Flash Masters
Welcome to the Flash Masters Podcast! Flash Masters recognises and celebrates the best flash photography in the world through education, awards and community. Hosted by Helen Williams and Neil Redfern, we talk all things wedding photography - from the equipment we use to the funniest things which have happened to us whilst photographing weddings - and we have a lot of those stories! To join the community, please visit Flashmasters.co
Flash Masters
50th Episode Special with Ben Connolly! What happens at WPPI stays at WPPI...
Welcome to the 50th episode of the Flash Masters podcast! Get ready for a captivating conversation with our extraordinary guest, Ben Connolly. This award-winning Australian wedding photographer shares his intriguing journey that comprises over 1000 weddings, numerous accolades, and his experiences of running successful photography workshops.
Join us as we venture into the heart of Australian culture with Ben, who enlightens us with some Aussie slang and amusing cultural comparisons between Australia and the UK. Listen to his narratives about attending his first WPPI conference in Las Vegas and the transformative experiences people have after attending his workshops. Throughout the conversation, Ben unravels his highs and lows, the moments that pivoted his career, and provides wisdom on overcoming adversity.
This episode is not just for photographers. It's an inspiring journey filled with life lessons, wisdom, and Ben's infectious passion for the art of photography. Ben provides insight into the importance of proper education in the industry, his thoughts on the influx of new photographers entering the industry, and his efforts to support peers. Tune in to this episode to be engrossed in an engaging dialogue that will leave you feeling inspired and enlightened.
Ben's website: https://benconnolly.com.au/
Ben's UK workshop: https://bcphoto.com.au/wedding-portrait-photography-workshop-uk/
Follow Ben on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben_connolly_photographer/
Join us in the Flash Masters community:
Website: https://flashmasters.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flashmasters/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flash-masters
Flash Masters is hosted by:
Helen Williams: https://www.instagram.com/helenwilliamsphotography/
Neil Redfern: https://www.instagram.com/neilredfern/
Hi, hi, welcome to the Flashmasters podcast. I am Martin Hobby and I am proud to be a member of the Flashmasters community. Flashmasters recognises and celebrates the best flash photography in the world through awards, education and community. To find out more and to join us, visit flashmastersco. Here are your hosts Helen Williams and Neil Redburn.
Helen Williams:Hello there and welcome to episode 50 of the Flash Masters podcast with me, helen Williams.
Neil Redfern:And me, neil Redfern. Did you say episode 50, helen?
Helen Williams:I did. We've done 50 of these and people are still listening.
Neil Redfern:How bent is that and I'm crazy. Yeah, it's really exciting. Thank you everyone who does listen to the podcast. We really appreciate you.
Helen Williams:Thank you very, very much. In today's episode, we're not alone, we're not solo. I've got a feeling we might have actually teased this in episode 49, but we are joined by a special guest. Oh, you're Neil's looking at me. Okay, yes, oh, I shall continue. Remember you.
Neil Redfern:Helen, do you know, when I say you're doing the intro, that doesn't often mean that I then do the intro. But you often interrupt, so usually you go for those or to wear or you feel like you need to With a face like what is going on.
Ben Connolly:Do you want me to do the intro? I can do it for you.
Neil Redfern:In today's episode, we are joined all the way from Australia G'day mate, by the incredible, the amazing, mr Ben Connolly Ben thank you for joining us.
Ben Connolly:Don't believe everything you hear.
Helen Williams:Oh, dear lord. Yeah, thank you, ben for joining us and thank you, neil, for taking over the intro. I'm not very good at intros or outros the bits in between I get a bit.
Neil Redfern:But you thrive in the in-between bits. To be fair, helen, you've got a good excuse today, haven't you? Because yesterday you shot a full day wedding and went to bed about 3 am. So I will forgive you.
Helen Williams:Oh, thank you. Yeah, to be. I'm absolutely gooseed. There you go. I didn't use the swear word. Yeah, I'm very tired today. My brain is still waking up, but yeah, it was very, very good. But it's so exciting to have Ben join us from the other side of the world in Australia. We've got lots of questions to pick his brain with. He's someone with a huge amount of knowledge. I'm not going to lie. I just went onto his website, had a little look. We did some googling and I'm hoping that I'm going to have some correct information. So I've got from Ben's website that he shot over 1000 weddings. Wow, I can't even imagine getting to that point without my arms falling off. He's based in Queensland, in the Australia's oh yeah, that's an in joke.
Helen Williams:I do think there's only one, australia. I brought very good with my geography, but he's based in Queensland, which I believe is the Sunshine Coast.
Ben Connolly:That's right.
Helen Williams:Yep, yes and he is, of course, a photographer, speaker, educator, judge and all round top guy.
Neil Redfern:I have found that he is not only Is that on his website.
Helen Williams:All round top guy.
Ben Connolly:No, no, I added that Well, I need to sack my web guy if that's on there.
Helen Williams:All round top guy who is so global and international. I've got so many questions about this. I was well as being a flashmaster, which I'm sure is his greatest achievement in his entire life.
Neil Redfern:A blackbushers ambassador.
Helen Williams:Yes, he is also a ambassador of photography in Europe. In the USA, asia wedding photographer of the year. For three years in a row he's won international Cosmos awards and been in the top five in the world and pro-wed world top 50.
Neil Redfern:Not bad, not bad Ben.
Neil Redfern:I try my best, no we should just say before we get into it, ben is incredibly talented. We're recording his podcast off the back of Ben very kindly coming onto one of our member live streams in the flashmasters community where he kindly critiqued lots of images submitted by our members and honestly, that stream was incredible and it blew a lot of people's minds. There was so much interaction on the stream and the comments. The feedback was just incredible. I know, personally I was thinking I didn't see what Ben said there, but as soon as you said something you can't unsee it and there were certain things that you said there which have stuck in my head long after that stream. So thank you for that and to say, looking at your work, especially when we first setting up the flashmasters website, I remember thinking I want that photo of Ben's, that one, that one, that one, some of yours. I've described to you the best images I've seen in wedding photography bar none. So it is truly an honour to have you on.
Ben Connolly:You guys say thank you so much for coming on that live critique. But it's a holiday for me. I get to get out of the chicken farm for half an hour and actually speak to humans and have a bit of a laugh.
Neil Redfern:The area of Australia that you live in. What's that actually like? Because my knowledge of Australia and culture in Australia, I must admit, comes from the traitors and married at first sight, which I don't know if that's accurate. All I know is the GC mate. I'm breezy, yeah, breezy yeah, and it's a long way from Perth to the other coast if you want to start a relationship. We've seen that that doesn't work, so I don't know why they still persist on doing this, especially if you want to walk too. Aye, oh, and neighbours, which I don't know if that's even a thing in Australia. Get out, neil, we're very cultured. Who are you?
