border crossing

Dog Meat Market

2011-08-15T02:28:00.000-07:00

I came across this market while working on my ongoing project: the outdoor markets of South Korea. Let's just say this one was a bit different. I only worked here for about 5 minutes as people were telling me not to take pictures and the atmosphere was quickly becoming threatening. Having the 70-200mm helped for getting long shots, but it's also quite conspicuous. I'll be going back soon to collect audio--the noise in the market was overwhelming.

South Korean Dog Meat Market - Images by Ben Weller

Arbuckle Rodeo

2011-07-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Photos from the Arbuckle Rodeo Show in Burnsville, NC

Arbuckle Rodeo - Images by Ben Weller

Cattail Creek, NC July 4 ATV Parade

2011-07-05T04:21:00.000-07:00

July 4 ATV Parade - Images by Ben Weller

Record snow hits eastern South Korea

2011-02-14T01:52:00.000-08:00

A huge snowstorm hit the east coast of South Korea today. Yonhap News reports it was the biggest snowfall in a century.

Record Snowfall in Busan - Images by Ben Weller

Ice Fishing

2011-01-29T04:42:00.000-08:00

A large ice fishing festival in Gangwon-do, South Korea, was cancelled due to the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease this month, but hundreds of people still turned out to the frozen lakes and rivers of the northern province to fish for Bing-au, or "ice fish." Some who turn out are amateurs, others pro's. People bring bait and tackle, warm clothes, food, drink, heaters and cooking equipment. The fish are plentiful but small, and are fried and then served with cucumber.

Ice Fishing - Images by Ben Weller

Artist Profile: Britt Irvin

2011-01-10T22:27:00.000-08:00

Art inspires art. Here are a few photographs from a shoot I did last weekend with Britt Irvin, a talented and supremely cool artist based here in Busan.

Artist Profile: Britt Irvin - Images by Ben Weller

Her work can be seen here: http://www.brittkee.com/

Tear sheets

2010-12-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

I recently updated my portfolio to include tear sheets, an important feature that allows potential clients to see how my photographs might be used in their own publications. Art buyers need to know that a photographer can not only make pretty pictures, but that those pictures can be integrated into a publication and tell a compelling story.

Moving Markets

2010-11-03T04:07:00.000-07:00

For a good taste of the hustle and bustle of life in Korea--and the food--just hit up any of the country's numerous outdoor markets. Busan has some of the best. Here are the markets of Oncheonjang and Deokpo. Neither is as famous as the ones around Jagalchi, but for a photographer they're a great place to spend a few hours. You can even do a little shopping while you're there.

Korean Markets - Images by Ben Weller

City Park Jazz, Denver

2010-08-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

I got a chance to go to City Park Jazz in Denver last Sunday. The weekly summer jazz performance next to the lake at City Park attracts some 5,000 Denverites and visitors each week. Barbecue grills and blankets fill the green spaces, children and couples dance next to the stage and the beer and wine flow freely. It looked like we were going to get rained out by one of many recent thunderstorms, but people rode out the brief downpour and the music continued. All that was left was a beautiful sky and when the sun broke through the clouds it reminded me of why, as a photographer, I love this part of the country. There's something qualitatively different about the light here, turning the outdoors into a huge studio, with the studio lights in the sky.

I was just shooting some personal stuff, taking advantage of the light, when I met Megan Zacher, a graphic designer with ZebraGraphics who donates her services to the City Park Jazz concert series. She asked to use some of my pictures on the City Park Jazz website. I was happy to do it. Not only is it good for the soul to help out others, but sometimes doing non-paid work (in this case it was "work" I was already doing, and City Park Jazz is a free, non-profit event) in exchange for a link to your own website is a good way to increase your web traffic and get more eyes, and potential clients, looking at your photography. See the pictures here, and next time your in Denver in the summer, don't miss this fun, free event.

Wonderful Machine

2010-06-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that I'm now under the representation of Wonderful Machine

They've got a roster of really talented photographers doing everything from photojournalism to fashion and corporate photography. I feel honored to be among them.

Tea Party, Bloomington, Ind.

2010-04-19T16:18:00.001-07:00

Tea Party, Tax Day, Bloomington, Indiana - Images by Ben Weller

Pentaport International Rock Festival--Korea

2010-03-13T12:58:00.001-08:00

Pentaport International Rock Festival--Korea - Images by Ben Weller

Spend!

