Benjamin Youd - Photographer
“Art can be perceived as something that people enjoy in a gallery, and that’s only accessible to a select group of people. However, as an expression, art is so much more than that…art helps to shift our perception, and it encourages us to view things in a different light”, Benjamin Youd
Benjamin Youd is a portrait photographer who creates natural and observational stories that affect change. He tells sustainable art haus about how he knew straight away that his award winning image, Beekeeper, had a sense of magic about it and how he took the image. We learn that his love for photography started at school when he traded his play station to buy an SLR camera, an Olympus OM2. Today, he is working on a number of exciting projects including a fascinating collaborative project with the artist agency and collective, Land Art, that will bring together a list of artists who work with nature and in sustainable ways.
Your portrait of Simon the Beekeeper was recently featured in the Portrait of Humanity book. Can you tell us more about taking that image and its importance to you?
This began as an editorial commission for Bloom magazine. Bloom were running a feature about single-origin honey, which is when beehives are placed in an area close to a particular species of plant so that the bees will collect nectar from only that species in order to create honey. I travelled over to the New Forest so that I could meet Simon and photograph his beekeeping practice and the surrounding area.
I spent a couple of days exploring the New Forest with Simon and seeing how he worked, which was really illuminating! We talked a lot about conservation and protecting the planet, which is something that we both care a lot about. It turned out that Simon had been interested in conservation from a young age, and was really keen to care for the land around him, work in the best practice with his beekeeping business and to educate people about what they could do to be ambassadors of conservation. With this in mind, I knew that I wanted to convey Simon’s deep love and care for nature in the images.
Set amongst an abundance of heather in the New Forest, our location for the shoot was really special. We visited several of his aperies and worked together to create an interesting narrative for the images. Whenever there was a particular magical moment, we might pause there for a bit to explore more, and the image that was featured in the Portrait of Humanity book was one of those moments.
The evening sun was starting to set, and areas of the forest were becoming dark. But at the same time, there were pockets of beautiful golden light, that were highlighting areas of the landscape around us. Simon was standing right by one of those pockets of golden light, fully dressed up in his beekeeping suit, and the contrast between the light hitting him and the coming darkness really brought the scene to life. I worked with Simon to reposition him in exactly the right spot so that the light highlighted part of him, leaving the rest in the shade, and we worked together on a range of poses to capture this image. The final image came together with the addition of billows of smoke from his smoker obscuring his face. It gave a sense of what he was about, but anonymised him to allow him to become an interesting feature in the environment.
It was one of those moments that everything came together well, and I knew straight away that the image carried a sense of magic about it. Having it included in the Portrait of Humanity book is just a dream come true for me! Having such an amazing accolade has given me a really strong sense of validation for my work, and that moment in time will be seen by thousands of people, which feels amazing! Only I will have the emotional connection to having been there working with Simon, but by capturing those elements in the way we did, other people can experience a slice of the beauty that we enjoyed.
Tell us about you; how did you get to where you are today?
This is always a really interesting question for me, as it’s not been the most straight-forward journey! I started getting interested in photography around the time of my A-Levels (many, many years ago now!), but at that time I didn’t have a particular direction with what I wanted to do with photography — I just liked making pictures and observing the world. I also loved developing my own pictures in the dark room, as this was several years before digital cameras came onto the market. I was really drawn to the craft of making a beautiful image in just a fraction of a second — creating something lasting out of a single moment in time. I obviously enjoyed it enough at the time, because I decided to trade in my playstation to buy an SLR camera, an Olympus OM2. I still use that camera today for personal work, and it’s been with me through a whole host of adventures.
Over time, I’d take that camera with me on travels, or to capture specific moments more locally. I really enjoyed creating interesting compositions and capturing scenes that intrigued me, but my technical knowledge and my understanding of how I could really use photography wasn’t really there yet. I failed to get onto a Fine Art course at college, but instead I was accepted on a graphic design course because my work at the time had a graphic element to it.
This was my first exposure to the world of design, and I fell in love instantly! I brought photography into the mix during my degree as a way of accompanying the design work I made, but the photographic side of things weren’t taking centre stage. After college, I worked in the design world for several years as a designer and later as an art director. Occasionally at weekends I’d go out and photograph some portraits around parts of London, or practice a bit of street photography. I still loved the act of making photos, even if it was something that I had to fit into my spare time.