Ben Connolly:mate, if you're basing the, if you're basing the calibre of the common Australian on married at first sight, then it's a poor outlook for Australia, I'm telling you it's very good, though it's very good Both the dudes and the chicks there have just got this little sprinkling of psycho. That's just beautiful.
Helen Williams:Whenever we watch that, I watch it because I love love. So, like whenever things are going right, I'm like ah, like I just love, love. Neil, however, just loves the drama, so he switches off when things are smooth sailing. As soon as it kicks off, I'm genuinely like traumatised and I just feel every emotion with them all. And Neil's like yeah, waiting for you all to kick off and hoping someone's going to punch each other at the dinner party.
Ben Connolly:Helen, you're so soft and fluffy. I love, love. Are you kidding? I like I sit there on the couch with an espresso martini waiting for the train wreck.
Neil Redfern:Exactly.
Ben Connolly:Yes, ben, that is like I only watch it for the drama.
Neil Redfern:What is it like where you live, then? Ban purely out of interest? Is it a big city or is it? Is it quite quiet?
Ben Connolly:I'm. I'm literally one street back from the beach, so wow, so every and it's fairly quiet like it's. It's a how do I explain it? It's not. The Sunshine Coast is kind of a big coastal town kind of thing and it's broken up into like lots of little suburbs and stuff and where I am is called Dickie Beach and it's where I'm living is is Shut up. Helen.
Neil Redfern:Shut up.
Helen Williams:You said the worst Dickie I was ready to say after this every time, for whatever reason I look and I see Dickie Beach, I just absolutely. We myself.
Neil Redfern:Do you want to go with that, helen?
Ben Connolly:Someone says Dick and Helen laugh so hard.
Neil Redfern:Yeah, that's the level you deal in with Ben, it does sound amazing to live just so close to a beach.
Ben Connolly:Yeah, we're close to the beach so I can take Monster for a walk every afternoon and it's just, yeah, like I've got a great little space for the studio. So I pretty much have everything downstairs and my studio and my workspace and everything is all in separate rooms downstairs and I've got a like a main sort of studio viewing area with, you know, a cabinet with all the trophies and the TV and all the albums and a big couch and that sort of stuff. That's probably I don't know maybe the size of two main bedrooms, I guess, put together and then I can just go up the stairs and I've got my whole living area and my bedroom and stuff upstairs and, yeah, it's just a really good spot.
Neil Redfern:Oh, it sounds it.
Helen Williams:Wow, I wanted to go and visit Jesse and Moira over in the Americas, but now you're like one street back from Dickey Beach. I'm like, get me on that plane. We're gonna do a Flashmasters World Tour and I've just invited myself to your place.
Ben Connolly:There's so many things I could say to that, helen, but I'm gonna. There's this little filing cabinet in my head that just opened up and went say this, but I won't.
Neil Redfern:Although we should say, actually you want to go to Australia, helen, but Ben's actually coming to the UK. We should just say this November, which is very, very exciting. So we will be seeing you in person, ben, and we'll have the whiskey ready for you because you could go for a workshop.
Ben Connolly:I think I might need more than whiskey. Yeah yeah, yeah, heading to the UK, I think I arrive on the 19th of November, have a five day workshop for five days and then leave on the following Saturday or Sunday I think I'm not sure which one it was. It's kind of I've bookended myself a little bit because I got a couple of weddings either side of the workshop. Otherwise I'd try and stay longer.
Helen Williams:But but, yeah, it's so exciting to think you're coming to the UK. Unfortunately, I do think there'll be at least one night spent with us on our humble abode. We don't have a beach, but we do have a very old town. So, as I think we've said on different streams, australia's a fairly new country. But, yeah, I can show you our church, which was built in the 1600s.
Ben Connolly:Geez, that's older than us, it's older than the whole country itself.
Neil Redfern:We've not even got a funny name to give Ben. Have we actually Booby Booby Close? Oh yeah, you've got Dickey Beach. We've got nothing. We've got Wells Row. It's not really quite the same, is it?
Ben Connolly:I saw a sign on Google for some what looked like some country Highland place, and the sign said I don't know if it's real or not.
Neil Redfern:I've not heard of that place. I need to go though.
Ben Connolly:I want to go there. Let's have a look at that.
Neil Redfern:Before we get into all the good stuff, helen, we were going to play a little game with Ben, weren't we to ask him to educate us a little bit on Australian slang?
Helen Williams:Yes, I would just love to know some. It doesn't need to be rude, but I would like to know some local Aussie words If I come over to visit Dickey Beach, then I can get down with a local lingo.
Ben Connolly:The last time we played a game, I allegedly owned a monkey, so I hope we're going to do better than this time.
Neil Redfern:Ben is referring to and you can go back and listen to this podcast. Actually, we had a what was that? It was a Christmas special. I think a Flashmaster podcast Christmas special where we had.
Neil Redfern:Ben? Ben was on and we played. Would I Lie to you? For those that aren't aware, and again, please listen to this podcast. It's very, very funny where basically, I was the host and I supplied Ben with some lies and Ben gave me some truths and then I gave him one of them back so that the other people playing the game don't know if Ben's going to be saying a truth statement or a lie. Obviously, I know, as the host, what nobody else does, and I gave Ben a lie saying that when I was growing up I had a pet monkey. The funniest thing of all, I don't think Ben really even knew the game, because it was like 5 am. He'd never heard of it and he was just throwing it to the stream. He's like what do you mean?
Ben Connolly:I'm like I knew the.
Neil Redfern:Halfway through Ben, he said wait, is Jesse what Jesse said then? Is that not true?
Ben Connolly:I kind of knew that. I knew what the game was, I knew what was going on. But when you threw out the monkey I'm like what the hell Like?
Neil Redfern:there's not a monkey in Australia. You did well. You did well.
Helen Williams:You did so well. It was just the fact that the rest of us it was later on in the day- we were all drinking whilst doing this podcast, and I think you had a whiskey with us at like 5 am.
Martin Hobby:Here. I did Try to convince us you owned a monkey.
Helen Williams:It was brilliant. But yeah, I would like, if possible, for you to teach us three Australian phrases or pieces of slang. That's going to make me look really cool on one of the locals on the GC.
Ben Connolly:Right GC mate. So if I give you, I'll give you a couple of words. Actually, I'll give you two words, like two Aussie words, and then I'll give you two kind of phrases. Let's give you the first word. It's Bogan.
Neil Redfern:Oh, should we guess. I must admit, I think I know Ben has told us this one before, so I think I know this, but I think we should guess what these mean.
Ben Connolly:Yeah, OK, let's do that, I'll say it. You try and guess what it is and then. I'll laugh and have a little bit of a wee come out Um LAUGHTER. So you kind of already know this one. So, bogan.
Neil Redfern:Go on, Helen, do you want to take this one?
