Guyana is a land of six races, so we have lots of stories to tell. This blog features stories and articles related to the people, history and cultures of Guyana, South America
Guyana is a land of six races, so we have lots of stories to tell. This blog features stories and articles related to the people, history and cultures of Guyana, South America
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Meet Caleb Benjamin – the University Student who is a Professional Photographer on the Side (Redirected)
First Published: 25th of August, 2021 by Patrick Carpen.
Last updated: January 3, 2023 at 22:04 pm
Caleb Benjamin is presently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Guyana, but on the side, he has developed a profitable photography business that is quickly spiraling into a fulltime career – to the point that Caleb considered dropping out of the University to focus entirely on his photography career. However, after taking some sound advice from several well-meaning individuals, Caleb decided that he will do both – push through with his studies at the University of Guyana to obtain a B.A in Forestry and continue to develop his photography skills and business at the same time. At the time of this article, he has just finished his second year at the University of Guyana and has two more years to go to obtain a bachelor’s degree in forestry.
Caleb Benjamin, founder of photography business, Caleb’s Production, was born and raised in the village of Pomeroon in Region 2, Guyana, South America. He attended Liberty Primary School in Pomeroon Village before moving on to the 8th of May Secondary School on the Essequibo Coast. After graduating high school, Caleb advanced to the Guyana School of Agriculture where he studied Forestry for one year, obtaining a certificate in Forestry. Right after that, he advanced to the University of Guyana where he is currently in his third year of pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Forestry.
My photographer friend came over from town, and I held his camera for the first time, and I took some shots with his camera with no experience, and they came out great. And they were like, “wow you have the gift!” Then a relative lent me a Nikon for the first time. I used to take random pics of nature…sunset, plants, and so on. I uploaded these pics to my Facebook profile, and when people saw them, they invited me to photograph their birthdays, weddings, etc.
caleb benjamin – founder of caleb’s production
Believe it or not, Caleb still has a copy of the first photo he’s ever taken using a mobile phone, and he shares it with us here.
The young student/photographer relates that at first, he turned down offers to do paid photography work at social functions, but accepted some with close friends and relatives. However, noticing how good his photos were, and after getting more and more compliments and request for paid jobs, he invested in a Canon 90 D camera.
The Canon 90 D camera arrived at his home in September, 2020, and with that, his photography career took a leap forward. He’s had some challenges, he says, but he overcame them. Further, he relates that he never took any formal photography classes – but learned from YouTube videos instead.
What motives me is the end result of my work – seeing the joy in my customers’ faces when they see the photographs I’ve captured for them. I always learn from my mistakes and try to make the next shoot better than the one before.
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