Loys is French, and arrived in Africa just before his teens. He married Sharon, a South African Fine Arts Graduate, in 1978, and graduated with a finance degree in 1986. They ran a successful interior decorating and renovating company together for a number of years. In 1996, God began to grow a deep love for the people of Canada in their hearts. They arrived in Canada at the end of 1997 with their three young children. The last nine years which began with the church they planted in Mississauga, have been full both of challenges and encouragement, of the increase of family, and of the growth of friendships throughout the land and beyond. Nothing gives them as much joy as to see lives changed, marriages healed, churches planted, nations reached, and the young encouraged to believe that they are each called to greatness.
His father was a musician and caricaturist whose last words written in French were “We discover always too late that the marvel is in each and every moment.” These words have become a great inspiration in his life. Loys and Sharon have come to see with the passing of years the great privilege of living each moment to its fullest. Loys took up photography two and a half years ago to photograph landscapes for his wife’s large oil paintings, and consequently fell in love with the way that light falls on objects. This has grown into a passion for the monochrome frame. He is constantly exploring light at play. He believes that in some ways color can imprison contemplation, and prefers to let the simplicity of black and white tones command the admiration of light at work in a scene.
The Pursuing the Light project, which exhibited at the Arta Gallery at the Toronto Distillery District in December 2007, and again at the Contact Photography festival in May 2008, examines the relationship between light and shadows, and in some ways reflects his creative philosophy. Loys takes a metaphysical view of the existence of shadows within a scene. Since without light there would be no shadows, he takes a “no fear” approach by seeking the extremes of contrast in all his shots. As light brings insight to his images, the shadows increase the intrigue, and both interplay together to complete the message he is trying to communicate. Because of the Spiritual message that undergirds all his themes, his photographs are in some ways a metaphorical interpretation of life as he sees it.
