Photography: Beautiful still life compositions from young practitioner Benjamin Swanson

Date
29 April 2014

I’ve had Benjamin Swanson’s portfolio bookmarked for about nine months now and I like to check back in on him every once in a while to see how he’s getting on. The BA Photography student from Nottingham Trent University has consistently showed such promise that it feels like he’s constantly on the verge of producing something really extraordinary. Looking at the list of people he’s assisted (Sam Hofman, Michael Bodiam, Thomas Brown, Sarah Parker) it seemed obvious that when the time came, that stand-out project would be a still life shoot – and indeed it is.

The Conquest of Materials sees Benjamin experiment with geometric forms created from polystyrene objects, wooden dowel and all manner of textured surfaces shot with great sensitivity, demonstrating some serious skills with lighting and composition. All he needs now is a retoucher to remove those tell-tale wires and he’s got a pretty perfect project on his hands.

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Benjamin Swanson: The Conquest of Materials

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Benjamin Swanson: The Conquest of Materials

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Benjamin Swanson: The Conquest of Materials

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Benjamin Swanson: The Conquest of Materials

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Benjamin Swanson: The Conquest of Materials

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Benjamin Swanson: The Conquest of Materials

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Benjamin Swanson: The Conquest of Materials

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Benjamin Swanson: The Conquest of Materials

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Benjamin Swanson: The Conquest of Materials

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About the Author

James Cartwright

James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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