I have photographs on my website taken in places as far away as Iceland and Venice! Never did I expect that my most popular picture would be one I shot no more than a few miles from my own front door!
‘Lean on Me’ has been my best seller for several years now, I’ve sold prints of it across the world!
It’s extremely cute, even if I do say so myself, and means different things to different people.
It continues to be popular around Mother and Father’s Day, representing the love between parent and child and has also been bought as a gift or greetings card offering support!
During the pandemic it was included in the launch of my motivational, quoted prints selection and continues to be available to buy as a quoted A4 print and quoted greetings card as well as being available without the quote as a print, card, coaster, mug, and lots more.
The photo to me was 100% meant to be…..
I was driving home one day and from my van window I spotted the Highland cows in the field. I had my camera with me, so I pulled over and got out to take a closer look.
The weather was decent, and the cows were feeding, I watched them for about 10 to 15 minutes fascinated by these beautiful creatures. The mum or dad, I’m not sure of the sex, leant down to feed on the hay and then all of a sudden, the little head appeared, I’ll never forget it and I feel really lucky to have caught it on camera!
About 2 minutes later I managed to capture, ‘The Wee Man Highland Cow and Calf’, although again with not being sure of the sex, maybe I need to rename this one ‘The Wee Man or Woman Highland Cow and Calf’!
The eye contact I had with the little one when taking both pictures was perfect, I couldn’t be happier with the finished product!
I took about 250 pictures at that field on that day, this hopefully gives you some idea of what’s involved in capturing that perfect second! A memory that will stay in my head forever!
PHOTOGRAPHS on the walls of a hospital ward are providing uplifting moments for patients battling cancer.
The oncology day unit at Hexham General Hospital commissioned photographer Philip Benton to produce five canvases to provide some relief to patients and their families.
Mr Benton was told 30 years ago he would never work again when diagnosed with ME but, despite this, he battled through the illness and started his own photography business six years ago.
Oncology unit manager Fiona Holdsworth said: “They really suit the mood of the unit, and the message we are trying to get across is breaking down the barriers that hospitals are depressing.”
This is the proudest moment so far I’ve had in my business.
I was approached two years ago by Hexham Hospital Oncology Unit about putting some of my work on their walls. As you can see they now have five of my pieces in there!
The feedback I got from customers and social media followers was a huge added bonus.
‘So glad our paths crossed, such a talent’
‘Your pictures are refreshing and realistic. Keep up the good work’.
‘I love your work Phil, I’m proud and pleased as punch that I know you’.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that this image didn’t make the finals of the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 awards, but really proud that it was shortlisted especially as it wasn’t taken as planned!
The Tyne Bridge, the most iconic of the 7 bridges crossing the River Tyne. Officially opened in October 1928 and built by Dorman Long and Co of Middlesbrough who also built the Sydney Harbour Bridge a few years later.
I took the photo back in December 2018, it had been snowing and I wanted to get a shot of the bridge in the snow. I know snow can melt fast, but I only live in Gateshead so wasn’t expecting it to have melted that fast!
For me, this picture is all about lighting, I was trying to capture the atmosphere. There was no one on the bridge and it felt very eery. I love how it leads right through to the far end of the bridge and includes the church and clock.
I always try to pick out the best a scene or visual has to offer which is exactly what I tried to capture in this photograph.
Available in a variety of print sizes and materials.
For months I had been looking forward to visiting this private woodland area to take photographs of the bluebells and on Thursday 27th May I finally got the chance to go.
To catch the golden hour light, I arrived around 6pm. I pulled up in the van, grabbed my kit and headed through the gates across the field towards the flowers.
It was so muddy due to all the rain we had over the previous weeks, I had to watch my step. One minute I was very carefully making my way down a slope and the next minute, ‘CRASH’, I was flat on my back with my camera bag underneath me and my camera and tripod on top of my chest! It bloody hurt!
I gradually got myself to my feet, covered in mud and a little shell-shocked but being the trooper I am I carried on towards the bluebells.
As always, I explored the area and had a look around to find the best position before I took the photos and video as planned.
Once I’d finished, I headed back, by this time I was starting to feel achy and sore and was looking forward to getting home and cleaning myself up. As I went to drive out of the car park, I realised the gate was locked and I was stuck! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! Eventually after several phone calls, the gate was unlocked, and I was free to leave!!!
My point to this story is that there is so much more to being a photographer than you realise! You just see the finished product!
2 weeks on and I still haven’t fully recovered.
Just another day in the life of a photographer! I love it really!
My thought here was to capture the Lighthouse from the other side, I was aiming for something different.
As I walked past the Lighthouse and got to the rocks, I spotted an inlet and instantly thought that it would be a great leading line for the photograph.
To get to exactly where I wanted to be I had to step across a ravine, luckily, I was wearing my wellies and the fact that I’m well over 6ft tall was a big advantage! Safety first though, I could see the tide going out, so I knew I was ok.