There was a pivotal moment that I realised I wanted to start taking photography more seriously, when I was working on a campaign with a photographer at a design agency. I’d gone along to his studio for a photoshoot, and I was completely blown away by the experience. All the kit, the fancy lighting, the way the clients were treated, and the way the photographer worked to direct the models, it was just like watching magic happen in front of my eyes. I felt an instant, deep connection to this creative experience, which was a world apart from my design job where I spent a lot of time sat in front of a computer screen! It felt like I’d been able to witness real, raw creativity happening in the heart of the artist’s studio space — I was hooked!
Anyway, for a variety of reasons I felt it was too big a leap for me to make at that time — to change direction and choose a different career path, when I’d already forged a steady and reliable career in design. The experience of that photoshoot did give me a bit of a kick though, to start taking a few courses and to learn more about the craft of photography — to brush up on my skills. But it wasn’t until 7 years later that I began making the transition into the world of photography. Eventually my girlfriend pointed out that I was happiest when I was working with photography in some capacity in my job, and I knew then I had to work towards making that change.
I started connecting with other photographers, working relentlessly on test shoots in my spare time, going to workshops and watching hours and hours of ‘how to’ videos on Youtube. The organisation I was working for at the time as a designer had noted my interest in photography, and trusted me to go out on several photoshoots for them. I was developing my skills and my confidence constantly. Then one day I had the opportunity to work as a full-time assistant for a really inspirational art photographer, so I went for it! I decided to embrace this moment of change with everything I had. Incidentally, the photographer I started working for was the same one that had inspired me at his studio all of those years before.
I worked with him for a few years and soaked up as much as I could about the way the industry worked, practicing my own photography in my spare time. He very kindly gave any of his assistants unlimited access to his studio and lighting equipment in out of work hours, so I was able to build on my skills whenever I could! He was also very encouraging about any jobs I was getting on the side, which enabled me to start building up a bit of a client list of my own while I was assisting him.
Once I left his studio, I started working as a freelance photographer as well as designer, splitting my work life between the two disciplines. This balance made it easier for me to get work as a freelancer and to maintain a steady stream of income. Over time, I continued to grow the list of clients I worked with, and started to tailor my offerings in order to fulfil my needs of working on projects that related to sustainability or positive causes. When I’m not working on commissions, I develop long-term personal and collaboration-based projects that explore environmental protection.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I read a lot of books about climate change, conservation, sustainability, and the damages we’re making to our planet. Sometimes an idea will spark from something I came across in a book, on a blog, on social media, in a magazine or just from wandering around and paying attention to the things I see around me. I rarely settle on an idea for a project immediately, instead taking some time to mull it over for a while before the idea is fully formed. It might start with something simple like a statistic about plastic pollution that grabs me for whatever reason. I’ll make a note about the fact that I came across, and then it tends to get forgotten for a while. Sometimes I get so excited by an idea in that moment that I’ll sit down and work out how to make it into a project right there and then, but most of the time it doesn’t happen like that, it’s a much slower, more organic process.
I have several places that I use to store ideas – a few notebooks, the notes on my phone, various email folders etc, so they’re always there to refer to when I need to. Often when I flesh out an idea, the timing is incidental, and starts to happen when I’m in an open frame of mind, mostly when I’m out in nature and forgetting about everything for a while. I might be out for a walk on the South Downs, or down by the coast making pictures, when all of a sudden something pops into my head relates really well to one of the ideas I had previously. If I’m excited enough by this revelation, I write down and formulate a connection to the initial idea in a way that I can translate into project. Otherwise I let it go and wait for the next idea to come along.
It’s a very fluid process overall, and one that I’ve learnt to trust rather than push. When I begin working on a new project, I like to allow for experimentation, and for unknown things to happen that might help to shape it further along the way. I’ve discovered over time that the less set in stone an idea is, and the less formulaic my method of working is, the more room there is to create something truly magical.
What are you currently working on?
As well as ongoing commercial and editorial commissions, I’ve recently partnered with several people to create long-term projects that carry a strong message about living sustainably. One of these projects is in collaboration with an incredible designer, who I’m working with to create an online magazine that looks into our habits of consumption — how we can consume less, or consume better. We came together through a mutual love of nature and conservation, and wanted to pool our efforts to create something that would provide an educational resource for people that aren’t yet aware of the changes and adaptations they can make to live in better harmony with the planet.
