Los Angeles, CA
Biography:
Starting with a Brownie camera at age three, Mr. Benjamin has
always exhibited a unrelenting passion for his art. After earning a
B.A. in Fine Arts from Indiana University in 1979, he moved to
Southern California and spent the next decade honing his skills
in the commercial photo market.
During this period he specialized in copy and restoration as a printer and retoucher. This involved re-creating older processes such as hand-colored black & white prints, sepia toning, tin-types and albumens. One can see the influence of these "hands-on" processes manifesting in his later digital work. In adapting these techniques to a digital workflow he has discovered greater freedom in his craft. Negatives that were once deemed unprintable, largely due to minor flaws, can now be revisited and corrected. Hand-coloring black & white images has always been one of his favorite techniques.
The bulk of his work with nudes was produced in this same manner. With a color palate that is based on memory and interprets a subject much like a painting, the introduction of digital tools allows for almost unlimited refinement, while the evolution of new photographic materials provides greater longevity.
In 1989 he joined the Getty Research Institute as a Senior Photographer where he currently holds the position of Senior Imaging Technician. Mr. Benjamin is currently focused on producing exacting replicas of rare works on paper that are either too fragile or otherwise unavailable to display.
Website: www.jobebenjamin.com