I positioned myself at the edge of the sea, one step backwards and I would have been in it!
As I set up the shot, I wanted to slow down the movement of the water to lead you into the Lighthouse. The sun was setting, and the sky and water colours were very similar.
I managed to capture exactly what I wanted. If you look really closely to the right of the white house, just down from the wall you can even see a seal trapped on the rocks, which I didn’t see myself until I processed the picture.
It was the 1st of January 2018, the first light of a new year. I made my way to Old Hartley, North Tyneside to get some shots of the sunrise looking towards St Mary’s Island. When I got there however, something didn’t quite seem right, I wasn’t where I needed to be. Photographers intuition maybe!!!
As I looked around, I could see dark skies heading out towards the sea, I knew they would drift across behind the hill in the Harbour at Seaton Sluice and that the sun would rise and light up the scene. Perfect for the picture! I made the decision to head along there. It was the right decision!
To capture the dark sky like this, was fantastic, the double rainbow was a huge bonus! Due to my M.E. my memory isn’t the best, but I remember this like it was yesterday and think I always will.
I wasn’t going to mention the fact, that as I was leaving, the skies opened and to say I got drenched is an understatement.
All part of the job though and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Once upon a time there was a photographer called Phil who ran his own Business which mostly involved attending several fairs and events throughout the North East of England with his stall, selling photographic goodies including, mugs, coasters, greetings cards and prints.
The business was doing well, then one day, in March 2020, BAM! COVID-19 hit!
One by one fairs were cancelled, and it quickly became clear that this was something that wasn’t going away any time soon! Phil lives on his own and suffers from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.), he had turned his hobby into a business and solely relied on it to pay the bills. Panic quickly started to kick in for Phil, he feared that this could end his business, worried about how he would cope financially, as well as being frightened of catching the virus and anxious about how lockdown would affect his mental health!
It was a really, tough couple of weeks, no events meant there was no money coming in and living alone during lockdown meant that Phil wasn’t seeing anyone at all in person. It was so hard to stay positive.
It soon became a Sink or Swim situation for Phil! He chose to Swim!
Together with his Support Worker, Michelle (from This is Me Agency), Phil came up with a plan to try and not only keep things going but also to use this dreadful time as an opportunity to progress and develop. Website development and online promotion was a must, shops were closed, events were cancelled, the only way people could buy was online so Phil needed to be sure he could be found, he needed to be showing up in online searches, he needed to get people to his website!
The energy and time that would have been put into preparing for and attending events and fairs now went into adding new products, stories, and blogs to his website. He also reached out to other businesses to try and secure some corporate work. He joined forces with Chopwell Pet Supplies where he now continues to sell his products and he introduced ‘feel good’ prints to his product range which could be sent as gifts during the pandemic to offer support. Jigsaw puzzles were another new addition and have proved to be super popular due to people staying at home more.
Orders were trickling in and possibilities were being followed up, there were a lot of potential opportunities, some were great, others came to nothing but disappointment! It was an emotional rollercoaster with lots of ups and downs! A sale to the USA was a huge boost of confidence early on in lockdown, it’s Phil’s dream to sell his work worldwide so this was fantastic but the few weeks following this sale, there was nothing, barely a coaster or a greetings card sold, it was soul destroying!
Again though, tenacious Phil refused to give up, he chipped away at things as much as he could taking onboard all advice he was given, MINT Business Club and DBN Members will never know how much they have helped Phil through this extremely difficult time!
Every single potential was investigated, if Phil’s business was going to fail, it wouldn’t be for the lack of trying.
Gradually things started to improve and due to his quality reputation, recommendations resulted in Phil taking on 2 corporate projects during the summer, the first one being for Austrin Gearbox Specialists (www.austrin-engineering.co.uk) in Newcastle and the second one Cockburn’s Craft Butchers (www.cockburnsbutchers.co.uk) in Bedale. These were both huge wins! A further huge positive has been Phil becoming a Trustee for Chopwell Regeneration Group which he is very much enjoying and excited to see how it develops.
Phil’s number of Social Media Followers has continued to grow as has his number of Newsletter Subscribers and his Landscape Photography Talk which he used to give in person at Camera Club meetings throughout the North East is now available to be purchased online and can be listened to Worldwide!
An online Christmas shop was launched in October 2020! Nothing beats the personal selling at events and talking to customers, sharing the story behind each photograph but it was a case of ‘needs must’. The shop was a success!
Phil’s passion, hard work, determination, and drive have kept him going along with the support, encouragement, and kindness of many. It’s now January 2021, the business is still going strong, with lots more to come and Phil is very much looking forward to the future!
This may even be the year when he starts writing his own book!
Take Care! Stay Safe! Never Give Up!
A huge thank you from Phil to the following, for their support and encouragement over the past year!
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