JOURNAL

Carole O'Neil is a power lifter and a powerful business women, I was commissioned to shoot her for September's cover of North East Times Magazine.

I have a tattoo on the inside of my left ankle, it reads 2/8/10, it is an exact copy of a scratch I put into the wall at the back of the store in Dalton, the moment we pushed the button to GO LIVE! That’s almost 14 years ago … you could say that this project means ‘a lot!’.

This is the story of that journey …

James Brown shot for MARRKT at his East London home. James is a storyteller, it was a fantastic experience listening to him tell us about his original Damien Hirst the artist sent him personally or that time he had a night out in LA with Dame Helen Mirren.

It’s Monday evening, 9pm, the phone rings, it’s my good friend John Fendley (aka Fenners). “Ben, I’m interviewing Ray Winston tomorrow for a Mens Health piece but they don’t have stills”, I thought for all of 30 seconds, looked at Leanne, “John, I’ll get the train down first thing and meet you there”. I booked the train and off I went, no commission, no fee, just an opportunity.

Really proud to present my latest campaign for Sunderland Football Club of their latest release with Hummel. I was approached by one of the marketing team at Sunderland after they saw my shoot with Jill Scott last year. I was buzzing when they got back in touch with a project we could work on and the best news was that it was on an exciting retro release of two of the most fabled Sunderland pieces of merchandise.

I don’t think anything will beat photographing footballers, it was always a dream of mine to be a footballer but that never happened! Being in and around the professional game and the players is as close as I will ever get and it’s something that I will never take for granted! Hayden Hackney is a 21 year old from Redcar who plays for my very own Middlesbrough FC and England under 21’s. Hayden went back to his old school, Sacred Heart where we shot and filmed him talking to current students and is old teachers about his journey to date.

A cold shoot under the floodlights at the impressive Rockcliff Training ground, home to Middlesbrough FC and its ladies team. I spent an hour shooting training for the March issue of Sunday Girl Magazine. The atmosphere throughout the squad was energetic, friendly and competitive and it was a really enjoyable experience seeing the dedication and passion of these young athletes.

A partnership between Michelin starred Restaurant Hjem and Aston Martin hosting a lunch for Aston Martin customers experiencing the new DB12.

Chef Alex Nietosvuori discusses ‘Excellence’ and what inspires and drives him to maintain the 1 Michelin star he was awarded in 2021.

A great morning spent filming in Farringdon with the Monochroma Design team, can you beat that low winter light? 

William Kroll founded Tender back in 2009 and still runs the brand from his garden in Stroud. I journeyed to Williams back garden studio on a commission from VIBERG BOOTS whom have collaborated on a ‘Butterfly Jacket’ from the Tender archives.

When Sunday Girl approached me to document the thriving girls' section, at local boxing club, Redcar Boxing Club, I was thrilled. Having trained at Redcar Boxing Club and witnessed the dedication of Head Coach Niki Wiley, it was a special project. Celebrating the unsung heroes and success stories of this unique club.

A day with Simon Allford , conversations on design, architecture, and Sheffield Wednesday.

Spotted in-store in India and Indonesia, True Religion approached me and the 2812 team for a full production of their SS23 global in-store campaign.

In a nod to the 1992 film 'White Men Can't Jump,' Nigel Cabourn and I teamed up for a unique shoot in Brighton for Vault by Vans. The concept took us to the beachside basketball court for a day of fashion and storytelling.

Commissioned to capture Frieze London 2022 for LN-CC. I noticed something unique: each galleries booth had distinct, sought-after furniture perfectly complementing the artwork. Documenting these remarkable chairs—an art in themselves.