Photo Diary: Transitions

by Kaylen Ralph

Photographer Angela Lewis documents her transition to and from The Big Apple: “New York is a goddamn beast.”

by Laura Phillips

Photographs by Angela Lewis

In December of last year, documentary, street and fashion photographer Angela Lewis photographed her transition from one city to another, something most rambling Milennials might find a little too familiar. I was able to catch up with her during her move, which ultimately ended with her return to her hometown, which is also my hometown – Toronto.

“I decided to give New York a go because I was here for a few months last year and really took a liking to the way it made me feel,” Lewis told me. “People are literally moving from every direction and it felt exhilarating to be a part of it. Spending time in New York keeps me on my toes, makes me feel alive and scares me a little; inspiration ensues.”

The Toronto native has poised her lens at Canadian gems like Margaret Atwood and Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace in the past, and she prefers her subjects to be in informal, normalized settings. After photographing Atwood in very traditional portraiture form, she and the lit queen moved to an open garden at the University of Toronto campus and Lewis “asked her to start twirling, and she did so very willingly.”

Because of her brief move to New York, she noticed that her observant eye has subtly taken on a new perspective: “I’ve been shooting with a lot more direct sunlight, since it’s so prominent here as it reflects off the brick buildings,” Lewis says. “Every city and place has its own kind of light, and I’ve been really excited about the way New York is feeling lately.”

While she runs her High Five Postcards Etsy store – a project created to support a friend’s medical expenses after he learned he has an inoperable brain tumor – Lewis continues to experiment in photography, and finds her transition to and from NYC to be a source of inspiration. She’s our kind of girl, too, with a half-eaten dark chocolate bar, three gemstones (ametrine, rose quartz and citrine) and Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton on her bedstand. 

In her diary, you’ll see the way she viewed her two homes (Toronto and NYC): with intimacy and curiosity.

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Toronto – After making waffles for Sunday brunch with friends, a few of us walked around an old schoolyard in the neighborhood.
Toronto – After making waffles for Sunday brunch with friends, a few of us walked around an old schoolyard in the neighborhood.

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Toronto – My friend Louise putting her sweater back on after I insisted she stand in front of the pink doors so I could take her portrait. The hand in the foreground is her boyfriend Rico’s, affectionately holding her jacket for when she was ready to bundle up.
Toronto – My friend Louise putting her sweater back on after I insisted she stand in front of the pink doors so I could take her portrait. The hand in the foreground is her boyfriend Rico’s, affectionately holding her jacket for when she was ready to bundle up.

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Brooklyn – The day I left New York to come back to Toronto, I spent some time on the rooftop to test out a new lens. There were so many faces in the clouds; I saw the roof differently that day.
Brooklyn – The day I left New York to come back to Toronto, I spent some time on the rooftop to test out a new lens. There were so many faces in the clouds; I saw the roof differently that day.

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Coney Island – I took many detail shots on my visit, such as the wet rainbow-reflected cement and the kitschy stores that are locked up for the season. This was my second time in a week visiting Coney Island, and I photographed three women with pastel-colored hair. The sunset was the same purple hue as Andrea's hair.
Coney Island – I took many detail shots on my visit, such as the wet rainbow-reflected cement and the kitschy stores that are locked up for the season. This was my second time in a week visiting Coney Island, and I photographed three women with pastel-colored hair. The sunset was the same purple hue as Andrea’s hair.

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Brooklyn – This is a mash-up of images taken on different days in December, but I want to bring focus to the watering can. It was a detail shot I snapped with my iPhone from a small nursery in Bed-Stuy where we chatted with the owner, Deborah. She cared a lot for her space, her family and her neighborhood.
Brooklyn – This is a mash-up of images taken on different days in December, but I want to bring focus to the watering can. It was a detail shot I snapped with my iPhone from a small nursery in Bed-Stuy where we chatted with the owner, Deborah. She cared a lot for her space, her family and her neighborhood.

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Coney Island & New York – My first time visiting Coney Island with my lively and glamorous friend Monica, to do some location scouting and go to the New York Aquarium. The photo of her was taken inside the aquarium where you could look down into the pool of fish. The detail shot of small tile work is from a train station in New York.
Coney Island & New York – My first time visiting Coney Island with my lively and glamorous friend Monica, to do some location scouting and go to the New York Aquarium. The photo of her was taken inside the aquarium where you could look down into the pool of fish. The detail shot of small tile work is from a train station in New York.

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Coney Island – Another detail shot of Monica taking a photo with her iPhone of a strange and unsettling baby doll leaning up against a tree trunk.
Coney Island – Another detail shot of Monica taking a photo with her iPhone of a strange and unsettling baby doll leaning up against a tree trunk.

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Manhattan – Details of my friend and artist Olivia Taylor in her apartment where her grandparents used to live. The image on the left is one of her stuffed animals as a child, which she reflects in her work, and the image on the right features her cool gecko (we're friends now) that sheds its skin and regularly changes color.
Manhattan – Details of my friend and artist Olivia Taylor in her apartment where her grandparents used to live. The image on the left is one of her stuffed animals as a child, which she reflects in her work, and the image on the right features her cool gecko (we’re friends now) that sheds its skin and regularly changes color.

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Coney Island – Self-portrait with Monica in the aquarium at Coney Island.
Coney Island – Self-portrait with Monica in the aquarium at Coney Island.

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Laura Phillips is Toronoto-based writer. She blogs under the moniker Lola Novella. You can find her musings on culture here.

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