Benjamin Von Wong, acclaimed photographer, multimedia artist, and activist, built an 11-foot tall skull, the "Skull of Satoshi," covered in electronic waste (E-waste) to "expose Bitcoin's impact on climate change."
Photographer, artist, and activist Benjamin Von Wong believes that the fear of irrelevancy in the social media age can actually be a fuel that empowers photographers to become more creative and impactful -- the same way Wong has experienced as much in his career.
This is the story of how a single photograph and an irreverent NFT community became the international emblems of the United Nations global plastic treaty.
Photographer Benjamin Von Wong -- known for tackling environmental issues in his photographic work -- has released his latest project that raises the discussion of plastic pollution in a creative and collaborative way.
While stuck at home with his family, conservation and adventure photographer Benjamin Von Wong decided to create a series of "impossible" maternity photos for his adventurous sister, without leaving the comfort of their own home. How did he do it? Fruits and vegetables, of course...
Electronic waste, or e-waste, is the endless low of discarded electronic devices that are thrown out on a daily basis around the world. To raise awareness of this ever-growing problem, photographer Benjamin Von Wong got his hands on 4,100 pounds of e-waste and used it to create a set of amazing surreal portraits.
Looking to build up your brand as a photographer? Here's an inspiring 15-minute discussion with well-known photographers Chase Jarvis and Ben Von Wong that's filled with advice on how you can do so.
Benjamin Von Wong, a viral photographer turned environmentalist, has released a new project to raise awareness about "toxic laundry" that is full of plastic. An estimated 94% of American tap water contains invisible plastic fibers, and Von Wong felt compelled to do something about it.
Photographer Benjamin Von Wong is back, and this time he's using his signature "epic adventure" style of photography to tackle a new social issue: first world child hunger.
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."
Over the past year or so, photographer Benjamin Von Wong has taken his talent for epic photo shoots and turned it towards trying to raise awareness for "boring" topics like climate change or wildlife conservation. His latest project continues this trend; this time, he's taking on plastic pollution.
Photographer and creator of epic scenes Benjamin Von Wong has been quiet for a long time while he has, in his words, "been trying desperately to do the delicate dance of keeping my epic style while also doing good in this world." This surreal lava portrait photo shoot is his return to the game.
Although my work ranges from dangling people off the edge of rooftops, to tying them down in underwater shipwrecks, to lighting them on fire—I recently discovered four steps in the process that have remained consistent year after year.
Upon first glance, photographer Benjamin Von Wong's latest work looks like a Photoshop composite that shows a model swimming with sharks below the sea. But what you see is the real deal: Von Wong did actually tie down a model underwater with sharks swimming around, all for a series of surreal (but very real) portraits.
Earlier this year, photographer Benjamin Von Wong got a call from the Chinese telecom company Huawei. They were getting ready to launch a new smartphone called the P8, and they wanted Von Wong to shoot the craziest photographs he could come up with.
Photographer Benjamin Von Wong wanted to capture the fearlessness of superheroes without the use of a green screen or cheap special effects, so he recruited some ordinary people, dressed them up as well-known comic characters, and placed them on the edge of certain death.
The portraits he captured shows the models standing on the corner of a tall skyscraper in San Francisco.
When Benjamin Von Wong was commissioned to do a series of black and white portraits of SmugMug employees for the company’s gym, he knew he wasn’t going to be taking the easy route. But just because he was going to try to do something really cool, didn’t mean things needed to get expensive.
To spice up the sporty portraits, Von Wong decided to add water into the equation, and thanks to some help from the folks at SmugMug, they were able to make it rain for only $20.
If you've ever shot on-location somewhere far away, you probably had to make this tough decision: what gear do I take and what do I leave at the studio? For big photo shoots you'd rather err on the side of caution and take it all, but airline luggage allowances make that impossible... or do they?
It turns out that some airlines have a special policy that allows media professionals to pack a whole lot more gear.
Photographer Benjamin Von Wong recently took some time out of his incredibly busy schedule to warm our hearts and give a talented, chronically ill fan of his the birthday surprise of his life.
Have you ever come across an artist’s work and thought, "Wow, I would love to work with them!" Well, that is exactly what went through Benjamin Von Wong’s mind after seeing Michael Rosner’s work.
Fast forward two years and Von Wong finally got his wish, creating some beautiful and inspiring untraviolet photographs in the process.
Montreal-based photographer Benjamin Von Wong's underwater fantasy fashion shoot in a Bali shipwreck has quickly become the most popular project he has ever released. And even though he shared some behind the scenes details when the series first debuted, he's back today with a much more detailed look at how exactly these now-viral photos came to be.
