The fall semester at Covenant not only welcomes hundreds of new students but also a handful of new professors. This school year, Lyric Lewin joined the art department as an adjunct professor, teaching Art 340 Digital Photography.
Photo taken by Laura Ter Beek
Lewin grew up in the Atlanta area and earned her high school diploma as a homeschool student. During her high school years, she picked up a Nikon film camera and followed in her mother’s footsteps in her love for photography.
After high school, Lewin left for college at Asbury where she met her future husband. Though she transferred to UGA, they stayed good friends while they finished their respective degrees. He later moved to Georgia, and the rest is history.
Lewin’s repertoire is certainly far from empty. She realized food photography was her passion working at a farm-to-table restaurant during college and took her new calling in stride. Before coming to Covenant, Lewin worked for CNN Digital as their photo editor and at Whetstone Media as the photo director, along with producing pieces for Zagat and Atlanta Magazine. While she worked for CNN Digital, Lewin was recognized by the National Press Photographers Association. During her time at both CNN and Whetstone Media, she has traveled to South Korea, Mexico, South America and down the Georgian coast. She observed “Chef’s Table” star Jeong Kwan’s life of simplicity as a Buddhist nun, flew to South America to meet Chef Lucía Soria, and worked as a videographer for Chef Whitney Otawka’s cookbook “The Saltwater Table,” all the while culling the magical reality of food photography. Though her work plate is full, she continues to balance her homelife as a wife and mother. Along with working as an adjunct professor here at Covenant, she is a writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press and runs her business Forthright Food + Foto, a creative food workshop based near her hometown.
Lewin realized food photography was her passion while working at a farm-to-table restaurant during college. While she has flown to other continents to work with world-renowned chefs, fulfilling her dream, her favorite work was her time at Sequatchie Cove Farm in Tennessee, where she wrote an article for the Times about how AI could never replace artificial food. She shared that she, “focused on how important the process of creating, writing [and] photography is and honoring the people who do those slow practices.”
The time she spent traveling the world has piqued another interest for her: gardening. Her down-to-earth practices such as sowing, gardening and collaging in her spare time intertwine with her thoughtful demeanor.
When I asked about her Christian upbringing, she shared that she is non-denominational. “I was raised by Christian parents and [Christianity] always felt like an ongoing conversation. I always felt very interested in spirituality and praying.” She then told me a powerful story about how she shared her testimony on stage at church at 6 years old. “I shared about how the year before I had prayed every night that my dad wouldn’t lose his job and a few weeks later everyone in his department lost their job except for him. [My parents were] very encouraging of me and that was God speaking to me, which was sweet, cultivating that confidence in me.” Her favorite bible verse is Psalm 91:14-16.
Lewin plans to teach Digital Photography again in the future. Although she had taught the photo class and helped out with workshops at her alma mater, the University of Georgia, this semester is her first time teaching on a big scale. She shared that she appreciates the atmosphere that Covenant has provided and that “the staff and the students are really committed and intentional, and everyone wants to be here so it brings a quality of thoughtfulness to the environment.”
When asked what she would change in the classroom for her next class, she stressed the importance of photoshoot hygiene. She appreciated the creativity of the prompts and readings from this semester, but she wants to “have a little more instruction in the beginning of how to make sure [the class is] set up for success technically with [their] equipment.”
Covenant, please give a warm Scots welcome to Professor Lewin!
Thumbnail photo taken by Laura Ter Beek.