We’re currently in the process of building our online platform and researching and writing content — he’s taking the lead on the design, and my focus is on the photography and writing. We’re hoping to launch this year, although given that this is a labour of love which we both have to fit around our other work, it could be early next year. The idea is that we’ll publish 1–2 full magazines per year (online), but that we’ll update the site and our social media channels with interesting soundbites in between each issue. Watch this space for more news!
The other long-term collaborative project that I’m working on is with the artists agency and collective, Land Art. As an agency, Land Art ‘want to reimagine the role of the photographer & artist in the industry and explore where and how they can shape, transform and create green thinking’. They had co-hosted an event called Photo Scratch, which I’d been a part of and had presented a self initiated project that I’d been working on for peer and audience review. The project was a photographic showcase of artists whose work carried a message about sustainability. I’d met with and photographed several artists who used discarded marine waste to create artwork, and who were extremely passionate about educating people about the global pollution, waste and climate crisis through their work.
After discussing the project at a later stage with Land Art, they were keen to work with me to bring it into a wider audience, thereby spreading the message a lot further. Together we’ve been curating a list of artists that we’re keen to work with and showcase in order to give a varied overview of the potential that art has to work with nature, to work in sustainable ways, and to inform people about the choices that they can make to live and work sustainably. We’re completely aligned with our vision for the project, and are busy developing the theme and participants in order to make it into an accessible book in the next two years. Obviously I can only say so much about this project and the magazine, however both vehicles are an absolute joy to work on with other people and organisations who share similar values to my own.
As the book project with Land Art evolves, and as we start to build up a photographic narrative, we’ll be able to start sharing stories and promoting our work more. It’s definitely another one to watch out for, and please do go and follow Land Art on their Instagram page — they support and work with a plethora of incredible artists!
What can artists and the art world do to be sustainable in their work? What role can the art world play to drive awareness of the issues facing our planet?
I remember reading an article about the role of artists back in 2016, when the Western World was going through a particular stage of political change and uncertainty. On the face of it, art can be perceived as something that people enjoy in a gallery, and that’s only accessible to a select group of people. However, as an expression, art is so much more than that! In the article I read, it pointed out that through the artistic expression which is then shared with and experienced by a wide audience in a number of ways, we, the viewer, are led to question things in a way that our daily experiences don’t always offer. Art helps to shift our perception, and it encourages us to view things in a different light. In turn what that does is to open up a possibility of empathy, by allowing people to think freely, and not to be confined to one set of rules or one way of seeing the world. And empathy is huge! If people can develop their sense of empathy through experiencing art, then they can be more compassionate towards the diversity of cultures, and life on planet earth. They can learn to appreciate themselves and their lives on a deeper level, and to question the value of mass production in contrast to a finite planet.
Artists are often inadvertently also teachers, who develop their work as a response to issues — both local and global, and who by sharing their work, can help others to gain an understanding and sometimes an actionable appreciation of these issues. Art isn’t limited to being hung in a gallery, it can also offer participation from local communities, and it can be represented in a very public space and also be very experiential. It’s a freedom of speech and expression, giving people an alternative view and representation of their world to the world we perceive through commercial media and advertising outlets.
In terms of sustainability, artists can choose whether it’s in the materials and in their methods that they convey this sense, or in the message — and often both. One example is an artist that I recently came across called Vivien Martineau. Vivien goes out and forages for particular species of plants throughout the seasons to extract their colouring and then go on to create natural dyes from these plant extracts. Using these dyes, she creates bespoke artworks that people can buy to hang on their wall, and she also works as an illustrator, using the natural inks that she’s created to make her work. In her work, it’s the story behind the sustainable methods and production she uses that will help to attract an audience. This appreciation of her way of working then filters through into other areas of her audience's lives.
Another example of an artist who uses her work to convey a message about sustainability is Irene Soler, founder of A Drop in the Ocean. Irene works collaboratively to create public displays of art as a way of forming a talking point about the plastic pandemic we’re in and how we can better work with waste management. By collecting discarded plastic bottle tops along the beach in Brighton, Irene then works with a team of volunteers from within the community to separate them into different shapes, sizes and colours and repurpose them into a pre-designed installation piece which will be widely accessible to the public. Throughout the process, conversations are encouraged around the work, the materials, and their origins, and what we can do to change our behaviours in consumption and waste.
Art encourages a completely free and unique school of thought, and one that is not controlled by any higher power that might have the intent of blinding us from the truth. It encourages us to think and to question freely, and often to act in our own way as a response to what we have experienced through that work.
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