Cotton Carrier: Where do you call home?
Benjamin Salb: I currently live in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where you can find me in the woods photographing bugs and spiders before the sun is up. Well, when it's warm enough out at least.
CC: How long have you taken photographs for, unprofessionally and professionally?
Benjamin Salb: I've been a hobbyist photographer for over 10 years but started shooting macro photography during the pandemic. I've been fortunate to become an OM System Ambassador but still consider myself a hobbyist asI have a career in IT and do photography for fun.
CC: How would you define your style as a photographer?
Benjamin Salb: I specialize in tightly framed close-ups of living bugs and spiders. I'm on a never-ending mission to showcase as many of our little friends as possible.
CC: Have you ever gone to photography school?
Benjamin Salb: I have no formal photography training and learned most of my techniques through the help of the online macro community and my own trials and errors. It's crazy how much you can learn on your own when you become passionate about something.
CC: Where is your favorite place or thing to shoot?
Benjamin Salb: My favorite spot to shoot is a local patch of woods in my neighborhood. It's close to home, which lets me sneak out on summer mornings and get back before the kids are awake. It's nothing special but has provided an amazing mix of subjects to photograph over the years. I think that's a testament to macro photography in general. There's so much to see if you look close enough.
CC: What Camera(s) / Lenses do you use?
Benjamin Salb: As an OM System Ambassador I'm crazy lucky to be able to test and use the latest and greatest macro gear. I'm currently shooting with the OM-1 MKII and M.Zuiko 90mm Macro paired with the Godox V860III and AK Diffuser Pro for the 90mm.
CC: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to get “The Shot”?
Benjamin Salb: The craziest thing I've ever done to get a good shot is lie down in the middle of a road, in the dark, to photograph a wolf spider with prey. I've since reconsidered my reflectiveness and durability as an unexpected speed bump.
CC: Who has inspired you as a photographer?
Benjamin Salb: My sister is a professional wedding and portrait photographer in Wisconsin, and she will always be my original photography inspiration. She's the one that got me into photography so many years ago. For my current work, there are honestly too many people to list, but I am mostly inspired by other macro wildlife photographers. There are so many talented people in the space and they're constantly capturing images of bugs and spiders in ways never seen before. Macro photography today is not what it was even five years ago. And I'm constantly in awe of what photographers are able to capture.
CC: What advice would you tell an aspiring photographer?
Benjamin Salb: A passion can develop over time. Don't let a bad experience move you away from something you might actually be really good at, and something you might fall in love with. If I had given up on macro photography the first time I tried putting extension tubes on my lens, none of this would have ever happened.
CC: Can you share a photographic resource you personally use?
Benjamin Salb: As a bug and spider photographer, the iNaturalist app is great for recording your observations (for the community) and for getting help identifying your subject.
CC: How has photography shaped your day to day?
Benjamin Salb: My experiences with photography have changed the way I view moments. Even though I'm a bug and wildlife guy, I will pause my normal life to capture a moment when I can. It doesn't matter if it's the subject, the lighting, or the entire composition--now more than ever my brain tells me there is something special about a moment that I should try to capture and freeze in time.
CC: Where has photography taken you, and made you experience?
Benjamin Salb: Physically, my photography hasn't taken me far at all. But that's kind of my thing. I've been able to photograph so many amazing subjects in my neighborhood and local parks. And if I can do it, so can you. But experience wise, I've been incredibly fortunate to see my images all over the place, recently including a cover image on a National Geographic Kids magazine.
CC: Anything else you’d like to add?
Benjamin Salb: I use my Cotton Carrier harness every time I go out into the field. Having my equipment (camera/lens/diffuser) stable on my chest while walking around the woods lets me search for subjects for hours on end without being worried about my gear. It's a critical piece of equipment for my process, and I didn't realize how critical it would be until I got one!
Also, the macro photography community is one of the most generous and engaging wildlife photography communities. If you want to give macro a shot but don't know where to start, just ask a macro photographer!
Any cross promotions you’d like me to add info and links to?
If you don't mind sharing these three links, I'd really appreciate it!
OM SYSTEM Ambassador page: https://learnandsupport.getolympus.com/om-system-ambassadors/ben-salb
@bens_small_world: https://www.instagram.com/bens_small_world/?hl=en
AK Diffuser Pro: https://akdiffuser.com/product/ak-om-90-pro/
