CBMK with Phil & Z Roy
It was through skateboarding that I first got into still photography, so I was stoked when I got a call from Phil asking if I wanted to go shoot with him at CBMK last week. Z Roy came along as well and we pretty much had the whole park to ourselves for the night. I haven’t been to this park in about 4 years, but not much has changed, and it’s still one of my favourite winter spots in the GTA.
Phil McKnight with a large Ollie to Fakie
Z Roy with an Ollie from the Upper Flat into the Mini-Half
Z Roy with...I guess a Nosegrind up, 5-0 down?
Phil with a lofty switch kickflip
B-Roll Weapon of Choice...$5 from an antique store and it has a hot shoe!
Z Roy again, with the 50mm instead of the 15mm
My favourite photo from the night, cropped square so it's Instagram-ready 
I also decided to warm up the motor drive and try out a couple sequences. Z Roy’s finished up a bit sketchy, as every other attempt I’d had to duck under his board flying out of the mini-half…so I was a little uneasy…but I assure you it was a land.
You already know.
Sometimes 1 frame just isn't enough.
...or one angle...
It felt really good to get back to my roots and shoot some quality skateboarding with old friends, I’m really looking forward to skating street in the coming months!
Filed under: Homies, Skateboarding | 46 Comments
Tags: CBMK, christoph benfey, hamilton, hamont, phil mcknight, photography, skate, skateboarding, toronto, Z Roy
Ghetto Fabulous
So stoked to be sharing this with the world! We just released Johnny Major‘s first Music Video for Ghetto Fabulous, off their debut album “This Is The Sound”. I had the pleasure of Directing this video, and could not have done it without the extremely talented camera operator and editor, Chris Wardle. Anna Cyzon is also featured in this song and video which was shot in entirety in Hamilton, Ontario. Take a look and spread the love!
Filed under: Fashion, Hamilton, Homies, In The Studio, Music, Video | Leave a Comment
Tags: anna cyzon, chris wardle, christoph benfey, ghetto fabulous, hamilton, hamont, jm productions, johnny major, music video
Steel Gold Jan 2012
I finally got a chance to make it out to a Steel Gold show over at the Casbah Lounge on Friday. I love the intimacy of the Casbah for a venue.
The main event of this month’s Steel Gold was an insane DJ Battle, I’ve never witnessed live DJ stunts like this before, so it was hard not to put the camera down and just enjoy the show!
In the end it came down to a heated battle between DJ Rix & !Kryme Won. There was just so much going on I didn’t think one photo would do these guys justice!
!Kryme Won Holding it Down
See if you can spot my logo in that one!
DJ Rix for the Win, let's go
To me it was all good, but in the end the judges handed the win to DJ Rix. I’m definitely looking forward to the next Steel Gold event! In the mean time, if you’re looking for something to do after Art Crawl this Friday the 13th, why not head over to Low Key Studio where we’re having a FREE SHOW and VIDEO RELEASE PARTY for Johnny Major! More details www.lowkeystudio.com.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Hamilton Time Lapse Test Shots
I’m working on a little Time Lapse Video to showcase the beautiful city I live and work in to the rest of the world. My goal is for outsiders to see this city the way we (optimistic!) Hamiltonians see it!
These are some of the test shots I did when I was first ironing out the kinks with my super ghetto, self-designed, home-made time-lapse dolly rig…When I say ghetto, I mean I have to move it by hand, 1/8th of an inch at a time, 500 times per shot…in the freezing cold! But I love this city, so it’s worth it!
Please excuse the shakiness…again, these were just the test shots. The final video, which will drop sometime towards the end of January, will be flawlessly spectacular!
I’ll be shooting up until mid-January, so if you know of any cool locations to set up for a time lapse, please email me at christoph@lowkeystudio.com and I’ll make sure you get credited for the location in the final video if it’s used! If anyone knows of any ways to get funding through sponsorship or something, let me know! It would be awesome to have proper equipment, but if not…I’m perfectly fine to do this by hand, 1/8th of an inch at a time!
Please, enjoy (and share!) the video!
Christoph Benfey
Filed under: Architecture, Hamilton, Music, Time Lapse, Video | 4 Comments
Tags: architecture, christoph benfey, hamilton, Hamilton Ontario, hamont, low key studio, photography, Time Lapse
Cooking with Chef Bradley Yip
I was hanging out with Chef Bradley Yip over the weekend. Bradley is the Managing Chef at Seven, which is the fine restaurant inside the McMichael Gallery. I shooting some new menu items for them and I had my 7D with me so we decided on a whim to shoot a quick little segment for one of the salad’s Bradley had been playing around with.
I didn’t have any sound gear or video equipment with me other than the 7D itself, but the video ended up getting picked up for Litro Magazine over in the UK! Here’s the result, and let me tell you, it tastes better than it looks! Enjoy!
Filed under: Food, Homies, Video | 2 Comments
Tags: Chef, christoph benfey, Cook, Cooking, Food, Food Network, Foodporn, Litro Magazine, McMichael Gallery. Bradley Yip, Salad, video
Shooting at Night in Hamilton
Hamilton has some fantastic architecture, and lately I’ve been scrambling to capture some of the finer buildings in the area before the cold weather really hits.
