Randall Lewter is an accomplished photographer and photo restorer working for High Cotton Arts. He has been an HCA artist since the studio opened.

Lewter takes beautiful photographs of forgotten locations in Alabama and surrounding states, preserving the historic integrity of landmarks and buildings that are soon lost.

“I’ve always been interested in history and old landmarks,” said Reuter. “I love to hit the road and drive until I find something interesting. There are so many interesting structures on the back roads of Alabama that you have to go out and find them.”

For Lewter, photography is not only an art, it is also a science. A photographer must understand light and how to use it to create an image.

“Photography is a science and, if you’re lucky, it can be an art,” said Reuter. “Photographers use light and mirrors to capture images of people, buildings, landscapes, etc. Understanding how light hits a subject and how that light is used is what makes photography a science.”

Lewter explains: that’s what i want. ”

When he’s not out photographing ghost towns, abandoned churches, and other parts of Southern history, he’s restoring them in HCA’s studio.

According to Lewter, about 15% of his current photography work is restoring old photos.

“I enjoy this,” said Leuter. “Everyone has old photos and albums that they want to restore and bring back to life.”

Lewter talked about the decline in foot traffic at HCA and its impact on studio artists.

“For me, it’s an extra income. I sell some prints online and through my previous contacts, but I’m not seeing a lot of traffic at High Cotton right now,” Lewter said. increase. “We haven’t been able to do our normal events in the last few years, which has affected the number of people who come to the studio.”

He hopes the HCA will see more traffic again as people start going out again and more events are being held.

At High Cotton Arts, you can browse and purchase original photographic prints of local and regional landmarks, nature images and a variety of other subjects.

For photo recovery inquiries, please contact Lewter at rlewterphoto@me.com or (256)-233-4465.