Hi! I am Owen Kingsley Lane
Hello! My name is Owen Kingsley Lane. I have been photographing people ever since I was a kid with my mom's film camera. Every vacation we went on, we'd go to the pharmacy to pick up some disposable cameras to take with us. It was like a game; it wasn't until later I found it to be one of the greatest passions of my life.
It wasn't until later, that I found it to be art. It wasn't until later, that I found it to make up a huge portion of my memory bank - then later, of how I view the world. There aren't many things I love more than this passion of mine, and I hope you'll have me share it with you.
My Mission & Values
I don't like to order people around and place them in nefarious positions, my process starts and ends with conversation. That's how people see you, that's what I'm trying to show.
Outside of photography, I believe in equality and the proper treatment of all creatures. This is just how I was raised. Everyone is equal and should be treated as such.
True-to-life photography
I pursue what I call conversational photography. And really all I mean is that I like to talk with people and get their reactions. “Are you having a boy or a girl?” “Are you nervous?” —— That’s how friends and family see you, that’s how you should be photographed.
LGBTQ+ Ally
This hits home for me in a big way, so many of my friends find themselves in this community and it’s important to be outspoken for them and yourself. I myself am bisexual, it’s just who I am. Whether you are trans, gay, queer, or otherwise - you’re welcome here.
Shot on Film
I’m a photographer that still shoots on film, and I’m proud to be one of the only ones in the whole state of Virginia to do so. In some ways, it’s an obnoxious way to shoot photos in this day and age. In others, it’s a medium nearly lost to time, kept alive by hobbyist and purists. It’s unable to be replicated and when it’s shot correctly - more beautiful than all the others.
The medium of art is the basis for it’s message; it’s the paints you use to make a photo. And film is alive. It’s light captured on celluloid, with grain exactly like in your childhood photo albums. There is really nothing else like it. It’s a modern miracle. And continuing that tradition gives me such joy. The biggest bonus of all is being able to have a perfect physical representation of your photos.
Shot on Film
Who I Am
I am the silent one. Sitting in a corner, watching those around me interact with one another, attempting to see just how the world works. I like that position, in the back, against a wall. It's comfortable.
Although, for just as many reasons, I enjoy being in the middle of that chaos with my camera, documenting the human experience and breaking through my comfort zone like a fish out of water. It’s a deadly thrill, it risks who I am. Or rather, it breaks the mold.
For this reason I believe I have a unique perspective worth sharing. My only hope is that someone will see that perspective, that they will see something within my photographs that they simply cannot explain. Be it the light, the angle of the photo, or a smile resting off of a long life. Maybe in the off chance that they need it. Who knows? But if paintings can save people, so can photographs. I just want to be somebody's center, for one moment.
Life in Polaroids
Polaroids are a vital part of every photoshoot for me. There’s an immediate, intimate, personal print for you to take home with you at the end of your shoot. It’s just a beautiful thing.
For a few years now I’ve been shooting Polaroids again, there’s something about the format I feel is magical. Edward Land developed the first self-developing image in 1943. His whole family was dedicated to experimenting with this process, using new chemicals and stress testing how far the process could go. You basically have a dark room in your hands with every single image.
It’s kind of astonishing and no matter where I go I always have a Polaroid camera in my car. But honestly, I think Polaroids are best as gifts for friends. I have too many anyway. They’re all around my house; used as make-shift bookmarks, on coffee tables, in photo albums. I thought it only right to give them to you too.
Life in Polaroids
