Guest Blogger Week 91 ~ Ben Robson Hull Photography

I would like to say a huge welcome

to Ben

from Ben Robson Hull Photography

My name is Ben Hull 

and I am the owner / director / photographer at Ben Robson Hull Photography. 

I have just turned 36 in October and live in Sheffield,  

near to the Derbyshire Peak District National Park. 

I have always been fascinated by photography 

and have carried a camera with me for most of my life. 

However, it was only around two and a half years ago 

that I realised I could get so much more from my equipment 

and through a better understanding of art and by learning 'how to see'. 

During this period I completed a Professional Diploma in Photography 

and consumed over 60+ books on a self teaching mission 

to provide myself with an education in art.

I found this fascinating after a life of studying 

and a career in engineering and the sciences. 

I look back now and feel for the first 30 years of my life that I missed out on art entirely. 

I have certainly made up for this lost time recently! 

Memberships and involvement with my local Photographical Society, 

The Royal Photographical Society 

and various online groups and organisations 

have provided me with great opportunities to exhibit, 

enter competitions and receive valued feedback on developing my body of work. 

Since 2012 I have had my work exhibited, 

won a competition trophy and several 1st place prizes in online competitions.

After sharing my work on Flickr I was delighted by the feedback I was receiving 

and the comments on my work. 

I was soon contacted by several Art websites 

and curators wanting to use and distribute my images. 

My biggest break was being discovered by Artfinder. 

In just three months I became their best seller and most popular artist. 

I have also opened stores with Not On The High Street and of course Etsy. 

I also distribute to Architects, Curators, Designers 

and Project Managers through the exclusive arTbridge website.

My favourite style of work is probably black and white. 

I just love the way the removal of colour allows you to concentrate on the textures, 

shapes and tones of a scene, 

distilling photography to it's purest form. 

I don't want to be shoehorned into one particular category of photography. 

Most of my work is currently landscape 

but I also love to shoot as many diverse subjects as possible. 

I am always learning and on the lookout for a new project. 

So far I have covered landscapes, macro, black and white, colour, 

architecture, portraiture and table top. 

I will be returning to all of these in the future.

My favorite work available on Etsy is probably Moonlit Copse. 

The photograph was a chance find to some degree

 as I was driving around the Derbyshire Peak District 

on a day where there was low lying cloud on the hilltops. 

I knew the weather was perfect for a great shot 

but was struggling to find a good subject in the right location. 

In fact I was driving back home 

when I happened to pass this small copse of trees on the roadside shrouded in mist. 

At first glance it didn't look like there was a photograph there 

but I was persuaded to investigate further and take a closer look.

 After taking quite a few average shots I found a composition that was just right. 

The combination of this composition, 

the quality of the light filtering through the trees, 

the layers of mist and receding trees in the background all combined to make the image. 

It wasn't until after I got home, edited 

and printed the image that I realised what I had captured. 

The digital file viewed on the screen really does not do the print justice. 

In fact this image won the Rose Bowl Trophy at the Sheffield Photographic exhibition 2013. Again a lot of luck was involved in finding this image but you had to be there to find it! 

I believe that new artists should always stay true to what you believe in 

and focus on what is important to you and makes you happy. 

This I find will produce your best work, 

keep you sane and eventually enable others to appreciate your work.

Links:

Please visit and 'like' my page on Facebook 

Full library of published work on Flickr 

Artfinder Store

Not On The High Street Store 

Etsy Store

Website

WOW!!!

Your work is amazing!

Thank you ever so much for sharing your work and your story with us.

I hope you'll all join me in thanking Ben and visit his sites

and see all of his amazing work!