Bevil Templeton-Smith is a London-based fine-art photographer whose work explores the meeting point of science and abstraction. Born in London and raised in South Africa by two painters, he grew up surrounded by art. A parallel career in computing and IT developed the technical curiosity that informs his photographic practice. His current work began during the pandemic, when restrictions on travel prompted an exploration of subjects close to home. Looking through a microscope revealed an unexpected landscape within crystallised substances: intricate structures and luminous colours that could suggest feathers, geological formations or distant worlds. Working with a restored 1970 Leitz Orthoplan microscope adapted to a modern digital camera, Bevil photographs crystals under polarised light. Materials such as artificial sweeteners, caffeine and vitamin C become the starting points for a painstaking process of preparation and observation. Hundreds of slides and thousands of photographs yield a small selection of compositions, discovered through the interaction of matter, light and the photographer’s eye. These images originate in physical crystalline structures. Their colour and form emerge through crystallisation and optical techniques, with careful photographic post-production used to refine the final composition. Often mistaken for paintings, they invite viewers to encounter the unfamiliar within ordinary materials. In 2023, Bevil received the International Photography Awards’ Fine Art Photographer of the Year title in the non-professional division. His work has received numerous further international accolades and was featured in a twelve-page editorial in Aesthetica in 2025. His Polychromo exhibition at Alveston Fine Art in Notting Hill presented sixteen large-format photographic artworks, eight of which sold during the exhibition. His finished ChromaLuxe photographs are created as distinct, unique physical artworks, with no editions or reproductions. His work is held in private collections, and available pieces can be explored on his website. Lair remains available through Alveston Fine Art. Website: https://bevilts.art Instagram: @bevilts