Ben Canales

Originally from the light polluted state of New Jersey in the USA, Ben Canales had no idea what the glowing cloud was above him while camping in the Australian Outback. His current path of chasing moments under the stars dramatically begun that night when he realized it was the Milky Way. Fast forward almost a decade later living in Oregon, and one night camping with a borrowed camera, he was able to take a picture of the Milky Way. Through photography, his personal pursuit evolved into an opportunity to share the night sky with friends and family living under the city lights.Since that night, Canales continues to find deepest inspiration sharing the beauty of the night sky via photography, timelapse and video. His passion is to create media where the viewer can find connection to the stars through a human element within each scene.In 2011, he won National Geographic’s Travel Photo of the Year with a self portrait of stargazing at Crater Lake. His work has been featured on The Weather Channel, APOD, published in books and magazines, and placed in various night sky photography competitions. Canales excitedly pursues the progress of low light technology into the new realm of video of the night sky.