Bio.
Ben Russell's passion for photography began at an early age and was encouraged and nurtured by his father Anthony, a graphic designer. His dad still has a picture of him at age 6 running around with a light meter hanging from his neck. Unfortunately, he later took the light meter apart with a screwdriver and was unable to rebuild it.
His professional career started with an internship at an advertising photographer's studio in his senior year of high school and summers working for a Life magazine staff photographer. Following several years assisting numerous NYC photographers and two years as first assistant to Burt Glinn, a member of the Magnum agency, he struck out on his own.
After twenty plus years of shooting annual reports, brochures and portraits for newspapers and magazines he started Foto-Aid, a photographic agency doing assignment photography for nonprofit organizations.
Ben is now a high school art teacher in NYC and teaches teen photography courses at The International Center of Photography.
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, a jewelry designer and their two sons.