Benjamin Von Wong isn't afraid of a little drama. His work is conceptual and incorporates elements of fantasy, turning models into otherworldly creatures and fire-breathers. So who else might you expect to find at the helm of an underwater shoot with two models, a team of divers and a shipwreck? Yep, he went there. Take a look at the slideshow above for some behind-the-scenes photos from Mike Veitch and Von Wong's photos from the shoot.
If you're an underwater photographer yourself (shipwrecks not required) join the conversation on our new underwater photography forum. And for even more behind the scenes, read our Q&A with Benjamin Von Wong and read more about his process.
The following is my subjective perception, and is, in no way, intended as an objective declaration of the work.
This project, while striking me as perhaps referential of the allegory Ophelia or siren tales, etc., does seem more rooted in simpler visual concerns for beauty via flowing hair, dresses, in the underwater environment. And that is beautiful and fine as a primary objective. But it fails, per my perspective, to be anything more than simple mannerism, a cliche - the same as underwater fashion shots. However, it would make a lovely set to be featured in a calendar or some such context.
This is technically and practically amazing photography. Most certainly a lot of work and effort are put into such a project. I can surely appreciate the technical and practical side of it. But wheres the story in the images? What are they about?
I get the feeling that this is mostly about conquering photographic challenges.
As a keen and pretty experienced SCUBA diver interested in underwater photography I have at least some degree of appreciation of the complexity of setting up these shots. Particularly keeping the models safe in the process. Certainly way beyond what is involved in the usual swimming pool underwater fashion work (and even that is far from straightforward).
Regardless of whether you like the end result, this is challenging, complex and time consuming work. Personally I think the results are impressive and intriguing.
Those models are most impressive, they have to hold their breath and wait for the photographer to adjust their settings and take test shots.... And everybody else has an oxygen tank but them, I see one photo where they are getting oxygen feed.
Not sure why he is using the d90 when he usually use a d800, must didn't have an underwater case for the d800.
The video said that the models were also free divers, so they are not only incredibly comfortable in the water setting, but also can hold their breaths probably for minutes on end. Not taking anything away from the difficulty of the setup.
Tigers. Problem solved. Tigers love water and swimming and it gves your shoot more of a wow-factor. Imagine the free drinks in the bar when you tell your friends you went scuba-diving with a Tiger.
Not impressive at all. If I had the equipment, the crew, the model, the skills, the shipwreck and the scubba diving lessons, I could've easily done that myself! ;)
Take one shipwreck. Add models and stir. Blend in another photographer photographing the photographer photographing the scene. Yield: One serving with no taste or nutritional value.
Brilliantly executed. The photos have a dream-like, surreal quality which is befitting the expressive mood he wanted to convey.
In an era when mindless snaps and selfies dominate the landscape, it is refreshing to see that there are folks who still believe that vision, creativity, and imagination enable photography to remain an unparalleled art form.
@ Prairie Pal. I just looked at your gallery. The shots you have of dust on your sensor are sensational. I can see why you find Benjamin Von Wong's photos so boring.
Honestly, the majority of your photos could use better composition. He went underwater to a specific spot with costumes and a whole diving crew. You seem reluctant to simply move yourself or your camera a few feet over.
My "yawn" was a reaction to a "me to" genre of photography. The output of underwater portraiture style is so narrow and never really that impressive, other than the "oh look she's floating and her hair is all over the place" The images in this specific project float right midstream with most of the other mediocre attempts before it (that I've seen anyway). Under water portraiture seems like a lot of expense and time to go through just for the bragging rights of saying that you did. The output doesn't justify the input. I'd rather be scorned for being a skeptical critique than a skip-along-Sammy that applauds anything that gets thrown at them. I get a kick out of people when they get loose a screw over someone voicing an opinion they don't share. Poking in someone's gallery to extract any evidence of inferiority is like sooo... how should I say.. "predictable"? ;) Those are just my humble opinions though.
Very beautiful, but these kind of images could have been done much easier imho, studio shots with some wind and wires, then post processing, if done well no-one will ever tell the difference.
Even better, the entire image could be computer generated. Photo real. Hell, pretty soon computers will generate images like this without any human input at all!
Oh, are you really sure wind and floating in water looks same or even similar? If you're going to bother with this, then just draw everything from scratch. Too bad the photos are small, as usual with pros. Can't really judge them, but still...
I honestly don't get people who think this not very interesting. the video on his blog is really fascinating and there will be more about the shoot and techniques. The master shot for this work is in the film "Night of the Hunter". One of the moist haunting scenes in a movie.
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Pre-PMA
2003, 15:00 TOKYO: Nikon has today confirmed the details of their
first digital only lens, the Nikkor AF-S DX 12 - 24 mm F4.0. This lens
and the DX concept was first announced in December last year. The DX lens
line is designed to be used exclusively with digital SLR's with a sensor
size of 23.7 x 15.6 mm (a 1.5x FOV crop factor), thus this lens could
be used on the Nikon D1x, D1H or D100. On these cameras it would provide
an equivelant field of view range of 18 -36 mm.
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