Benz World Blog » Food

Blueberry Farm

Jason Benz — Sat, 31 Oct 2020 04:16:05 +0000

These blueberries at Riparian Farm in New South Wales are bursting with flavour and ready to be picked. The industry has been impacted by Covid border closures. Even Australians stranded abroad are only trickling back into the country as seats on flights are strictly limited to the number of spaces in hotel quarantine. The lack of backpackers in 2020 risks delicious food going to waste. My inner pragmatic green knew I could help and the farm is in the warm end of the state which is a beautiful place to defrost after a cold Blue Mountain winter in my van.

Berry picking is the perfect antidote for anyone who has become stir crazy in lockdown. Nature, laughter and reggae can be heard in the fields every day. A handful of pickers carry speakers, when they are spread over the hillside, the mix of music in the breeze evokes the sound of festivals, which now feel like part of history. Physically, it is easier than expected. Unlike most jobs, the human body is perfect for selecting and picking berries. Our colour eyesight and nimble fingers evolved for this purpose. Fresh air, light exercise and plenty of vitamin D, one healthy way to ride out a pandemic.

Anyone in NSW interested in helping with the harvest from May to November contact Mountain Blue.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Crocodile Chews

Jason Benz — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:39:33 +0000

This is crocodile feeding time at the David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast. The animal park is local to us, but fortunately crocodiles in the wild do not come this far south in Queensland, Australia.

Scottish Longhorn

Jason Benz — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 19:38:08 +0000

This is a Scottish Longhorn Highland Cow, although it looks like a creature from Star Wars. As it came towards me I had to tell remind myself this is only a herbivore despite looking more dangerous than all carnivores I have photographed. This shot was taken last winter near Grantham in the UK.

We are over the worst of the jet lag from travelling back from Australia and plan to walk to a pub in Granchester tomorrow.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is be available for download here.

Bush Turkey

Jason Benz — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 18:20:13 +0000

This is an Australian Brushturkey also known as a Scrub Turkey or Bush Turkey. We have encountered them at four campsites in the last week. It is the first wild Australian bird I would not mind seeing on a plate. Like most of Australia’s bold birds it seems completely unafraid of humans. It is a small wonder any of these walking Christmas dinners survived the starvation years of the early European settlers.

We crossed from New South Wales into Queensland on Wednesday night. We have just arrived at The Woolshed Backpackers in Hervey Bay where we will photographing the hostel and surrounding area for their website.

Fake Beef

Jason Benz — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 07:59:01 +0000

This is one of the many horses in the fields around Gonerby in the UK. Before I took the base image I had planned to give the whole horse a frisian cow texture in order to illustrate the current beef/horsemeat scandal. Despite the mild spell this weekend all the horses had blankets on. By only changing the blanket it made the final result believable and the compositing easier.

This image has had difficulty getting accepted for Stock Photography at first, however BigStock were the first to accept it and it is available for download here.

Three Tits

Jason Benz — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 04:20:57 +0000

These long-tailed tits and great tits seem to be a lot more common in the UK this winter. I think they may have benefited from the drop in the bird population of sparrows this year.

Spice Bowls

Jason Benz — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 05:02:34 +0000

This is Indigo Dye and Powdered spices in Aswan Market, Egypt. If you recognise the powders please leave a comment so I can give more accurate keywords. In most cases stock agencies discourage too much photoshopping as it can easily degrade the image and can make it of less use to graphic designers who will apply there own adjustments. The exception is removing distracting elements as this makes the image of more use to designers. This image has the wall on the left copied to the right to cover the busy background.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.