2010-03-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Economy - Images by Ben Weller

New York, New York

2010-02-24T06:59:00.001-08:00

I was in the city last weekend to meet up with some family and friends, as well as a little reunion of Overseas Press Club Foundation scholarship winners at the Reuters office in Times Square. Didn't have a lot of time to shoot but came away from the weekend with some keepers.

New York City--Shopping, commerce, commute - Images by Ben Weller

Heavy snow in Bloomington

2010-02-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

Heavy snow in Bloomington, IN - Images by Ben Weller

Manchester College

2010-02-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

Photographs of Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana, for the Manchester College alumni magazine

Manchester College - Images by Ben Weller

Communications Tower

2010-02-06T08:21:00.001-08:00

Hoosier Energy line crews erect a 130ft communications tower at the Bloomington primary substation

Communications Tower - Images by Ben Weller

Power production: shift work

2010-01-17T20:32:00.000-08:00

Midnight at Merom Generating Station - Images by Ben Weller

Airports

2009-12-30T08:15:00.000-08:00

Air travel has been in the news a lot with the recent attempted terrorist attack on a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas day. Airports offer endless opportunities for compelling photographs about people, families, travel, the economy, security and more. Here are just a few from the Indianapolis International Airport taken on December 23, 2009. The first slide shows an escalator scene with a group of people headed down and one lone soldier headed up. He may be headed home, he may be shipping out, but the picture reminds us that as many people join their families for the holidays, there are others whose duties take them far away from home.

Airports and Holiday Travel - Images by Ben Weller

New audio slideshow and X-mas gifts!

2009-12-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming and the creative types among you are wondering, "What would make the perfect gift for my loved ones?" A quality photographic print of a person, place or event they connect to is a great option. Visit my archive to find and purchase your perfect X-mas gift. Photographs come in a variety of sizes and finishes. If you're a Hoosier, or know someone who is, you might consider one of the pictures in the slideshow below. Music, again, by Zoe Keating

Obama Retrospective

2009-12-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

Since Obama is set to make a major address on the war in Afghanistan tonight, I figured it would be fitting to post the only pictures I got of Obama during the campaign, when he stopped here in Bloomington during the primary in 2008. I'll hold any commentary on his plan to send more troops until after I hear his speech tonight.

Obama Campaign - Images by Ben Weller

Southern Indiana's Coal-fired Power Plants

2009-11-21T15:21:00.001-08:00

Taking a page from photographer Chang Lee of the New York Times and his excellent series on energy and the environment in China, I put together a slide show of my own work in coal-fired power plants in southern Indiana. I even borrowed the music he used by the cellist Zoe Keating. These photographs are from two different power plants in southern and southwest Indiana.

Archiving

2009-11-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

So I'm currently going through the long, exacting, and yet exciting process of archiving most of my work on Photoshelter. As I do this, I come across all sorts of pictures I've taken in the past. Many of them are BAD! But occasionally I come across some gems. Some of these have been published, but maybe only one of a series got any real play. Now I can put them together into little slideshows and post them on border crossing, giving you all a chance to see them, maybe for the first time! So, here, from over two years ago, some pictures of the Indiana University women's crew team. This was a fun assignment I did for Bloom Magazine, an early morning on Lake Lemon near Bloomington. Expect more slideshows like this one as I continue digging through the archives.

P.S. There's a little icon on the bottom of the slideshow player that will open this in full screen--surely a better way to watch.

Indiana University Women's Rowing Team - Images by Ben Weller

Restart

2009-11-18T08:07:00.000-08:00

I've failed to keep this blog up-to-date, largely because I've been busy getting my other sites up and running. My portfolio and my archive are now accessible online. Soon this blog will be integrated with those sites for what will hopefully be a seamless experience for users as they use my portfolio to view my work, my archive to purchase work, and my blog to read about projects I'm working on, individual photographs I've taken, and my thoughts on developments in the field of photojournalism. You can probably expect some political commentary as well. I'll also use this blog to link to the work of other photojournalists.

For those who haven't been following me lately, or don't know me at all, I'm a photojournalist based in Bloomington, Indiana. I attended graduate school at Indiana University's School of Journalism, and then interned in South Korea at the Seoul bureau of Reuters news agency. I'm now back in Bloomington. In addition to freelancing, I currently work for the communication department of a non-profit rural electric cooperative. Sound strange? Well, it is, kind of. But it's also a great introduction to the behind-the-scenes of energy production in this country. And I get to photograph it. I've been spending a lot of time in coal plants. They're dark, dirty and dangerous places, and they provide a lot of opportunities and challenges for me as a photographer. So as the "restart" post on this blog, I'll post a couple of pictures from my work in a coal plant in Petersburg, Ind.