About the Artist: Photox aka Ben Appleton.
Ben is an Australian based, award winning, internationally published professional photographer. With an impressive list of clients around the world, Ben has the experience, versatility and skillset to produce stunning results across a range of photographic genres. His creative imagery adorns the walls of many homes, hotels and offices globally, and has been used on the front pages of international newspapers and magazines, in advertising campaigns and to market some of Australia’s biggest events to the world.
With a background in architecture and design, Ben’s goal is to produce imagery that pushes the traditional photographic boundaries. “I always look at ways to do things differently. In most cases I have a rough idea of what I’m trying to achieve but once you get to the location, you can push that idea further and further. I think being willing to experiment has allowed me to achieve some exceptional results over the years.”
We spent some time chatting to Ben about his journey and what is next for Photox.
Have you always wanted to be a professional photographer?
“As a child, had you asked me 50 times “what do you want to be when you grow up?”, not once would I have answered ‘a professional photographer’! I was that kid that loved anything and everything to do with sport. Given the chance to do an extra PE or sports class instead of art class, I jumped at it. Whilst many of my peers were learning how to paint with oils, sketch landscapes or develop 35mm film, I was off training for, or competing in various competitions across a range of different sports, so the idea of a career in anything other than sport had never crossed my mind.”
So how did you get into photography?
“It was very much a case of one door closing and another door opening. When I was 15, I was hit by a car and broke my spine whilst road cycling. Serious injuries and professional sport don’t go hand in hand, so I had to look at my options going forward. I was a few months off finishing year 10 at school when it happened, so in some ways the timing could not have been better as it allowed me to pivot from sport into something else for my final two years of school. I ended up taking the classes required to get into architecture at the University of Canberra but realised that I actually enjoyed photographing buildings more than I enjoyed designing them. That’s how I started my journey into the world of photography.”
How did you get from there to where you are now?
“Having never studied photography I had to teach myself everything from scratch. I knew what I wanted a photo to look like in my head but had no technical knowledge of how to achieve that look. I spent a long time playing with an old 6.3-megapixel Canon DSLR. I would never let myself use anything other than full manual mode in order to force myself to learn how to manipulate the camera to give me the results I wanted. I like to do things a little bit differently though, so whilst most people learn photographic rules and are taught to do things a certain way, I just did my own thing and got a little creative along the way! I think that willingness to take risks has certainly led to a number of bookings from clients that were happy to let my creativity influence the direction of the shoot.
There are certainly some big names on your list of clients! What’s your secret?
“Am I allowed to say luck? Haha. I think if you give 100% to every client, no matter how big or small the photoshoot is, eventually you’ll be in the right place at the right time. I’ve definitely had some luck over the years but I’ve also made that luck by creating an exceptional experience for every client and it’s organically grown from there!”
Do you have a favourite shoot?
“That’s a really tricky question. There are a few. I was hired by Los Pumas, Argentina’s national rugby team, to photograph them in the Tri Nations Rugby Championships against New Zealand’s All Blacks and Australia’s Wallabies. Los Pumas had previously never beaten the All Blacks in the history of international rugby but on this occasion, they beat them for the very first time. The atmosphere in the stadium was beyond anything I had experienced and my photos were used across the world to celebrate their historic victory, including on the front page of Argentina’s biggest newspaper. The other shoot that stands out was at the start of 2021. I was hired as the unit stills photographer for Liam Neeson’s Hollywood Blockbuster, ‘Blacklight’. I spent a week on set photographing various scenes and getting shots that were used to promote the movie. Both are very different shoots but very memorable!”
It sounds like business is booming — how do you find time for personal projects like the images that are part of the LunART Signature Collection?
“A lot of my personal projects have been ideas in my head for a while, so it’s just a matter of bringing that idea to life at the right time. Some shoots, such as my photo of the super moon setting behind Telstra Tower, have specific time and location constraints, whilst others are a lot more flexible and can occur whenever I can fit them in. Sometimes I find that I do need that mental break from the commercial photography world, so I’ll often grab my camera and go for a drive to see where I end up. There is always something worth photographing everywhere we go; you just have to find it!”
Where to from here?
“To infinity and beyond! Haha, no honestly I want to be able to put more time into my personal projects going forward. To get there, I have to expand my team further. I already have a few photographers that shoot under the Photox brand and assist me on larger commercial and event shoots, but the demand still means I am required to shoot almost every day of the week. Once I have more time on my hands, I can focus on creating artwork that will be available exclusively in the Metaverse. I have a few real world utility perks up my sleeve that I plan to roll out as things progress too! I am so excited to be part of this space! I can’t even imagine where it will be 5 years from now, let alone 15 or 20 years!”
Any last words?
“I just wanted to thank the LunART team for believing in me and what I do. I can’t wait to see where my photography can take me in the Metaverse and am really looking forward to meeting fellow artists in the space.”
Photox online:
www.photox.com.au
www.facebook.com/photoxben
www.instagram.com/photoxben
www.twitter.com/PhotoxNFT
