Through My Lens: Photographer Ben Easter
“I won't move back to Des Moines.” This is what I would laughingly tell myself in the years after I left Greater Des Moines (DSM) to live on the west coast and then in France. Starting my career as an actor and transitioning to a photographer has given me some wonderful opportunities to experience diverse cultures and worldly locations, including life-changing trips to India. There are some people who assume, like I did, that Des Moines cannot offer cultural experiences similar to larger metropolitans. They are mistaken and so was I. I have grown to love DSM for its culture, people and accessibility. I am grateful to have the opportunity to photograph it. I can only hope that my work provides a glimpse of the magic this city holds.
Favorite Shots of DSM
DSM is recognized for having one of the top Opera companies in the country: the Des Moines Metro Opera. The 45th Festival season opens this weekend, and this is a photo from the campaign for the "Turandot.” The opera, the final one composed by Puccini, is set in China. Princess Turandot requires potential suitors to win her hand by answering three riddles. Discover what happens when she is presented with one of nature’s most mysterious riddles: love. This photo was shot at the Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens in Downtown DSM (2016).
“Pretty Little Liars” Hollywood film actor Brandon Jones was shot on location on the banks of the Des Moines River, near The World Food Prize Building while in town filming “Courting Des Moines” (2015).
President Obama pauses during a speech just before the November 2012 election in Downtown DSM's Historic East Village in front of a crowd of 20,000.
Located in Iowa's Capitol building, the State Library of Iowa’s Law Library contains a legal collection that includes treatises, abstracts and arguments of the Iowa Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Used by Iowa lawmakers, government employees, the Iowa legal community and the general public, I believe it is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world (2014).
This image contains a view of our beautiful Downtown captured at dusk (2014).
I love old films, so naturally I had to recreate a shot of an all-time classic Hitchcock film, "North by Northwest." And, we didn't have to go to Hollywood to make this happen — we shot this right here in DSM! (2012).
Want more? Learn all about living in DSM, including details about communities, education, housing, things to do and more.
Ben Easter
Imagination. Character. Wisdom. Beauty. Truth. These are the qualities Ben Easter strives to achieve in his work. Ben has been creating images since he was a kid, but while living in Paris in 2008, Ben's professional photography career began when his amateur work was noticed by the owner of a boutique ad agency, Darwin FX. They hired Ben as a photographer and bought him his first professional camera. Having spent years in front of the camera as an actor in film and television, and having appeared in magazines like Cosmopolitan, cameras were no strangers to Ben. But stepping behind the lens as a photographer and director seemed inevitable to this life-long storyteller. Visit his website at beneasterphotography.com.