Julia Benton

Galata Bridge spans the Golden Horn from Karakoy on the north to Old Istanbul on the south. The bridge is so busy and it seemed as if the bundled up fisherman with their chairs, buckets, packed lunches, beer, etc. were out at all times of the day.

The bridge serves as a symbolic link between the traditional city of Istanbul proper, site of the imperial palace and other tourist destinations, and the districts of Galata, Beyoglu, Şişli and Harbiye where foreign merchants and diplomats lived and worked. The bridge has been featured in Turkish literature and theater and its romantic appearance has made it the subject of many works of art.

The mosques in Istanbul were pretty amazing and I was surprised that tourists were allowed in at the same time the mosques were being used for prayer. The first photo was shot at the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known for its blue mosaic tiled interior, and the remaining photos were taken at Sulaymaniye Mosque, the second largest in the city.

The Egyptian Spice Bazaar in Fatih, Istanbul is a huge covered shopping center with vaulted rooms, chambers and monumental gateways. Spices, dried fruits, nuts, and lokum fill most of the shops though jewelry and clothing stores have also started moving in. The atmosphere seemed pretty authentic and it definitely was less of a tourist trap than the nearby Grand Bazaar. I bought spices, cinnamon bark, dried rose buds and happily ate my way through the free samples of lokum/Turkish Delight.

A few landscapes I shot around Haifa within the first few weeks of February. The city itself is a major seaport on the Mediterranean and is built on the slopes of Mount Carmel. The University is high up on the mountain and the views of the city are simply beautiful. The first and third photos were shot along bus routes at the top of the Bahaii Temple and near Elijah’s Cave, respectively. The last photo was shot in Wadi Nisnas, an Arab neighborhood in Haifa known for its street art.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, within the walled Old City of Jerusalem, is known as the place where Jesus was crucified and is said to contain the sepulchre, the site where Jesus was buried. The church has been an important Christian pilgrimage destination since the 4th century. I was certainly struck by the overwhelming number of international tourists gathered at the pilgrimage spot. There were so, so many people and it was difficult to even navigate around the church.

Veterans and civilians alike were invited to participate in a historic photo shoot by the Metabolic Studio’s Optics Team this past Veterans Day on Friday, November 11th. The Metabolic Studio has been traveling across the country on their Liminal Camera tour photographing American flags in transitory locations with a huge pinhole camera created out of a 20 foot shipping container.

This particular Veterans Day photograph was inspired by and paid homage to the Bonus Army’s Encampment on the Mall of World War I veterans and their supporters in Washington DC in 1932. Some participants of the photo shoot dressed in gopher suits and wore gopher-inspired hats, a metaphor for how much of the veterans activism in the country has “gone underground.” The resulting photograph along with a video screening and a selection of images from the Liminal Camera Tour was on view at the Hirshhorn Museum this past weekend.

For a few hours, skin-tight lycra was out and newsboy caps, silk slips and parasols were very in. Hundreds turned out for this year’s third annual Tweed Ride organized by the DC-based social group Dandies and Quaintrelles. Dressed to the dime in their most elegant fall retro-fashions, bicyclists rode ten miles from Meridian Hill Park in Columbia Heights to Capitol Hill.

Officer Robert Hartnett and his horse Sparky have been a team on the National Mall’s Horse-Mounted Unit for the past six years. Hartnett worked in the DCPD and, without any prior horse experience, added his name to a long waiting list in hopes of becoming an officer in the mounted patrol unit. Hartnett was chosen and after an intensive 10 week course on law enforcement with horses, he was ready to ride.

The Horse-Mounted Unit was established in 1934 as part of the United States Park Police. They have since expanded to a full service unit which includes 24 horses. On a typical day three to six horses and officers patrol the grounds of the Capitol and the entirety of the National Mall. More horses are called in during large events or protests to manage the crowd.

“We are able to part a sea of protesters without hitting, stepping on or even touching a single person,” says Hartnett. “That’s the beauty of the horse.”

While the Mounted Unit’s main purpose is crowd control and quelling disturbances, horses trotting around the National Mall is a sight to see in itself. The horses also serve as an attractive unit for display in parades and one can often find a small group of horses near the Lincoln Memorial being petted by excited tourists.