No photoshoot goes off without a hitch. But with the correct amount of planning in the way of a vision, schedule, proper team and backup equipment, the risk that you'll run into a big hitch is dramatically reduced.
One photographer who seems to have mastered putting all of those components together seamlessly is Benjamin Von Wong, but it took all of his skill and more to make sure that his most recent crazy adventure came together seamlessly.
During a chance meeting with Adobe last year at WPPI, photographer Benjamin Von Wong was asked if he’d like to take part in Adobe’s Creative Voices series, which features artists that truly take Adobe’s products to the next level and make incredible art. As an avid user of their products, Von Wong happily obliged and over the next year the rest fell into place.
Raising 2.5 million dollars in a few months is a goal that would scare most people into submission. But it’s amazing what you can do when you have conviction and the power of a dedicated community behind you.
That’s what photographer Benjamin Von Wong had to offer when he was asked to help a dying 4-year-old girl: conviction, and the support of a photo community that time and again proves itself to be not just compassionate, but powerful when moved to action.
Can you imagine photography saving a life? Or forget life, lives? Hundreds, thousands of lives saved... and the catalyst for it all a photo community dedicated to proving they can make a difference.
Over the next couple of weeks, the photographic community has the chance to work a bonafide miracle. A little girl in South Carolina is dying of a degenerative disease, and it’s in all of our power to help cure her. Together with Benjamin Von Wong, we’re going to embark on a journey to tell this little girl’s story to the world, and write in the happy ending ourselves...
We've featured plenty of Pro Photographer Cheap Camera Challenges over the years, all of them informative, educational and entertaining to varying degrees. What we've never had before is the photographer's perspective. What's it like to be on the program? How does it go down? How much planning goes into it?
Thanks to Benjamin Von Wong and Silistudio we now have an answer to all of those questions and more.
In yet another impressive (and sexual innuendo-filled... you've been warned) DigitalRev Cheap Camera Challenge, Kai has Benjamin Von Wong try to create some of his epic fire imagery using nothing more than a crappy Ricoh point-and-shoot that was probably bought at a Best Buy... on clearance... five years ago.
If you feel the Internet is short on inspirational content for budding photographers, then the folks at SmugMug have got something awesome in store for you. It's called SmugMug Films, and starting with the Benjamin Von Wong video above, the series will give you a glimpse into the lives of some of the most extraordinary and inspirational photographers of our time.
The ability to pull photos out of your camera and onto your computer wirelessly is an incredibly useful tool that many photographers use, but what if you could pull those photos instantly into Lightroom right there on-location? Well, it turns out you can, and it's not all that complicated either.
Photographers have the power to make dreams come true, and if you've ever doubted that statement you won't after watching the video above and hearing the story behind it -- a story that includes a sweet, sick woman's shy email, and a photographer's determination to come through no matter what.
Photographer Benjamin Von Wong likes to push the boundaries of what he does, and lately that pushing has involved playing with fire ... literally. It seems he's taken a liking to working with pyrotechnicians and creating out of this world long exposures doing it, so after a speaking engagement in November of last year, Von Wong put together an open photo shoot with pyrotechnician Andrey DAS and fashion designer Virginie Marcerou.
Anyone and everyone was invited, and in all they were able to get a group of about 50 people to show up as they lit up the freezing night with everything from smoke grenades, to sparklers, to ropes of fire.
Check out this album cover portrait photo of the Belgian indie pop band SX, shot by photographer Benjamin Von Wong. While it looks appears to show the band standing in the ocean with the sun rising (or setting) in the background, it was actually shot in a much more controlled environment: a swimming pool.
Benjamin Von Wong is a photographer based in Montreal, Canada. Visit his website here.
PetaPixel: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
Benjamin Von Wong: Hah, where to begin. I'm a 25-year-old Chinese Canadian who's been to thirteen different schools in three different countries, in three different languages. I grew up in a loving family that believed that experiencing the world was a must, had the opportunity to try all sorts of things, from playing violin for 10 years, to getting a black belt in taekwondo, to graduating from Mining Engineering in 2008. I pick up hobbies sporadically, from parkour to bartending, painting to paintball. Photography is one of the more recent hobbies that I picked up that happened to stick just a little longer!
It's unlikely you'll ever need to protect your digital photos from extreme elements (and if you have a 7D you know your camera will make it) but as the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry -- and apparently hard drives don't get much safer than the Slilicon Power A80. In a video that's equal parts fun and demonstration, photographer Benjamin Von Wong put the hard drive through a series of unrealistically harsh tests, making sure it still worked after each one.
This behind-the-scenes video shows Montreal-based photographer Von Wong doing a photo shoot with …