Welcome to my homepage
My name is Benjamin van Houts. I’ve set this site up not only as a window into my life but also as a platform to promote my skills and talents as an artist. It’s taken months and many hours of my own time to bring this site to life. I hope you enjoy exploring it as much as I enjoyed making it.
About Myself
I’ve always found it easy to think of how to implement an idea and what tools I’d need to undertake said project. I’d often see a technique in a movie or design and think that was cool but what could I use it in? It’s because of this I’ve always worked better at helping other people ideas come to life, and provide them with the ideas and tools needed to undertake a project.
Photography is a very creative and technical field and I think that’s why I like it: though I do prefer to be behind the camera rather then in front of it.
Random likes
I like giant Japanese robots, cinema, Sci-fi, Star Trek, comical anti-heroes, black comedy and anything witty, SpongeBob, World War II paraphernalia, computer games from the 80’s to late 90’s, Survival Horror games, London gangsters, Godzilla, Robocop, poseable action figures, Fight Club, movies by Quentin Tarentino, Stanley Kubrick, Tim Burton and Guy Ritchie, my PlayStation(s) and Gamecube.
I listen to following bands
Bjork, Krafwerk, Hot chip, Cake, Placebo, Regurgitator (their older stuff), Radiohead, Plone, Scissor Sisters, Spiderbait, The Prodigy, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Placebo, They Might Be Giants, Beasty Boys, Florence And The Machine, Ladyhawke, Sarah Blasko, The Presets, Peter Bjorn & John, Pony Up! and Gorillaz.
Biography
I completed a Bachelor of Communication Design at James Cook University in 2003 majoring in Graphic Design. During my time at University I enjoyed all things creative and technical and embraced as many different areas of multimedia as possible.
After completing my degree I worked freelance before landing a job for a local Photographer, Rob Parsons. During my 3 years working for Rob I got to witness the transition from a traditional workflow to digital one as I undertook Graphic Design and digital post production of Rob’s Photography. Latter we implemented a full in-house printing workflow with myself overseeing the images from camera to fine print. Getting paid to use Photoshop was one of the best jobs ever.
In 2006 I worked as a part time Practical Supervisor tutoring first year students in digital capture and manipulation while undertaking freelance work for local business and photographers. Later I went on to work at Doug Kemp’s Camera House operating their digital mini lab and c-41 colour film developer (completely by accident I got to see first hand via the c-41 what cross possessing of film looked like).
In 2007 I started full time work at James Cook University’s Video Conferencing & Audio Visual department and in 2008 started work at the School of creative arts where I am currently still working.
