Benjamin Von Wong: From Mining Engineer, to Viral Photog, to Environmentalist

Photographer Benjamin Von Wong gave this inspiring 20-minute talk at the e.g. conference this year about his personal journey from being a mining engineer, to a well-known photographer behind several viral hits, to a “wannabe environmentalist.”

Von Wong says that after a breakup earlier in his life, he looked to the heavens and decided to pick up a camera and try his hand at taking pictures of the stars. From there, as he grew as a photographer, he used trial and error to figure out how to make photos go viral online.

A number of his works have gotten a huge amount of attention over the past couple of years, including underwater shots of a model at a shipwreck, a Disney-themed shoot in the world’s largest monastery library, portraits of superheroes at the edge of a tall skyscraper, underwater portraits of a shark shepherd, and a series of unusual stormchasing portraits.

From tackling a diverse range of subjects and issues, Von Wong found that he was drawn to using his skills and knowledge to address environmental issues. He’s now taking a year off his normal work to tackle as many surreal environmental projects as he can, and he’s inviting anyone who wants to collaborate to get in touch with him.

(via VonWong via ISO 1200)