BEN WALTERS / MARSHALL, NORTH CAROLINA
CASUAL NATURAL LIGHT PORTRAITURE,
NATURE & ENVIRONMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY,

PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE ARTS

    I've opened a small studio in downtown Marshall, NC in the beautifully renovated Marshall High Studios, stuck in the middle of the French Broad River (really) where I'm doing casual natural light portraiture. The space in the old high school, built in 1925, has great natural light, with tall ceilings and if there is any justice left in the world (doubtful) it will win a preservation award for best adapted and renovated space. I'm now booking clients who want something above and beyond a stock portrait but don't want to spend hundreds of dollars.

    The immediacy of a great portrait goes beyond the surface and reveals some aspect of the personality and illuminates a persons identity. I still find that the low tech and durable nature of a well preserved photograph is much more accessible than a video or a computer slide show. Perhaps it's also due in part, that our technological advances still can't replicate the beauty of an actual print made by someone who knows what they are really doing. Or maybe it's that I get tired of looking for cables. Certainly it could be ... I thought I rotated all those photos ...

    I work with photographs constantly and in many instances the computer is a royal pain. (Is it politically correct to say that about something that so many treat like the Holy Grail?). Is that photo filed under people or places or events or family? It is in backup? Where's the adapter for the hard drive? The hard drive's not booting up... &^*!.

    The price for a 20-25 minute session is $80. This price includes selected images for online preview, medium sized digital files of selected images and a base set of prints of the same image;  two 5 x 7's (perhaps the ideal size for albums), one 4 x 6 and four wallet sized prints. All images are personally custom printed with great attention to detail.

    Prints up to 11 x 14 and larger can be ordered but after looking through tens of thousands of prints in a lifetime, due primarily to storage considerations, I can't honestly recommend a print size over 8 x 10 for most portraits. Not that they don't look fantastic and offer a chance to generate larger profits, but when your son, daughter, mate or friend is going through stuff 20 years from now, how many other photographs will they have? And will they still appreciate that asteroid sized booger in your left nostril?

    I schedule portraits on Fridays 12-5pm , Saturdays 8-5 and on Sunday afternoons 1-5pm.  Working with natural light (which yes, is the best light ever made) if the sun goes out, I won't be able to accommodate portrait sessions in the same manner. Please take this into account.

    I'm easy to deal with, have a great sense of humor and a superb eye, which generally makes a portrait sitting a pleasant, exciting and fun process. I enjoy the huge variety in people and their histories, where life is taking them and how they want to live. A great photographer has to be naturally inquisitive and I enjoy peoples' stories.

    Give me a call and setup a time to come in if you're looking for something real. I discourage coat & ties and formal dress, although I can do a fine business portrait if that's where your needs lie. Better everyday wear and accoutrements which make you feel most like you, is what I encourage people to wear. I encourage humor and things that may be offbeat, if that's your inclination, but I prefer to mix this with the natural relaxed beauty that comes from people when all the elements coalesce.

    Even if you don't need a portrait, come to Marshall High Studios and visit Blannahasset Island. There's a nice walking path and downtown Marshall is a fun and easy stroll. The French Broad River is beautiful here and getting better all the time, as people recognize this and take better care of it.

    If you're around and the sign on the studio door says come in, do so and introduce yourself.

    Hey! Thanks for checking out my website. I now have stock, as well as signed & limited edition prints available for purchase. 25% of all the profits from my business are directed back into well managed organizations with proven track records, which help protect and steward the places in the Southeast where I photograph. This helps insure that there are wild, uncrowded places left for future generations. My images add a great spark to any indoor environment and your purchases actively help protect the wild irreplaceable places (hey I like that), in the Southeast.

Thanks! Your purchases have also helped;

Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy

Coming Attractions;  links to photographic resources, links to friends, links to favorite places, environmental & community activism links and maybe some country blues related stuff. If you've never listened to Charley Patton falling asleep on a hot summer night, well, you really haven't lived ...

All images & graphics copyright Ben T. Walters. All rights reserved.
Please read my disclaimer and web site use terms.