The Herkimer at Bay building is a fine example of a building which was headed down a path of dilapidation until the right developer came along and saw a diamond in the rough. After almost 100 years of use as rental apartments in Hamilton’s Durand Village, the building had seen its fair share of mediocre repairs and unmitigated neglect. In a time when most developers are knocking over historical buildings to make way for skyscrapers, Core Urban Inc‘s Steve Kulakowsky decided this building deserved to be preserved in time and updated tastefully, while maintaining the deliberate intention of integrity and character of the original architect, William Palmer Witton.
Herkimer at Bay Luxury Condominiums
I’ve had a few people in the building ask me for prints of this one, so if anyone else is interested in getting in on the order before Monday hit me up at cbenfey@mac.com. Or, if you would like your own house/building photographed, send me an email with the details.
Now if only it would stop raining every night!
Filed under: Architecture, Hamilton, Night Photography | 1 Comment
Tags: architecture, Beautiful Building, christoph benfey, Good Photography, hamilton, hamont, Herkimer at Bay, History, Night Photography, photography, toronto
This Is The Sound
I almost can’t believe that I am finally announcing the release of the long-awaited first full-length album from Johnny Major! I’m sitting in my living room right now listening to This Is The Sound for the first time since it got back from The Mastering Palace in NYC. The guys have come a long way over the past few years and watching their sound evolve has been incredible! They have invented their own genre, “Post-Pop”, which takes cues from many of their legendary influences, from Al Green to T.I., The Beatles to Weezer…thrown it all into the mix and pumped out something extraordinarily unique, yet strangely familiar. They truly represent the sound of the future, that hasn’t forgotten the past!
I was truly humbled when they asked me to design and shoot their album cover for This Is The Sound. The idea, which we ultimately decided to shoot, came to me when I was shopping at Urban Outfitters in Toronto and stumbled across these retro-looking Koss headphones.
Johnny Major - This Is The Sound // Photo by Christoph Benfey
To celebrate the launch they’re throwing a huge party at El Mocambo this Friday (11/11/11) in Toronto. All the details can be found HERE.
These guys are so passionate about music, and I’m excited to see what directions this album takes them. Be sure to follow them on Twitter (@johnny_major), I have a feeling over the next few months some big things are going to come into fruition for them!
Oh and speaking of parties! Don’t forget about the upcoming Launch Party for Low Key Studio in Hamilton! November 26th, 48 Ferguson Ave. South!
Filed under: Homies, In The Studio, Music | 1 Comment
Tags: alicia keys, canadian music, cd release, christoph benfey, el mocambo, gsus, hip hop, johnny major, marvin gaye, music, new york, nyc, pop music, the mastering palace, top 40, toronto
Party Time!
I’ve finally gotten enough ducks in order to officially announce the Grand Opening party for my Photography Studio in Hamilton! Low Key Studio & Gallery will be holding a massive party to celebrate it’s Launch into the community on November 26th at the Studio. DJ Adverb will be spinning and Sanjay Patel will be doing his Live Painting thing. There will probably be a lot more going on as well, I will update everyone as other leads develop further.
If you’re interested in having your work showcased in the gallery on the night of the party, shoot me an email at admin@lowkeystudio.com and we’ll set something up.
I hope to see many of you at the Launch party, you can register for the guestlist on Facebook by clicking HERE, it’s helpful for me, but not mandatory.
Filed under: Fashion, Hamilton, Homies, In The Studio, Interiors, Music | Leave a Comment
Tags: Art, christoph benfey, DJ Adverb, Gallery, hamilton, hamont, How to, low key studio, Party, photography, Sanjay Patel, Studio, Studio Rental
Herkimer at Bay
I was invited by a friend who purchased at the highly coveted Herkimer at Bay Luxury Condominiums in Hamilton to take some pictures of his finished suite. The building’s exterior is almost finished, and I’ll definitely be going back to take some shots here when it’s fully complete. The finished suites are a beautiful harmony of old and new. All the original trim, doors, floors, and hardware were restored to their original beauty, while new electrical, plumbing, and air handling systems were hidden behind bulkheads and walls to give the suites the comfort of a modern home.
The project was completed by Core Urban Inc. They are also beginning construction at the Witton Lofts which are sure to be equally as unique and beautiful and there are still some suites available!
Filed under: Architecture, Hamilton, Homies, Interiors | Leave a Comment
Tags: architecture, building, christoph benfey, condo, construction, core urban inc, hamilton, hamont, photography
I’d like to apologize to the millions of people that are probably checking back here on an hourly basis hoping for updates! I’ve been terribly busy over the past month working on several exciting projects, which will be unveiled in the coming weeks!
One of said projects is a photography studio and gallery that my girlfriend and I are opening in Hamilton. It’s currently in a state of construction, but the Grand Opening Launch Party is set for Nov 26th. Check lowkeystudio.com for frequent updates and information on the studio and launch party. If you’re an artist and would be interested in showcasing your work in the gallery at or after the party you can contact me through the Low Key Studio site.
I’m also avidly updating my Instagram stream on a regular basis. Follow me if you’re on Instagram, I’m @duaflex .
Now back to working on the album cover for the upcoming release of Johnny Major‘s LP, This Is The Sound. I’m excited to have my work as the cover art!
Filed under: Homies, In The Studio, Music | Leave a Comment
Tags: blog, canada, hamilton, hamont, instagram, johnny major, low key studio, toronto
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