ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ben Ham is a fine art, landscape photographer who works exclusively in traditional, black and white film. He is self-taught with his only education being years of experimentation and three of Ansel Adam’s books: The Camera, The Negative, and The Print. His work his highly influenced by the work of Ansel Adams and work is inspired by his deep love and appreciation for the natural world. Through his photography, he connects with viewers and collectors and is able to foster others’ appreciation for these extraordinary places and scenes.
Early Life
Ben was born and raised in a small, southern town in Georgia. His early life was spent on the shores of beautiful Lake Lanier and at the age of 10, he and his family relocated to South Carolina. He was a child of the great outdoors and spent much of his time exploring the woods, lakes, mountains, marshes, and coastline of the Carolinas. It was this exploration of nature that made a lasting impression on Ben.
A trip with his family out West in his early teens was instrumental in developing his passion for travel. His father loaded the family up in a motor home to see the great national parks of the West. The Lowcountry had been his home for most of his life, but this trip offered a different perspective that shaped an admiration for the Rockies. It was on this trip that he experimented with a camera and lenses.
Learning Photography
Ben turned out to be quite handy from a DIY perspective and was able to build and construct things. His art teacher in high school ultimately gave him the keys to the building so he could continue his artistic pursuits in off-hours. He experimented, learned from reading, and learned photography. He approaches his work like a painter. Carefully examining composition, lighting, and considering all visual elements before he shoots. Unlike digital photographers that may take hundreds of shots before getting “the one,” Ben’s film is expensive and he is conservative about how many shots he takes. Therefore, everything has to be “perfect” before he takes the shot. From lighting to focus – all elements are considered. In some cases, he only took 2 or 3 exposures to get the right shot.
Making It A Career
Around 2005, with the continuing encouragement of friends to sell his work, Ben stuck his toe in the fine art market and quickly found there was a great interest in his work. Today, he has sold millions of dollars of his art. Works have been sold to private, corporate, and government collectors across the US, as well as Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, South America, South Africa, Australia, and Dubai. Here are a few career highlights:
A one-of-a-kind of Ben’s was sold in Colorado for $40,000
HGTV purchased one of Ben’s large size pieces for their Green Home Giveaway and featured it prominently in the broadcast
Silver Oak Winery of Napa Valley purchased six large pieces of Ben’s art for the offices and conference rooms of its new winery
The US Government choose five of Ben’s pieces for the new Center for the Families of the Fallen located at Dover Air Force Base. Pieces for the Base Commander’s office were chosen as well. Two years later, an additional facility was built and eight more pieces were purchased for it. Ben was very honored to have his work as part of these facilities created for the families of those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country
The Michael Mondavi Family invited and hosted Ben for a one man show at their vineyard in Napa Valley, CA
METHODOLOGY
The Equipment
Ben owns several large format cameras, most are 8 x 10s, a size that refers to the length and width of the negative. A large format camera has movements, tilting or swinging the front, or rear, standard to alter the plane of focus, allowing for the great detail in Ben's images. The camera folds down into a box. He carries his gear in a couple of ways depending on how he is working. Photographing from a boat and the gear goes into several waterproof Pelican cases. When he is hiking, it is in a pack on his back. When flying it goes in a custom-made spinner case that he carries on. He uses a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with a RRS ball head. The gear weighs around 48 pounds.
His lens kit consists of a 150mmXL Schneider, 240mm Fujinon A, 300mm Nikkor, 400mm Fujinon C. He computes his exposures using the zone system, metering with a Pentax Spot meter.
The Creative Process
"I spend a tremendous amount of my creative time scouting," Ben says. "I often return to a scene at a later time for just the right light or conditions. It can sometimes take many trips to get the mood I am looking for. I approach my subject much like a painter, finding an interesting point of view, then refining it by slight movements to see how spacial relationships line up. I only setup the camera when this is done. I slip under the dark cloth to focus. It requires the use of a loop. There is lots of room for error. It is a slow and contemplative method. The usual time for this is around 20 minutes. I normally expose between two and four sheets of film for each composition. Common exposure times can run a second or two, up to eighteen minutes. This method requires me to work on a single composition per outing. It is the only way to work for me."