Helen Williams:I believe it's similar to our version in the UK of Chav, so maybe someone who is Careful. Maybe like a little. Helen's going to get cancelled. I'm going to say maybe like a little rough round the edges. Yeah, I was just going to say someone who's a bit rough.
Neil Redfern:I see it as just somebody who works. I'm going to get proper Aussie on you now, so we work something out back Long. I'm doing a movement here that you won't be able to see, because it's an audio podcast. Like a mullet and like to be Probably isn't as articulate as other people would be.
Ben Connolly:I don't know how to describe what I'm going to say. I'm just letting you go to see how far you dig. Um, laughter and a thoroughly nice chat. Yeah, you're on the money, like you're pretty much on the money, except for Bogan's over here can be anywhere, like they don't congregate in the outback or grow in the outback or anything like that. They're just. They're just there anywhere.
Neil Redfern:We don't know. The outback is yeah, it's out the back Um.
Ben Connolly:So they're. What's the? What's the biggest car that someone would drive over there? That's like 10 years old and 12 years old, like a Vauxhall piece of.
Neil Redfern:Ford Fiesta. Whoa whoa, I tried for Vauxhall. I'll tell you now. Vauxhall's are what we call them the UK Mercedes. Oh right.
Helen Williams:We do not LAUGHTER.
Ben Connolly:So yeah, like a Bogan's traditionally drive what Over here we call them what I drive.
Neil Redfern:Commodores, am I a Bogan? I've just no, it's what we get into.
Ben Connolly:No, no, no, no, like see I don't know, what's driven around there, like I don't know, like Bogan's over here will drive old Commodores or old Fords, and a Commodore is made by what used to be the Holden Motor Company in Australia, but they've now closed up and it's all they used to be made by. They got taken over by GMH, but they're just a cheap, big, family-sized car that some of them had V8s and they made a lot of noise and they were just cheap. And because they were cheap, that's what the Bogan's drove. And the Bogan's would do them up and put big wheels on them and put big wings on the back of them and turn them into big shopping trolleys and stuff like that, and so they'd wear Like Bogan's normally wear thongs I don't know what you call them over there plug-ers or what do you call them over there?
Helen Williams:Flip flops, flip flops.
Ben Connolly:They wear.
Helen Williams:Thongs are totally different.
Ben Connolly:They wear. Do you guys have crocs over there? Yeah, do you know what this?
Neil Redfern:calls. We're not the same as you do. We put ours on our feet. We don't find them in rivers.
Ben Connolly:Do you Brrrrrm? Just the fact that you wear them, Neil, is just. I'm done already.
Helen Williams:I'd like to say Neil does not wear crocs.
Neil Redfern:No, I'm not even totally sure what they are, I just heard them.
Ben Connolly:Do you know why there's holes in the top of crocs? It's to let your dignity run out. Laughter, back to it. Ozzie Bogan drives a pe Car, thinks it's amazing, does it up, has a mullet, drinks a lot of beer, smokes, wears singlets and really short shorts and is just a general beer drinking loudmouth, loud.
Helen Williams:The chaps in Australia are so different to the UK, laughter, I don't think we're really a country of short shorts wearers. Like I said, thongs are a very different thing here in the UK. Yeah right.
Ben Connolly:While I'm thinking about it, I'll give you a phrase now. So I'll give you a word, then a phrase, then a word, then another phrase. So you were saying beer drinking or drinking beer, right? So, fosters, yeah, someone who drinks a lot of beer, or something like that, we would call them a piss-willing maniac or a piss-willing bogan. So if you're going to go out and have some drinks with your mates, you're going to go out and swill some piss with your mates, yeah that's a bit.
Helen Williams:When you say it the other way round, that's gross. I'm sure I would have been called a piss-willing maniac many times if I was in Australia.
Neil Redfern:How does that count? How does it go about in?
Helen Williams:the UK? Does that count, if you drink prosecco and not beer?
Ben Connolly:Yeah, look, if you drink prosecco, then I think you haven't got any friends. But anyway, that's OK.
Helen Williams:Yeah, ben, I'm out and I'm out.
Ben Connolly:So what's another word?
Neil Redfern:All right, I love this game.
Ben Connolly:So try and pick. You won't know this one then, so steaming.
Neil Redfern:Isn't this成? Oh that well, we have, it could be. It's basically where you absolutely hammered. You're really drunk, you've been. You've been out with your bulging mates, piss willing with them, and then three hours later you're steaming in the UK that's steaming.
Ben Connolly:That's Wanker, isn't it?
Helen Williams:Oh, that works yeah.
Ben Connolly:So in Australia, steaming is if you're going from one place to the other in a hurry, you're steaming.
Neil Redfern:Oh, that's different. That is different. So I imagine on a wedding day you do a lot of steaming.
Ben Connolly:Yeah, like if I'm in a hurry to get somewhere and I'm walking into a bride's place or whatever, I'm steaming in there.
Helen Williams:In your thongs? In your thongs, it's not in your thongs.
Ben Connolly:Oh dear. Ok, do we have one more, ben? So I'll give you another phrase. You know what the term, you know the word seed is Seed. Yeah. Like you're feeling you're feeling a bit sick. You're feeling a bit dodgy after a big night.
Neil Redfern:Oh, you feel like we have a different one. If you're seedy over here then you know, you're a little bit like a creed yeah, creep, a creep, yeah. You'd be like the sort of person that might just stare at people.
Helen Williams:Some of us, seedy would be like a bit of a pervy man or someone who's just a bit like.
Neil Redfern:I'm trying to describe these without using other slang terms, because we're not going to get it.
Ben Connolly:In Australia we use that word for a few different things, so seedy could be exactly. We would use the word seedy for exactly what you just said. So if some dude's you know standing in the corner looking at you rubbing his junk, then he's a bit seedy, right. But again, if you're feeling really bad after a big night out, like a bit vomit-y or something like that, then you're feeling a bit seedy.
Helen Williams:That could be a lot. That could be well confusing If someone's telling you they're a bit seedy and they actually are a little bit of a pervert.
Ben Connolly:You can use this phrase now for one of those people. So if you see that pervy guy over in the corner looking at you rubbing his junk, you can say to your friend he's seedy as a budgie's freckle.
Neil Redfern:He's seedy as a budgie's freckle. Yeah, amazing.
Ben Connolly:So we obviously know what a budgie is and the budgie.
Neil Redfern:Yes.
Ben Connolly:And the freckle is the budgie's butthole. So seedy as a budgie's freckle.
Helen Williams:I was like I was so ready for the podcast today? Yeah, that's like a budgie smuggler, so that makes sense. But I was like why are they being mean to birds? Can you repeat that one again? It's even got seedy as a budgie's seedy as a budgie's freckle.
Neil Redfern:Oh right, it's freckle. Well, I feel educated. So thank you very, very much, Ben.
Helen Williams:I can't wait to come over to Australia. And you know, just use those out, Do you want me to give you another one?
Neil Redfern:Oh, go on then. Yeah, always Sweating like a. And on that bum shell. And we've been shut down. There's going to be a lot of bleeds in this section and people are going to be. I didn't hear any of these phrases.
Helen Williams:We'll get to the next bit of the podcast and everybody's like I've got a feeling we're missing a whole lot of speaking. Right, Ben, we're going to. Yeah, thank you so much for your Australian education To be honest.
Helen Williams:I was going to say we're going to get to the educational part, but we've already learned a lot. But, yeah, lots of our listeners, our photographers and of course, they want to learn as much as possible from you. So obviously later on we're going to go into a bit more detail with regards to your UK workshop. But the one thing since, sort of like meeting you and getting to know you through Flashmasters is just realising what an international guy you are, and I know that you're someone who's constantly on a plane and there's attending different workshops and conferences and awards etc. So basically I was going to ask what would you say you know, as someone who has trouble travel to America to do WPPI in Asia, etc. What would you say are like your best, like global photography experiences. If Because I know we have a global listening sort of on this podcast If you were going to tell people to go to a particular conference or photography-related event, sort of which ones have really stood out to you.
Ben Connolly:I reckon I would have to say the very first WPPI I went to. I went over there with two mates, and one of those guys actually I met in one of Jerry Guionis' five-day workshops, like literally two or three years or four years, five years earlier, I don't know if you know anyway, but met him there and we were very much alike and we formed a really good friendship. And when I said to him, hey, I've got another mate over here and we're going to go to WPPI, do you want to come? And he's gone, yeah, so he flew in from New Zealand and so the three of us basically went to WPPI and but see, so it was my mate Greg, me and my mate Steve from New Zealand, and Steve didn't get there, I don't think until the second night that we were there and Greg and I flew over and I suffer really badly from hay fever and I was sitting on this virgin plane and it was nighttime and they've got those little packets of eye masks and shit that you put over your face to go to sleep.
Ben Connolly:So I put one of those on, not thinking and it had obviously been in the dust or it had obviously gotten dust, might as well shit or whatever inside it.
Ben Connolly:So I put it on and then straight away regretted it, I might, like my face sort of went red and swelled up and I got this really blocked nose and hay fever and it was bad like, and I started getting a headache. And by the time we got to Vegas I was just over life and I went and had a sleep for a little while and then Greg's gone. Come on, come on, let's go out to a cafe, let's look at the shows. And I can't believe I'm telling you this. Greg's pretty much the only person that knows this anyway. So we go out to this show and it's this not a strip show, but it's kind of like a Burlesque Cabaret, burlesque kind of on stage show, right, and you're not allowed to film, you're not allowed to do anything, and first night in Vegas I've got a flight hangover and a bit of a headache and already having a few drinks and not feeling seedy as a budgie's freckle.
Helen Williams:I was about to say you turned into a pistol in maniac who was there with seedy and like sorry, carry on Ben.
Ben Connolly:And so we've gone out to this cabaret show, they're all on stage, they're doing their dances, and then they say, oh, we're going to bring some, we're going to call some people out on stage, and I'm sitting there in the audience going oh fuck, don't pick me, don't pick me, jesus, don't pick me. And our mate's gone, you and he's oh no.
Ben Connolly:And so there's me and like three other blokes out on stage and you're not allowed to film in there because if they see it they'll come and kick you out. So Greg's got his phone like a fucking secret agent, holding his phone down, and here I am, the first night in Las Vegas ever on a stage slapping my own ass with a group of cabaret dancers.
Neil Redfern:This is what we could have done when I lied to you.
Ben Connolly:So I'm bent over, butt to the crowd, twerking, slapping my own ass with all the cabaret dancers, and Greg's got it on video.
Neil Redfern:Oh, but he filmed your Dickie Beach.
Helen Williams:Oh, wow, amazing.
Ben Connolly:And so after that we got back and you know, we got back to the, we stayed at Treasure Island and we had a few drinks there and Greg's gone to the bar and got fireball shots. So I'd never had fireball before and so You've not heard of it.
Ben Connolly:He's pumped out like two or three fireball shots and by the third one I was hammered, totally wankered, and Greg's got his phone out and started videoing how you going. So here I am with a $100 note, $100 US note rolling it up, boller, rolling it up like I'm going to snort something and looking straight in the camera and going now, when you attempt to bribe a policeman, with a $100 note make sure it doesn't have any cocaine on it.
Ben Connolly:All on video, all on video, and if Greg ever shares it with the world, you'll find him in a hole somewhere.
Neil Redfern:Amazing.
Helen Williams:I thought you just shared it with the world on the podcast. Yeah, but you can't see it though.
Ben Connolly:That's the beauty of it.
Neil Redfern:Yeah, that's true.
Ben Connolly:So, yeah, my favourite event was that first WPBI that we went to, and after that first year I left and I said to both Greg and Steve I said this was awesome, I'm coming back here, but I'm speaking here next year. I don't care how I do it, but it's going to happen. Unfortunately, Greg couldn't make it back the next year, but Steve did and he sat and watched me on stage at WPBI my first gig at WPBI. So that's so good.
Ben Connolly:It was yeah, it was a wild, a wild time, and I'm going to get back there.
Helen Williams:So essentially for photographers who are listening if you want to go to a photography conference but also get your ass out on stage and have it, I'll slap it yourself. So, then you need to go to WPBI.
Neil Redfern:Yeah, go to Vag. You mean you're not going to happen at the photo show in the UK.
Helen Williams:You mean that won't be happening in Birmingham.
Neil Redfern:Birmingham's not quite the same vibe as it is as Las Vegas.
Ben Connolly:I can sprinkle a bit of crazy Australian around, like we'll see how it goes.
Helen Williams:Yeah, I think we need to bring. Yeah, after all these experiences of photography conferences, we should bring Ben to the photo. The photography show in Birmingham, uk.
Neil Redfern:I'm let down Bogan's everywhere. Oh really, because I mean one of the things to say, like when we first started talking to our ambassadors for flashmasters, who are based, as you know, all around the world. A lot of them have talked to us about WPBI and they go regularly, obviously, especially the US based ambassadors. Helen, I've never been. We just we've heard of it, obviously, but we didn't know much about it. But it seems that whenever anybody talks about WPBI, they talk about it in such like glowing terms like you've got to be there, it's the hub of everything. Would you agree with that? That? That is the place to be.
Ben Connolly:Yes, with some hesitation, like I won't lie to you in its heyday, like I never actually got there in its heyday, kind of in you know the 2010s and 2015s and stuff like that, when it was when they were getting thousands and thousands of people to that event and I think that was the golden age of you know that kind of thing, and they were, from what I understand, the pine is of that sort of thing as well. So but in, you know, from 2018, 2019 onwards, it's obviously it's the numbers have dwindled and you know, the competition wasn't there last year or the year before. No, last year I think it was. They pulled the competition.
Ben Connolly:So there's been a lot of changes, there's been a lot of things and obviously the pandemic has shitted the bed for pretty much everything. So but now, with with a new competition this year, I think it'll be, it'll be really good and I think it'll, with the competition and the, the prospect of growth and people being able to get feedback on images and sit in judging and that sort of stuff. I think that that's going to draw a lot of people back. Whether it'll bring back the heyday, I don't know, but it's, it's definitely a step in the right direction.
Helen Williams:Anyway, Well, it certainly was so clear when you did that critique stream that you are someone who has sat and and sort of really participated and listened to a lot of. You know these critiques and judge as well, and obviously that's no doubt, I'm guessing, helped you as a photographer and it's something that for most photographers, they would gain an awful lot from.
Ben Connolly:And whether it's whether it's your image or not like sitting in that judging room. There was one day, wppi, I think I sat in one of the judging rooms and almost ate my fingernails down to the bone waiting for my photos and stuff. But I think I sat there for like six hours or something, kind of non-stop and and just watched and what you get from that is, I honestly think, career changing, because you see so much and then you start to pick so much and then you start to do things differently because you see it before you take it and if you actually stop and take a fucking breath, then you you see so much more and you can just produce a better crafted, better lit image with, with you know, better expression and and all that sort of stuff.
Helen Williams:So, yeah, so yeah, thank you so much. I can go off on so many different tangents as well, and Neil's already looking like where are you going next, helen?
Helen Williams:but, I, do have quite a few things that I'd love to cover, but I know this could be a five hour podcast so we wouldn't get to the end, so I need to try and stay sustained. So, yeah, you thoroughly enjoy WPPI. I like that. It's fantastic for the prints and obviously next year they are coming back to the judging of the print comps, which are really good. I've got a slightly different question for you, if you don't mind, but along the same lines. You're someone, obviously, who has been to a lot of these conferences. You're someone who's had a lot of critique done to your work. I was wondering what would you say is the biggest thing that you've done that has, one, grown you as a photographer in your work and then, two, grown you as a business? Because I said, I know you've, you've done Jerry Goughness's workshop. You've you've taken a lot of education yourself as well, as well as what you're passing on. What do you think were those key things when you were sort of, you know, growing your business and growing yourself?
Ben Connolly:Shooting wise, understanding lighting, understanding posing, the search to be a better human and that sort of stuff. I can attribute that to probably the first five day workshop that I ever did, quite a few years ago now. That taught me so much and it it took me well and truly out of my comfort zone and it was sort of the launch pad for, I guess, where I've kind of gone. It was the starting point for what I thought that I was always going to try and do better in the way of my work and continually getting better shooting and looking for things and lighting and that sort of stuff. So that was a big part of the fundamentals of lighting, posing, understanding that kind of stuff and also understanding who I was as a photographer and as a human as well. Some of the best advice that that I guess I've ever been given is if you want to be a better photographer, be a better human.
Ben Connolly:I like that I can honestly say that, in terms of photography and that sort of stuff, doing that, that five day workshop, the first one I ever did, was was a turning point for me. With that said, I did another workshop, probably only about four years ago or so, and it was with I'm sure you guys have heard of Ryan Shembury. I did a three day, three day or four day sort of thing with him and he was the one who, I guess, really got me into utilizing flash more, because prior to prior to that workshop with him, I used it when I had to and I did. I taught myself how to use it, but I kind of only used it when I had to, whereas with the workshop with him and he used it pretty much all the time, and if you look at his photos, they're they're just, they're fucking exquisite, like some of the stuff that that guy puts out is is incredible.
Ben Connolly:And I said to myself I want to do stuff that's incredible as that, like I want to try and, you know, do that kind of thing for the brides and grooms who I work with and and for the weddings that I shoot. And so that's when I really got into using flash more and and again stepped out of a comfort zone and said right, instead of just going with natural light, I want to try and use a bit of flash here and see how it goes. The other part of that was was the business side of it. Is that right?
Helen Williams:Yeah, oh well.
Ben Connolly:So I had a business coach quite a few years ago and he gave me a saying that that kind of really rang true for me and that was success is a shitty teacher. Oh, yeah, there was. There was one point in my in my career I think it was back when I was doing video. So I started in video for weddings in. I think I did my first video in 99.
Ben Connolly:Got out of the military, came up to the Sunshine Coast to live up here with skydiving full-time, had a massive skydiving accident and was was out of action for two and a half years, so got back into the whole video side of things in like 2004 and I did video until 2010 and I, in 2010, I made the switch. I just turned off the video side of things and went straight to photos and it was. It was a terrifying move, but it got to a point where I would walk into a room with a video camera in my hand and see photos that I wanted to get and see scenes that I wanted to get that I just couldn't translate into video. It was frustrating me and the time behind the computer editing was frustrating me and and I was working full-time as well as doing that on the side and it got to a point where it all got too much. And then I think it was after tax time. So at the end of every financial year over here we've got a, we lodge a tax return and that sort of stuff, and because I was being a tight ass and trying to dodge tax, I hadn't paid tax. I'm not sure what year it was, it was probably a good. What are we now? 23 would have been a good. 12 or 13, 14 years ago now, hadn't paid tax and got this massive tax bill in the mail, like we're talking 15 grand 15,000 tax bill, and I couldn't pay it. I didn't have the money to pay it. And I'm looking down the barrel.
Ben Connolly:And it dragged on and on and on for a while. And then the tax department sent me another letter and they were calling me wanting me to sell my assets to try and to pay that debt, like I did. They're saying sell your camera gear or sell your car or sell your whatever to pay the debt. And then it got to a point where they actually threatened to repossess my house. And the stress of that in that moment, thinking that, wow, this government department who is absolutely rolling in cash is coming to potentially sell my house from under me for 15 grand that I couldn't pay. It was in that moment that I just went. You know what fuck this? I can't do this anymore. I need to implement something better in my life and my business and I need to pull my finger out of this. And I need to pull my finger out and do this properly, because I never want to be in this position ever again.
Ben Connolly:And it took a long time to get out of that debt. Like I had a, a lower repay, like organized, I've got a new accountant, you know, got into a payment plan, that sort of stuff, and it took years or something to pay it off. But quite a few years back now, I think it was probably five or six years. Well, five years ago now, I implemented not an accounting system and not a banking system. It's more a you look after your own money, dickhead kind of system. That is called profit first. I can't remember the guy's name now, who it's a book on audible. It's called profit first. I can't remember what his name is now, but I implemented that, but on my own terms in terms of how much I put away where I put it, and I did that about six years ago.
Ben Connolly:And by doing that and being religious to that and doing things properly and also running a good business and having good business systems and having a coach and and doing all that sort of stuff, I've now in a point where I'm quite secure in where I am and the assets that I've got and that sort of stuff. So I don't have any loans, I don't own anything. I own my two cars, I own my go-kart, I own everything that I eat, sleep, wear, like all that sort of stuff. The only loan that I have in my life now is the mortgage on my house, which I've almost got paid off as well. So just doing that and finding that pain point, you get to a point where the pain is too much to make you want to stay or to for you to stay in that spot and eventually you have to move.
Ben Connolly:And there's an old fable I can't remember where I heard it, but there's a dog lying on the veranda and the dog's howling and whinging and it keeps going and going and going. And the guy says the owner, why's your dog howling? And the guy says, well, he's laying on a nail. And the guy says, the other guy says, well, why doesn't he move? And the owner says, well, it's not hurting him enough. Yet when you get to that point, when it hurts you enough, then you'll take action and I pray that the action that you take is the right action.
Ben Connolly:The reason that I teach and the reason that I try and give so much and the online program that I've put together, the reason why I'm selling that for such a little amount of money, is simply because when I first started, there wasn't that out there and the people that were teaching that were the big names in the industry and they were charging a lot of money and I just didn't have it. And if I'm like everyone else, then when they're starting out or something, they're not going to have it either, but I still want them to start the right way and I want them to get the right information. So if I can make what I'm doing relevant, affordable and the right way, then I'm just going to raise more people and happy days.
Neil Redfern:Oh, that's amazing. And what you do for the industry, ben, is incredible. It really really is, and I love that story that there was a silver lining in that really awful situation and you completely turned it around and actually made it a bit of a blessing in disguise, which is brilliant. And I totally agree that sometimes you need to hit the bottom in order to really come back and then not make that same not mistake, but you've learned from it, and I love stories like that where you think, oh, you were in a very difficult and low position but you've flipped it on its head and you've learned from it, and I just think, props to you for that. It's really inspiring to hear that.
Ben Connolly:I've got two quotes or sayings that really resonate with me, and one has been with me for a long time and I don't know where I got it from or whether I came up with it or what, but the first one is hindsight allows you to see the beauty and the elegance of a moment that you might have missed the first time round. I love that and it really resonates with me. And hang on, guys, give me one second. I'm just going to let Monster out, otherwise he might be a fat at the front door.
Ben Connolly:So the next quote is something that my dad gave to me during the early stages of 2020 is, in the early stages of 2020, I had a breakup with someone who was incredibly important to me, and that person was someone that I felt that I was going to spend the rest of my life with, and when that ended, very abruptly and very dramatically, it put me in a really big hole in for a lot of 2020, and a lot of people sort of helped out and a lot of people came to the rescue and my dad gave me this quote that was given to him by his father and it's life is mostly froth and bubble, but two things stand like stone. Compassion in other struggles and courage in your own.
Helen Williams:Every time we speak to you, ben, like one minute you've got me rolling on the floor laughing, and the next minute I'd you leave me speechless with just so much, just wisdom. I think nearly every time we've done a stream with you, you know, it's like we feel like we're now like at the church of Ben, because I don't think there's anyone who? Can deliver such incredible advice, who is so relatable, down to earth and honest with everything that we've asked you to do?
Neil Redfern:Yeah, I agree. I mean it's obviously that education and passing on that wisdom is obviously part of your DNA. You know it comes inherently to you.
Ben Connolly:Like I said it wasn't. It was one thing that I really needed when I first started that I just didn't get and I spent years making mistakes and years doing the wrong thing. And if I can give someone the gift of doing it the right way, learning the right way, so they don't make bad habits, they don't form bad habits and then have to, you know, really step outside their comfort zone to change them later on down the track and it be really hard. If I can make their journey a bit easier, then that's fulfillment for me as well.
Neil Redfern:Yeah, and that's a beautiful thing. It's such a nice trait to have it really really is In an industry where you say that there are a lot of people out there purely seeing this as a business and and trying to profit from the very same photographers that you're clearly reaching out and helping, and that's beautiful. It's such a nice thing. You're forced for good in this industry. I'd like to just go back a little bit.
Neil Redfern:Ben, you mentioned earlier that you learned a lot from a five day workshop that you went on. You obviously offer your own five day workshops now in the UK. Although you're proving that there is a market, because you're in November, it's nearly sold out. I think we've got three places or four places to place it. Wow, two places left out of 15. And I must admit I thought five day workshop oh, I don't know if that's gonna. And you totally proved me wrong Two places left out of 15, which is incredible.
Neil Redfern:I was going to ask like, even whenever we speak to you as Helen just alluded to that like we're taking on a bit of a rollercoaster ride from laughing with you, from learning from you, to just being less speechless with like, wow, just open mouths, like when we listen to you. I can't imagine how you'll feel if you're attending your five day workshop. One, like I've got to just talk about what's included. But two, how do you do it? How do you literally from someone who does from workshops? How do you do it for five days straight? Because you must be exhausted by the end drugs, that $100 bill you're talking about?
Ben Connolly:Do you know what it is? It is taxing. It's incredibly taxing. And I will be honest and say the first one that I did in Australia last year. I kind of went into it not Blase I was very structured and, you know, wanted to make sure I delivered what the attendees paid for and that sort of stuff. But I had no idea how taxing it was going to be physically and mentally Because we finished and there was only we only had nine participants, I think, in that. So this is UK's shaken up to be bigger, and I know that a lot of the crew are looking at having a few drinks and having a bit of a party.
Neil Redfern:Oh, they will. They will, yeah, yeah. There will be no rest for you.
Ben Connolly:So at that stage the first one I did I hadn't been diagnosed with ADHD and I didn't have the medication and stuff that I have now that helps me focus and that sort of stuff, and it was incredibly taxing. And on the Friday after we finished I got home and I sort of stopped and I think I was. I think we finished at like lunchtime or two o'clock or something and by eight o'clock I was pretty much zonked out in bed and didn't really surface again until like late Saturday evening. All night, all day, just in bed, just, yeah, just wiped out, and I was still pretty zonked for probably a good three or four days after that.
Ben Connolly:So now with this one we're thrown in two 24 hour flights. Yeah, I know, so I'm going to be. I've got to make sure that I eat really well. I've got to make sure that I don't I don't drink, that I don't get wankered or anything like that, like I'm not really a massive drinker, despite what everyone's seen of my alcohol cabinet upstairs. It's, it's incredibly taxing, but at the same time I will push and, push and push till I drop to make sure that everyone gets it.
Neil Redfern:As I say, I run workshops. So far I've only done one day workshops and even after that it feels like I've shot a 14 hour wedding like because it's so mentally draining. So multiply that by five is is intense, but I can only imagine, like how much value people will get from from that experience.
Ben Connolly:Yeah, and look, probably the hardest day for me is the Monday. It's the first day because it's pretty much starting in the morning and just smashing through image critiques for the entire day. There's nothing else on Monday and we finish when we when we finish. So if, if we finish and it's still daylight outside, fantastic. If if we don't, then you know we order pizzas and just keep going until it's done.
Ben Connolly:So but it's, it's a big day for everyone that's there and it's a massive day for me because it's me just constantly analysing, talking, you know, as well as maintaining a timeframe for each person so that you're not spending, you know, four hours on one person, then 15 minutes on another, and there's a lot to manage in there as well. But it's something that I love and to see the, the aha moments that people get out of that, and then when they come in the next day and they kind of already know what we're going to go through, it's such a good feeling. And then you know Friday when you see, when you see someone go from where they were on Monday to shooting what they're shooting on the Friday or on the, you know, on the Wednesday night, and to see who they've become by the Friday. That's just wicked.
Neil Redfern:Oh yeah, I mean it's going to be such a good experience and very transformative, like you say, for the, for the people coming on. And we got a taste when you did the critique stream for the Flashmasters members how much you put into this. I was saying to on the last podcast to Helen it was really exciting when Helen would up because you hadn't seen the images beforehand, when Helen would open up an image on the screen and then they'd be that silence while you just take it in and deciding what is your thoughts are. And then it's like, oh, what's Ben going to say? And you can see even on that stream how much of yourself you're putting into that. And I say I think it's all turned up to 11 when you're doing that in person, so it's going to be amazing.
Neil Redfern:Yeah, and two and two places left. It's incredible, you know, and you can sit at your, your base, halfway around the world, the other side of the world, and you've got 13 people already.
Ben Connolly:Man, I'm I'm totally surprised. I'm just bullshit surprised, because I tried to do this in Australia. So we did one last year in here on the Sunshine Coast where I am, and we had nine people, which, for a very for a first one, was awesome. I'm a brand ambassador for Ted's cameras Australia, who are the biggest camera retailer in Australia, so I did it in conjunction with them and I use their, their store and the education room in their store and that sort of stuff, so that we weren't paying for, you know, venues and stuff like that. And because it was such a good event and such and so well received, the team at Ted said, right, let's do another three of these in 23. And I went, yes, let's do it.
Ben Connolly:And so we went staming in to do like another three and organize one for one for Sydney, one for Melbourne and one for the Sunshine Coast, the Sydney and the Melbourne one. When we advertised them, it was crickets. For the Melbourne one, we had two participants that had booked in For Sydney. There was no one. And I said to the team at Ted's this is mental, like what is going on in the industry.
Ben Connolly:And speaking to another guy who's in the industry over here, who's an amazing educator, mark Rosetto. I had a Zoom with him and we kind of put it together that there's just not as much emphasis on education anymore and I personally came to a conclusion that people are too much too worried about fucking likes and follows than they are about the couples that they're working with and educating themselves to be better at what they do. And as a result of the crickets and no one being interested, we pulled the pin on both of those workshops and at this point I've only got one person booked for the Sunshine Coast for the workshop here in November. So unless we get more for that, I'll pull the pin on that as well, which is crazy to as a concept, because I can be here in Australia and promote it till I'm blue in the face and yet open it up to you guys in the UK, and we get almost we get eight people overnight and I went. What's what's different in the UK? That's different here.
Helen Williams:I will say I don't necessarily know if it's a change in the UK. I think it's just that we have got such an incredible community in flashmasters.
Helen Williams:You're absolutely we're able to target everyone who's joined flashmasters. Ok, people want to win awards, and that's fantastic, but a kind of people and this is where I'm always so grateful and can't quite believe the community we've built. Because it's phenomenal that the people who are here as flashmasters members are there to learn, and that's why I think it's so special, compared to lots of other online communities, the fact that people are putting their faith in, they're paying their membership, they're showing up to live streams, they're entering the awards. I think it's just yeah, it's not necessarily a difference between Australia and the UK. I think we're just very fortunate that within the flashmasters community.
Helen Williams:You know, we are people. The people who have joined are people who want to get better, who want to learn and want to be educated, and I do think you've really touched on something that's quite important there, that I think that a lot of photographers just pick up a camera these days, or even using their iPhones, and decide they're a photographer and that's kind of all they need to know. And it will. You know, I do sense that there may be a shift in terms of so many people thinking, oh, I can just watch a few YouTube videos and I'm good enough. But I think that you know, I think we talked about this with Jesse and Myron I always forget the name, and Neil will know that when you know more, the more you know, the more you realise it, the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Neil Redfern:The.
Helen Williams:Dunning-Kruger effect. Yeah, the more that you know, the more you realise you don't know. And I just think not the same thing.
Neil Redfern:It's that. But I think as well like the background to Ben doing this workshop is he very kindly came onto a flashmasters stream, a how, what we call like a how a shot it stream, where you were deconstructing Ben, some of your favourite, most amazing off-camera flash images. People were watching that, just hooked to it, like how has Ben done this? People watched that stream and that's when people were saying just, ben, do workshops because you've got there a very, you've got an audience that is thirsty for education, watching you, wanting to know more, and the workshop would then just came out of a comment I think that was left on that stream, which is Ben gonna do a workshop in the UK or something you said I will if you want me to. People said, yes, I'll book, I'll book, I'll book, and that's how it happened.
Neil Redfern:So it's definitely been born out of you providing to the community. Could we just put your workshop out there before people have seen you on stream or certainly in the community maybe weren't aware of what you could offer, it wouldn't have done so well, but it's like good karma, because you put out into the world all this education. People are loving it and they're then prepared to invest. So that's why I think he's nice about that story that it came about through you, for no real reward to yourself, just wanting to help others, and then people latch onto that. I think I want to know more and that's why it's worked. I think that's the big reason that people have had a taste on stream and then want to invest in a full on in person workshop.
Ben Connolly:Yeah, and see I'm talking to Mark Rosetto too like the education sort of things over here has really dwindled as well. Like I flew down to Melbourne to the Australian Photographic Prize because there was a competition in July and it's only a relatively new event, like it's only been going two years and it's come about because the Australian Institute of Professional Photography imploded on itself quite a few years ago, but again in the high day of that of the AIPP it was a really big event. Like it was a couple of thousand people going to a capital city for three days of education and fun and friendships and all that sort of stuff. And it was back then. It was kind of a mix of 50-50 wedding photographers versus portrait photographers and then you've got your landscape crew and all that sort of stuff. But when I went to the event in Melbourne I think it was the awards ceremony or something the question was asked, who's the wedding photographer here? And there was probably two of us or three of us who put our hand up and then I kind of found out later that there was very few actual entries into the wedding photography categories and very few wedding photographers that actually went, and to me that says that people aren't so much interested in their education anymore because they can't be busy, because the industry's just fallen on its ass over here at the moment and I think it's done that in the US and stuff as well, from what I've been told but the only reason that people are busy is because they're dirt cheap.
Ben Connolly:What I found? That the wedding photographers just aren't there for the education anymore, and I've kind of come to the conclusion from what I've seen online and some of the shit that I've seen online, that they're more concerned with likes and follows than what they are with teaching themselves and educating themselves and sitting in and having their work critiqued by some of the world's best photographers. You know, saying, hey, this is a great shop and here's how you can do it better, like it's just it's not happening and it's sad because there's couples out there that are getting substandard work and there's people that are getting substandard work because, you know, the pandemic happened. People lost their jobs. Cameras are amazing. Now you look at the new Z8. Is it Z8?
Neil Redfern:Yeah, we talk about Nikon, so we don't know another language.
Ben Connolly:Like I know that the new Nikon that has just come out I think it's the Z8 is just off its chops.
Ben Connolly:It's incredible and when you've got cameras like that coming out, people being made redundant through the pandemic, going out buying a good camera and going, hey, I can do this, like I can be a professional, and then they start without any proper education, without any real consideration of you know, I'm going to learn on the job or you know, I'm not going to do anything beforehand, I'm just going to go and give it a shot and I'm going to charge people money for it.
Ben Connolly:That's kind of how we started years ago and we now. I know that that's the wrong way to start and I'm trying to scream that from the rooftops to try and help people to start the right way, so that if I can share my light with everyone else, then the world's a brighter place. I'm not going to diminish my flame, but if I can help someone start properly and have good business systems and, you know, do things properly, then I might just stop that person going broke. And I don't know about you guys over in the UK, but in Australia seven out of 10 people who commit suicide every day are blokes.
Neil Redfern:It's very similar. I don't know the actual numbers, but it's definitely a much higher proportion of men than women.
Ben Connolly:So, as a bloke like, there's a lot of support out there for women. There's a lot of women's groups and stuff that are especially here in Australia and on the Sunshine Coast and stuff. There's not much for blokes and I'm kind of like, well, in the last three months I've sat in the back row of two funerals of people who have taken their own lives. And they're not they're not from my industry. But what if that person was? And what if you're that person who can get in and show them how to make money and show them how to do it properly, how to set up the systems in their business so that they don't go broke, so that they don't think that's the only way out? How, how is that going to make you feel to be that person? Wow, that's, that's deep, that's. That's a big thing to take on, but it's kind of it's. It's the way I look at life and the way I look at what I do and how I do it.
Neil Redfern:That's what I love about your teaching, ben. You've obviously really lived a life and you've mentioned you've had some very unfortunate and difficult situations in your personal life as well the past few years, but it always feels like you're always looking to grow from everything like this and then pass on what you've learned, and I think that is why that you said before you don't know why the UK wants to do well, like when people listen to you, they can't help me, and Helen are perfect examples. Right now you can't help would just be like this man has the answers, and we're not just talking about photography.
Neil Redfern:We are talking about life. It's true though You're like you're passing on much more advice here than just photography, and I do now completely get what you said at the beginning of the podcast, that the more we do pass on your knowledge of life and the things that you've learned through those very difficult circumstances you've been through, it almost helps us as photographers because we become more empathetic, we will consider our clients more, we'll want to do the best job we can for them, and it's all one big circle. Yeah, honestly, it's inspiring listening to you, which is why I just can't wait for to meet you in person, because if this is what we're getting just through zoom, what's it going to be like? Listen to you, and I do love how you are constantly sharing, being so open, so honest and sharing the things you've learned from very difficult situations. You know these.
Neil Redfern:You could have gone down very different paths, unfortunately, with the things that you've, the challenges that you've come up against. I mean just what I know you mentioned before about what happened two or three years ago, which is very sorry to hear that you obviously had this skydiving accident that could have broke you in literally hand, metaphorically, in every different way, and then what you also said happened with your financial situation. These are huge events that could have just put you down very different roads, but you've constantly learned from them, and that's amazing. It's amazing.
Ben Connolly:I don't want to go too deeply into it, but I had a difficult childhood with a step parent and that sort of stuff. And back then, when I was younger and wasn't able to protect myself and wasn't able to stand up for myself, I was very much a victim. And when I left and joined the military, I was thrust into a life that I never expected into being an adult when I was only just 17 years old, and that was a very different life and I kind of found myself a little bit of a victim there as well. For the first few years until I actually kind of found myself a little bit. And then, after I had that skydiving accident, I was still a young dickhead, taking risks, doing dumb things like having go low competitions, like who could pull a ripcord the lowest, and shit like that, like that's, that's what we were doing, and I'd become complacent.
Ben Connolly:And by becoming complacent and being that kind of young dickhead, I inadvertently made myself a victim again. The skydiving accident was a big turning point in my life because when I did manage to get up and walk again, which was quite a few months later, I said to myself right, I'm not ever going to be the victim again. I'm not going to sit here and feel like I'm helpless. I'm not going to sit here and not be able to do something or or feel powerless or anything. I'm not going to be a victim and no one is going to make me a victim.
Neil Redfern:Good for you Just steamed forward since then. Wow, it's amazing. And such a good attitude, so refreshing. We did have all the questions for Ben, didn't we, helen? But I think we close it there. I don't think we can we can't close it there. Oh.
Ben Connolly:I've got some guest questions for Neil.
Neil Redfern:Oh, go for it. We're on such a high, it's like whoa.
Ben Connolly:So you guys asked me some questions and I'm sort of sitting here thinking in the last couple of days so I've had a bit of time to think about this since the last image critique. And when you said we'll get you on the podcast, I'm like, right, I've got to come up with something good here Go for it.
Neil Redfern:I'm excited and scared.
Helen Williams:I know.
Neil Redfern:Right, so I'm just interrupting the podcast. This is Neil from the future. We carried on speaking to Ben for over two hours and it was all gold. So, rather than doing a two hour episode, what we're going to do is finish this podcast now and then bring back the rest of the conversation for a part two, which is going to be the next podcast which is out next week. We didn't want to in any way cut short this podcast because, as you already know from listening to this one, it's incredible listening to Ben. So we just thought, yeah, more Ben. So we're going to finish this podcast now. This is going to be Ender part one and come back next week for part two.
Neil Redfern:So thank you so much for listening. Thank you to Ben. He's been incredible, as you know, and we're so grateful to have him in the flashmaster community. The links to all of Ben's socials, to his workshop, will be in the description of this podcast and we honestly we can't thank him enough. We love Ben, we've learned so much from him and we know that you will feel exactly the same from listening to the podcast. So, as always, if you like, to join us in the flashmaster community and you'll get instant access then to the two full live streams that we've done in our members community, with Ben how I shot it stream and his critique stream, both of which are just invaluable. You'll get access to those as soon as you join the flashmaster community, and you can do so at flashmastersco. So, as always, thank you so much for listening, and we will see you next time.
Helen Williams:Do you want me to still say keep flashing.
Neil Redfern:Yes, it's the end of the third podcast.
Helen Williams:All right, okay, then everyone keep flashing.
Neil Redfern:Perfect.
