Benjamin Farren

Full-Time photographer based in Los Angeles 📸

09/01/2026

A decade of exploring Southern California
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10 years ago today, I packed up just about all my belongings into my family's minivan and a friend's pickup truck, and moved to SoCal to finish college. Hadn't even been photographing for a year at that point (and definitely wasn't getting paid yet), but I wasn't gonna miss the opportunity to see what was even possible through this opportunity. With no job lined up, and not nearly enough saved to be comfortable, we went for it anyway. I'd be lying if I said it hasn't been a bumpy ride, but my suspension is good, so we've been making it work. History lesson and bad puns out of the way, here are some of my favorite places around SoCal ~

Santa Monica Pier. I don't even care that it's a tourist trap, I absolutely love this place and had wanted to visit since I first learned about it while watching Iron Man for my 13th birthday. Background is Westward Beach, shot on 35mm film

Griffith Observatory...
..with good people. Don't remember when I first learned about Griffith, but I grew up wanting to be an astronaut, so it was an easy favorite. Background is the Santa Monica mountains on 35mm film

And speaking of wanting to be an astronaut, there's absolutely no better place to stargaze in SoCal than Joshua Tree. Both the foreground and background photo are single exposures taken in Joshua Tree National Park (and yes, I did scoot the tree over a little to line it up perfectly with the galactic core)

Another helping of Santa Monica Pier, with a background from Sequit Point at Leo Carrillo State Beach

A walkway over PCH and some lightsabers on Sequit Point

Top: Sunset over Coyote Lake, 30 minutes outside of Barstow. Bottom: Sunset under Santa Monica Pier. Background: Sunset above PCH, shot on Medium Format film

The Getty Center (and a random stranger). Background is the Santa Monica mountains again (take a wild guess where I live), shot on 35mm film

A magnificent sunset seen from Baldwin Hills Overlook, frolicking on a the reflective sands at Westward Beach, my car in the mountains above Crystal Lake in Azusa

Miss California at Pasadena City Hall, Valentine in the waters south of Santa Monica Pier (shocking, I know),

08/31/2026

Staring into our own shadow 🟠
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I still have to keep Vermont 2024 at the top of my list of eclipse shoots, but this one turned out to be special for a very different reason. Truth be told, I wasn't even planning to shoot it. I knew it was coming, but I just wasn't feeling up to the task. Creative burnout had been rearing its ugly head as of late, so I figured I'd skip it and just enjoy the photos posted by my friends online later. Leaving my camera bag behind, I left the house to go get dinner on my own. As I pulled out onto the main road, I looked up and was instantly awestruck by the sharp crescent slowly disappearing. Turning around immediately, I flew back up the hill, ran inside, grabbed my camera, ran back to the front yard and pointed it up at the moon. An hour later, I had some of my new favorite photos ever. The whole experience served as a fantastic reminder of why I love doing this so much in the first place - it's usually the unplanned moments that have the most impact. I'm also happy to know that the awesomeness of Creation is still enough to yank me out of a rut, I just have to give it the opportunity to do so
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Thanks for coming to my TED Talk, prints of some of these shots will be available soon
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04/04/2026

When your creative brief asks for a Dove Cameron Lethal Woman-style visualizer, you get a little shaky
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Song: Temara Melek - Freakshow
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Shot on A7SIII and CoolPix S2600

04/01/2026

I think shooting musicians is rapidly becoming my new favorite thing 🕺🏼
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Photos shot on A7R V, videos shot on Sony A7S III
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Lit with .lighting F22c and 6x MCs
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02/14/2026

Floating in your arms, all fears just melt away
(except sharks, an errant school of jellyfish, or running out of breath. But like, aside from those... you get the point)
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Shot on A7R V + 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II
Edited in and
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01/05/2026

Stepping off 2025, hoping 2026 doesn't let me fall
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Well that was definitely a chapter with more "character development opportunities" than I was anticipating! We gained some, lost some, laughed a lot, cried a little, turned 30, bought a car, lost my cat, added a brother, watched my little sister get married, and had my Faith tested in ways I never could've imagined. Despite it all, we're still standing, and 2026 is gonna have to try harder than that if it wants to knock me out (which is not actually an invitation, please be nice).
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On the work side, we got to shoot some fun things - music videos, short films, weddings, proposals, lightsabers, proposals WITH lightsabers, album covers, apparel, and even a wild moose. We finally started shooting on 35mm film (thanks Jen!), and even won a couple film festival awards. I think I can confidently say that 2025 was my best year artistically, and I can't wait to share the rest of it!
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Looking forward to the new opportunities, new adventures, new friends, and new memories with old ones. If you've stuck around this long, you're valued and appreciated, and I'm just as excited to see what this next chapter holds for you as I am for myself.
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All that is to say - thankful to God for another year, and may it be our best one yet 🥂

12/27/2025

Couldn't imagine a better way to spend Christmas Eve Eve than being in New York City to capture two of my favorite people getting engaged 💍 thanks so much for having me, , stoked you were able to pull off the surprise of a lifetime and even more excited to have been part of it 🤍
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Shot on A7R V with 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II
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11/17/2025

Strangers 👥
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On the first day of 2025, I went to one of my favorite spots in SoCal to kick off the year by watching the sunset, snapping a couple strangers who'd had the same idea as me. Went back more recently to close out my first roll of Fuji 400, and though I didn't find any strangers this time around, the birds and lifeguard tower made for a good substitute
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Digitals shot on A7R V + 24-70 f/2.8 GM II Edited in
Film shot on .film SRT101 + 400 Developed at

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Los Angeles, CA

Website

http://benjaminfarren.com/

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