“I bought my first camera in 2007 when a girl broke up with me. I’d been working in a mine in Winnemucca, Nevada, and never thought much about taking pictures, but I knew that if I didn’t find a new hobby I’d go crazy, so I decided to take up photography.” – Benjamin Von Wong.
Benjamin Von Wong never set out to be a photographer, and he became one almost by accident. Nevertheless, in the space of the past 5 years since quitting his day job, he’s earned a worldwide reputation as a brilliantly original photographic artist, and was even named one of four winners of this year’s Imaging Alliance award for Visionary Photographers.
He was born in Toronto, Canada in 1986 to Chinese-Malaysian parents, attended 13 different schools in 3 different countries given in 3 different languages, and eventually became a mining engineer. In 2012, he quit his job as an engineer, not because he wanted to be a photographer but because he no longer wanted to do engineering. In short, he became a photographer by default, but it soon became his consuming creative passion. Today, he pays rent in San Francisco but his corporation, VonWong.com, is still based in Canada. “I travel 6-9 months out of the year in quest of images that make people see things in a different way and empower them to change the world,” he proclaims.
Von Wong is more than just a superb photographer; he is a man on a mission who creates and facilitates photographic projects by attracting like-minded participants to a cause larger than themselves. The unique thing about his photography is that it’s created largely with the help of volunteers, often people he’s never met before, to collaborate and come up with something unique and different. “I want my work to make the world a better place and so my work is in the environmental, social impact, and humanitarian vein,” says Von Wong. To that end he provides opportunities for people he meets, often via social media, to participate in, document, and enrich his still and video projects.
He creates fantastical visual worlds through photography, virally promoting worthy causes, then posts them on his website so people can experience the creative process in a visceral way. His work looks hyper-realistic, appearing almost computer-generated, but it’s totally based on capturing images of what is actually in front of his camera, though they often look as though they were created in Photoshop. “My intention is to generate a level of intrigue, leaving viewers to wonder about the creation process itself,” Von Wong observes. Perhaps even more important, he shares his creative process through behind-the-scenes images, videos, and blog posts in order to educate, inspire and engage the entire global creative community.
Examples of Von Wong’s projects range from tying a free-diver to an underwater shipwreck, to posing everyday people on the edge of a skyscraper. Almost all of his projects are created with the support of generous individuals he contacted through social media, who generously donate their time, talent and energy in exchange for being a part of something unique and meaningful. On one level, they do a lot of hard work for free, but what they receive in return is priceless. The end results of this process are truly extraordinary projects, created by ordinary people, that convey a distinct sense of real-world tangibility and existential relevance despite their hyper-real qualities.
Von Wong is currently dedicating much of his time to self-funded projects focused on environmental conservation. A few of those projects include a mermaid laying in 10,000 plastic bottles to raise awareness for plastic pollution and an anti-coal mining project featuring humans harvesting oxygen beneath the shadow of a strip-mining excavator while smoke bombs fill the air with copious smoke. “When visual fantasy and reality collide, the resulting disbelief can be transformed into a powerful force to sway opinions and champion change, ” notes Von Wong.
Before he goes on a shoot, Von Wong formulates a clear mental concept, theme or aim point, one that emerges from his daily life experiences and social interactions—indeed, that’s why every single one of his shoots is different. The creation story behind each project in is also unique. As a result, his thematic and visual approaches are so individualized he really doesn’t think of himself as having a style in the conventional sense.
Typically his main subjects occupy a relatively small space within the frame because he shoots in a wider perspective to emphasize the context, and to visually suggest that the subject and its environment comprise a larger organic unity. Lighting control is another key element. “I usually strive for cinematic lighting and often use a classic 3-light setup,” he recalls. He also likes to include a visual element of surprise that generates disbelief and he enjoys using what he calls “practical effects”—for example, using a 2-liter water sprayer to create mist when shooting a lava flow, or setting off a smoke bomb to create drama. When shooting a welder in a machine shop he used 3-4-light setup to make the image of a welder pop off the background—a backlight, a front light, the ambient light from the welding process, plus additional lights to illuminate the environment. “It’s also significant that the welder in the picture is actually a geeky computer programmer. I wanted to make him look as badass as possible, to transform the perception of what he could be,” says Von Wong with a smile. Conceptually that’s right on target because what he is aiming at is hyper-reality, not something surreal or pure fantasy.
When guiding and inspiring the creative team for each of his projects, he likes to guide them visually with the images that inspire him personally. Sometimes he draws stick figures to illustrate technical points. Balancing individual creative freedom and the need to fulfill a precisely defined mission can be challenging, and he begins by trying to find clients that are as passionate about and believe in the same things he does. One way he achieves that is by creating work that amazes and transfixes, but is also definitive enough to be easily understood. His clients don’t simply want a good photo; they want a Von Wong, something that expresses his unique creative vision, and that gives him an immense amount of creative freedom. “Once we’re aligned, all I have to do is solve their problems. It’s all very collaborative because we all want the same thing,” he notes with pride.
Von Wong embodies the most essential qualities of a creative photographer—namely the ability to work hard, work smart, and stay motivated, Because the journey is long and unpredictable, he knows that at the end of the day it’s essential to be passionate and to focus on the journey, not so much on the destination, and that It’s also very important to have a good time doing what you’re doing . In short, what differentiates Ben Von Wong and makes him a visionary is his heartfelt desire to share the journey as much as the end result, and to bring people along for the journey, so they come to believe that they too have the power to make the world a better place. In keeping with this philosophy, it’s noteworthy that for Von Wong, the work itself and the documentation of the work comprise a seamless dynamic unity that parallels the unity of our species and our environment. Empowering us to see ourselves and become as the indispensable stewards of that environment is his underlying mission.
Going forward, Von Wong hopes to increase the impact his work has on people, not just by becoming a better photographer but by becoming a better storyteller and giving a voice to the causes and people that need it the most. A good example is his shark movie project that creates an enhanced awareness and emotional connection with sharks as the shepherds of the sea in the same way that we humans are destined to be the shepherds of the planet. “Art has the power to transform a subject that may appear threatening and scary into something interesting, beautiful, transcendent, and even empathetic, ” notes Von Wong.
“I do my best to prepare everything in advance for each shoot, but when I’m actually shooting I try to be as spontaneous as possible,” says Von Wong. He knows he is responsible for delivering a finished product that transforms the viewer’s perceptions and fulfills the objectives of the sponsor, client, or creative team at the highest level of technical excellence. He thinks of a photographer as a problem solver and understands that this role entails preparing as thoroughly as he can and preemptively solving as many problems as possible, But he also knows from extensive personal experience shooting in remote locations that one inevitably encounters the unexpected, especially when dealing with natural elements.
As a photographer, he knows that his job is to deliver, regardless of what happens, something that engages the audience and takes them beyond merely pursuing their dreams and passions to changing their mindset and their behavior. “I want my work to get people to see things differently, to think differently about the world we live in, and to inspire them to make the world a better place. I also know that the only way I can achieve these lofty goals is to lead by example.”
