DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

Search

Submit A Story

Benjamin Von Wong

Photographer builds 11-foot electronic waste skull to show Bitcoin’s impact on climate change

by 19 Comments

Photographer and activist Benjamin (Ben) Von Wong is well known for his work that raises awareness of various environmental and sociological issues. In his latest project Skull of Satoshi, Ben points out to the massive impact Bitcoin has had on climate change.

For this project, Ben and his team collected electronic waste and recycled Styrofoam and painstakingly assembled them all together in an 11-foot-tall skull with laser eyes. After 1,000 hours of work, the setup was ready for some epic photos, and Ben shared them with us, as well as the story behind this project.

[Read More…]

Photographing a 10 foot tall Extinction Thermometer

This is a short story about a strong vision, lack of time, and how a good story overcomes the gap between the two.

The Extinction Thermometer is an art installation I designed and Dana Waldman hand-sculpted to highlight the connection between Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss. If you know the Doomsday Clock, the concept of the Extinction Thermometer is similar. The Extinction Thermometer shows the average global temperature and how far it is from a 1.5ºC rise. This seemingly small temperature change risks “losing the wildlife and biodiversity that make this planet all our home“.

[Read More…]

This 12-minute talk will help you embrace fear as a photographer

by Add Comment

As humans, but also as artists, all of us have felt anxiety and fear. No matter how skillful we are and how long we’ve been doing something, there’s always that little “what if?” somewhere in the back of our minds.

In this 12-minute TEDx talk, photographer and activist Benjamin Von Wong talks about fear. Precisely, he talks about fear of irrelevance and how you can turn it into fuel for creating powerful and impactful art.

[Read More…]

Mindboggling Three Story Tall Giant Faucet Leaks Plastic Into The Environment

by Add Comment

Benjamin (Ben) Von Wong is more than a photographer. He’s also an adventurer, a conceptual artist, and an activist who uses his work to raise awareness of many important issues. One of them is certainly plastic waste, and Ben has already reflected on it in his previous projects.

Sadly, with the pandemic, single-use plastic waste has increased by up to 300%. Saying that it’s alarming is an understatement, and as always, Ben wanted to draw our attention to the issue by using photography, a massive installation, and a call to action. And this time, there’s also a contest for you to enter!

[Read More…]

Guidelines for ethical photography and storytelling in the post-George Floyd era

by Add Comment

The death of George Floyd this May sparked protests across the USA and even internationally. These events make us reevaluate many things, including the ethics of storytelling and photography. In this week’s episode of Impact Everywhere’s podcast, Benjamin Von Wong spoke to Danielle Da Silva. She is an award-winning photographer, and a founder and CEO of Photographers Without Borders (PWB). Danielle spoke with Ben about her own experience with discrimination, and elaborated on PWB’s guidelines for ethical photography. If you’re a photojournalist, this is something you must listen. But honestly, I recommend it to everyone.

[Read More…]

These adventurous maternity photos were shot at home with fruit and veggies

by Add Comment

Benjamin Von Wong is known for his adventurous photo shoots which have taken him all over the world. With the lockdown order in place, he couldn’t even go out much, let alone travel. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t create adventurous photo shoot, with his pregnant sister and her husband as models. With some fruit and veggies, help from his family, and lots of imagination, Ben created a series of photos that will definitely put a smile on your face and remind you that everything is possible with some imagination.

[Read More…]

Artist creates this shiny “crystal cave” from 18,000 used plastic cups to show how plastic is devastating our planet

by Add Comment

After “parting the sea” with 168,000 used plastic straws, Benjamin Von Wong has created another epic installation. This time, he and his team collected 18,000 plastic cups and turned them into a “crystal cave.” Other than letting you take Instagram-worthy shots inside of it, this “cave” also warns about the excessive use of disposable plastic in our everyday lives.

[Read More…]

Photographer “parted the sea” with 168,000 used plastic straws

by 1 Comment

Photographer Benjamin Von Wong is known for his ambitious projects which often point to serious environmental issues we’re faced with. In his latest project named Strawpocalypse, his models “parted the sea” made of 168,000 used plastic straws. It took a lot of time and effort to build the installation. But it paid off: Ben took some fantastic images which send a message that we can do something to decrease pollution of the sea with plastic.

[Read More…]

Here is how to create a cinematic video piece under extreme time pressure

by Add Comment

When Benjamin Von Wong approached me to make a video for him I thought to myself that it would be like any other project. It was not. This one had an added twist; We have to deliver and showcase a full product before we left the location. This meant that we’d have six days of filming, and on the seventh day, we need to present the video of our work at the Nexus Global International Youth Summit.

A project like this sounds impossible on paper. Even more so when I realized that some of the days would be 40-hours long filming days. (That’s right, 40 hours, on your feet, filming). However, with a little a lot of planning and organization, you can succeed in delivering such a challenging product on time, and to the best of your abilities. Here are my top tips for succeeding in delivering a finished two-minutes video after a six-day construction project, with less than 24 hours for editing:

[Read More…]

This is what dumping a truckload of plastic to the ocean every 60 seconds looks like

by Add Comment

According to statistics, the equivalent of a truckload of plastic is dumped in the ocean every 60 seconds. Sounds kinda scary, right? Since the statistic may be difficult to visualize, Benjamin Von Wong has decided to demonstrate it with a series of photos, hoping to make a change. So, he gathered a team and a truckload of plastic, and created a set of impactful images, along with a project that aims to help decrease the pollution at the source.

[Read More…]

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts