statement
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ben allsup photographer shooting for me
if you are here reading i suspect you want to know more about how i feel about the business and the art of photography. to understand that you should probably know more about my photographic background. my father used the funds set aside to pay for my delivery into this world to purchase a nikkormat camera. i was subsequently "bought" on credit. this seems to have been a bit of a source of friction between my parents. my mother was not pleased to hock her baby out of the hospital, but my dad has pictures! this was my first introduction to what happens when money and photography mix.
i began shooting with the nikkormat earlier than i can remember. i have a wonderful photograph of my young parents on the wall of my home. while in high school as a junior and senior i used this same camera in photography 1 & 2. it was in these classes that i realized how much i enjoyed photography (immensely) and it could perhaps be a career too (i was gonna need a job).
after high school i started pursuing, in my own disjointed way, a photography "career." to this end i spent time attending college where i met the president of the photography club, spent time working in a small town camera store and photographing for the small town paper, did quite a bit of photo-freelancing, worked as an assistant to a professional, and worked at a big city camera store. i could be found shooting in the darkened seats of an auditorium, working at a photography trade school- i shot tens of thousands of photographs; for fun, for money, for personal education, for love, for pain, through tears dripping into developer and fixer and through exhilaration on stairways. i captured many moments and many images that i (and others, i am sure) still hold dear.
more recently i have been shooting in a new style driven entirely by my passion for the art and not so much by the business. does this mean i think my photography has no value? absolutely not, i value it immensely, so much so that i do not want money and egos to affect it. the photography you see at this site is motivated by the thrill i get of recording a moment, an image of beauty. the most enjoyable moment of the process for me is the moment after the shutter (if applicable) has snapped closed and i think i have it, the one, the next visual treasure. in our digital age, the feedback can come rapidly, yet it's as much the process of arriving at the moment of depressing the shutter release and knowing something special is happening, as it is confirming it with one's eyes, for me. this is the allure of having captured time and light that will be treasured.
if you also enjoy confirming the "good ones" you can support my work in a variety of ways.
lastly, you may wonder, "where is my money going?" whether you subscribe to the magazine, purchase prints or simply want to contribute to the cause, i put all funds back towards the work of shooting- whether it is replacing outdated equipment, framing and hanging shows or sharing the images with you through the internet and the publication of the magazine. lately, i have been putting funds and effort into reclaiming a functioning darkroom- the urge to get dark and smell fixer is returning; come looking for me by the beseler in the basement.
after that? funds will probably be put towards trips to shoot more and more. i will be sticking with my "real job" but perhaps this side business will allow me to retire into my dream job in the coming decades.
my dream job you ask? being out there every day all over the globe meeting you and shooting you ;)