“People often come up and say hello to the horse rather than to us,” says Hartnett. “In all my years of being in a patrol car, nobody ever came up to me just to say hello. Now it happens every day.”

More than 2,500 men and women finished Washington D.C.’s Susan G. Komen’s “3-Day for the Cure” on Sunday in a closing victory walk on the National Mall. Participants walked over 60 miles this past weekend in support of the fight against breast cancer and raised $7 million for research and community-based health and education programs. The closing ceremony was really moving and everyone who I talked to was so inspiring. Am definitely considering participating next year.

I photographed this event for WJLA-TV, Channel 7. To view more pictures, click here.

American Girl Place on 5th Ave in Manhattan is one of the happiest places in the city. In a few blocks radius around the store, it’s easy to spot mothers holding the hands of gleeful little girls clutching American Girl dolls in matching outfits. The pure joy that the girls express while walking out of the store with their new little hand-picked friend is just really touching. I’ve been meaning to work on this series for a while now and am so glad I finally got around to doing it.

Coney Island is so overcrowded and touristy but there are usually pretty interesting things going on.

Broad Channel is a 3,000 person neighborhood on the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay, Queens. The area, approximately 18 blocks long and four blocks wide, consists of artificial canals separating dead-end residential streets.

A few photos from the series I did on the street artist Gaia were published on TBD.com.

Click here for the entire photo gallery.

My  younger brother is my absolute favorite model. I shot this composite image a few weeks ago while he was visiting.

The first ever Butler & Claypool vintage clothing preview at American Ice Co last weekend was a great success. My photographs of the event were published on Brightest Young Things and on ReadysetDC.

Photographs taken on the walk from my apartment to school.

The first project for my second semester photojournalism core class was based around the theme of “My World.” I photographed details of my apartment and then montaged them together.

My Media Lab final, photos taken back home in lovely, lovely California.

All of the passengers on my flight from San Francisco to Washington, DC were met with a lovely surprise when we touched down in the Charlotte, NC airport and discovered that all connecting flights had been cancelled due to severe snow. We were to spend the night in Charlotte, but not only were all of the nearby hotels already booked, the airport was very ill-equipped to deal with the hordes of tired, grouchy people. Some travelers rested by sleeping in chairs while others, including myself, unfortunately remained conscious the entire night.

Caution: Cape does not enable user to fly.

(Warning label on Batman costume at Walmart, 1995)

Humans have been fascinated by flight for centuries, ever since Icarus flew too close to the sun and DaVinci created sketches for his famous flying machines. The beauty of flight patterns is just out of our reach as we remain dependant on mechanical flight to take us where we want to go. Still, we can jump, leap, and soar – flying in our own special ways.

Some images from my 20-40-10 project in my studio class. We were required to shoot 20 rolls of film around a specific theme, print 40 work prints and then select 10 final prints.

I have been having a fantastic time shooting restaurants for TBD.com! These past few weeks I’ve been assigned to restaurants in Dupont Circle and I have really enjoyed checking out some of the places around my neighborhood.

I’m working on a new column for Brightest Young Things along with intern Mare Lewicki. A Spoonful of Sugar highlights cute and adorable places in DC, making your day just a little bit sweeter. We first went to Summer Delights, a very lovely ice cream shop located in Takoma Park.

Click here for the full story.

 

Definitely one of the highlights of my summer.

I photographed almost every single restaurant in Georgetown, Glover Park and the Palisades for the dining section of TBD.com. Here are a few of my favorites.

Random day trip in search of Davis, West Virginia’s HypnoCoffee. It was quite a success.

Three from the Outer Banks and three from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

My Oma’s house in Arkansas.

For the final project of my color film photography class I wanted to use color to its fullest. I photographed four of my friends wearing solid color outfits all over D.C. The series ended up a lot more bizarre than I had originally planned.

I photographed my younger brother while I was back home in California earlier this year. I focused on using the surrounding environment to create surrealist scenes. Brian has a really unique and fun personality and I tried to incorporate his eccentricity into the series. He is a fantastic model and I absolutely love photographing him.