A Photographer’s Surreal and Stunning Self-Portraits
Photographer Ben Zank has published his first book Nothing to See Here of his fascinating and often faceless surreal self-portraits.
Over the last 10 years, Zank, who is based in New York, U.S., has become well-known for his distinctive surreal photography.
His striking work often features subjects — which are frequently himself — in physically absurd, awkward, and usually amusing predicaments.
Zank’s portraits portray human figures physically obstructed by objects or their surroundings, seemingly grappling with an inner conflict. Yet there is always an underlying touch of humor in the scenarios that Zank’s subjects find themselves in within each shot.
“Yes, the majority of my photographs feature me as the subject,” Zank tells PetaPixel.
“But I tend to consider each picture to be its own character and less of a direct reflection of myself.
“It’s definitely more challenging to use myself as the model, but at the same time I can enjoy an inner dialogue and also push myself a little further than I would feel comfortable doing with another person.”
Zank finds inspiration for his surreal portraits in his day-to-day life. He say he usually finds that he doesn’t have a concept for the image until he starts shooting on location.
“I find inspiration from daily life along with my immediate environment,” Zank says.
“Sometimes I’ll have ideas that I plan out over a period of time, but more often than not I am specifically just ‘winging it’ there and then.
“It’s rare that I have a concept before I begin shooting in a particular location. The idea tends to materialize while I’m sort of just experimenting with what works and what does not.”
Zank’s inaugural hardcover book Nothing to See Here features 62 of his best images, that see the photographer thrusting himself into precarious and bizarre scenarios.
“I remember saying I’d make a book back in 2018! Of course, that never happened but it probably worked out for the better,” Zank explains.
“We really wanted my first book to be a strong representation of my style over the last decade, and with just over 60 images in the book, we were able to meticulously curate the best of the best into it.”
You can buy Nothing to See Here by Ben Zank here.
More of Zank’s work can be found on Instagram.
Image credits: All photos by Ben Zank.
