Award-winning photographer Ben Sedman cited Manchester’s diverse range of architecture as an inspiration as he is embarks on his latest creative venture.
Ben, winner of the Miami Beach Photographic competition 2013 and the Manchester Airport Photographic competition 2011, is currently working on a project which involves piecing different letters from different notable Manchester venues together to spell ‘Manchester’.
His search for letters has already taken him to Old Trafford, the Arndale Centre, Selfridges and the Christmas markets and Ben cannot speak highly of Manchester from a photographic perspective.
Ben said: “I think Manchester is great, the architecture is fantastic,” Ben told MM.
“You’ve got so much history of the old buildings and the new stuff like the glass buildings at Spinningfields and there are some really cool designs, I think it’s great.
“I’ve always found landscape and architecture interesting and I’m interested in the man-made world as well as the natural world, so Manchester is really good for that.”
Having travelled around the world taking photographs, Ben has a few places that are particularly close to his heart.
“I loved the whole vibe of Sydney and the vibrancy of it, with the beach and city scape,” he said.
“But Havana, Cuba, is my favourite place I have visited so far, due to the vast array of colours and buildings old and new on show there.”
Ben’s international travels brought him success back in September while he was holidaying in Miami when he won a 2013 photographic competition.
“I saw the colours of the sea and the sky and the brightness of the lifeguard hut and the shadow of it casting on the sun and just thought it looked like a good shot,” he explained.
The judging panel evidently agreed.
The competition victory in Miami added to the recognition Ben received two years earlier from Manchester Airport – a piece of photography that remains on display at the airport today.
“It’s good [to win competitions] you don’t know if people are going to like what you do, so it’s nice to hear it when they do,” said Ben.
“It’s often the angles and shapes of objects that inspire my work.
“But it all depends on the kind of light you get, that’s often what sets stuff off. If you get a nice clear blue sky, it sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s that light on the buildings that can make a photograph look special.”
Also a primary teaching lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, Ben admits photography remains a hobby now.
“It is a creative outlet and it’s a big change from my other job, which I do enjoy,” he said.
“I like working with students and every day there is a new challenge, if an opportunity came along (in photography) it would be good to take it further.”
Whether photography remains a hobby or not for him, he expressed his desire to visit India in the future, saying it would be a great place to capture on camera.
He said: “I love to take photographs anywhere where there is a mixture of culture.
“I think the range of colours and the fact that it India is a bit of a melting pot, it would make for some good photographs!”
To find out more about Ben Sedman’s work click here.
Pictures courtesy of Ben Sedman, with thanks
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