13 | 1:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | The Union, Warren Second Floor Lounge

Meet Hope Lewis, a sophomore Biology major with a concentration in Ecology and Environmental Science and a minor in Music at JMU. She’s excited to share her collection, American Landscapes, featuring meaningful moments from her travels through Colorado and the Shenandoah Valley.  

Hope’s journey with photography began to document the moments she didn’t want to forget. She would bring a camera along on adventures with friends, taking photos here and there to preserve the memories they made together. After getting a more advanced camera, Hope began exploring photography more seriously and realized she could use it to capture the places, experiences and landscapes that were meaningful to her. For Hope, photography became a way to hold on to a moment even as everything around it continues to change. 

Inspired by her love for the outdoors, camping and nature, Hope’s collection highlights scenes from the summers she spends in Colorado as well as adventures throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Each photograph is connected to a memory, whether from a small adventure, a beautiful landscape or simply a moment when she stopped to appreciate her surroundings. Hope has developed an even greater appreciation for the natural world as an ecology and environmental science student, making nature the perfect subject for her collection. 

Hope captures nature from different perspectives throughout the collection, highlighting the details, depth and beauty that can sometimes be overlooked. Rather than simply photographing a landscape, she hopes each image gives viewers a glimpse into what made that particular moment or place meaningful to her. 

Hope’s desire is that her collection encourages people to slow down and appreciate the beauty of the natural world around them. She wants to illustrate that nature is constantly changing, yet a photograph allows a meaningful moment within it to be preserved forever. Her collection serves as a reminder to notice and appreciate the landscapes, details and quiet moments that surround us, knowing they may not stay the same forever. 

View the full collection