The Pursuit of Happiness

Photographs by Benjamin O’ Dea

Photographer Benjamin O’ Dea discusses the struggle of breaking into the world of photography without losing integrity, the genuineness in his work, and the universal desire to be happy.

San Diego, USA

How did your journey as a photographer begin?

It's always been an interest of mine since a child; my grandmother would take me out with a disposable camera and let me do my thing, but not until the beginning of 2021 through years of a picture here and there did I decide to take it seriously with more of an intended purpose behind it. Since then I've learned and shot exclusively film and continue to do so today.

What have you learned along the way? How have you grown?

I categorize photography as an art and in doing so I believe it to be important to find your own style and as stated above, a purpose. What are you doing it for and how do you want others to perceive it? Learning not to be influenced by the powers of social media, the trends, and the hype are what birthed my page and I believe are what allow the people I photograph to be as real and as vulnerable as they are. It's genuine. If I were chasing people down making tiktoks or shooting bts through my phone mid shot these images wouldn't exist. But it took me learning to not give a damn of what others think regardless of 20 or a 1,000 likes per post. The idea is to reach the masses, yes, but not at the expense of my own integrity and the integrity of those who allow me to photograph them.

What have been some of your struggles as a photographer?

Currently, where I live. You might go to my page and see some of my most recent work is in NYC. What you don't know is how I slept on a bus overnight to get there, spent 16hrs grinding through the city streets on a Saturday not knowing if I'll even shoot anything and then catching another bus back that same weekend to reset during the week and do it all over again. That's one of the current challenges atop of being deployed every other 5 months, something I don't typically speak about but it allowed me to capture some of the amazing photos I was able to take in Africa. Now the big picture challenge is breaking out. A part of me still feels as if my work is judged solely upon its face value, my entire reasoning for creating the "Everyday Renegades" idea. I don't believe in shock value for the sake of it and to pose somebody next to a tree for the cliche deep thought narrative in my mind is an annoyance. The world of photography is so vast and unique and there are some great photographers out there but they're drowning in a sea of rinse and repeat, copy and paste by all of the trends, galleries and companies who push the same material to these masses. The real struggle is trying to break into that world without having to sacrifice a thing for it. I hope to see someone succeed.

What makes your perspective unique? How would you describe your style?

I never considered my style a style because of how basic it is. I take a picture, leave it completely unedited and then write what I feel at the moment of posting it. I think what gives it character is what happens moments before I do take the photo. I'll have a conversation with that person or have a vision beforehand. With that vision I'll pick the film stock that I think will best represent that and then it's about keeping them in their world. I don't ask someone to do something they wouldn't naturally do. I don't ask them to go somewhere they wouldn't naturally go. Most, if not every picture on my page except for the themed ones are people in their own neighborhoods, in their own cars, doing their own thing and half of them I approached as a complete stranger moments before even taking that picture. That would probably be the only difference if there had to be one at all. Who you see and and what you see is authentic, not for the gram, tiktok, or youtube.

Tell the story behind one of your images.

It's hard to choose just one but I'll have to go with the young girl in Senegal because of how recent and vivid it still is. It isn't some crazy story or anything attention grabbing but for me it was the first time in a long time that time slowed down and left me in a moment to take it all in and capture it. I was walking through a ghetto of Senegal and didn't have much intention of photographing it because I didn't want to feel as if I was exploiting these people and their lifestyle, but a few steps down this corridor I saw this girl sitting and observing me. We locked eyes for a moment so I held my camera up without saying a word and she began to slowly fix herself. She pulled her dress down and her hair back and sat up straight ready to have her picture taken. I can't quite describe that moment in detail the way it felt but for all of maybe only 15 seconds which felt like 10 minutes in slow motion, she displayed herself as something magnificently beautiful in a place nobody would associate beauty with. The mental image of that stuck in my head for months until I was able to develop the film and see her again.

Many of your photographs depict the human experiences of various cultures, ethnicities, and lifestyles. Why is this important to you?

I feel these days it's easier than ever for people to forget who they are or for people to have difficulty in finding who they relate to as pop culture creates and pushes the images of what you're supposed to be. Showcasing the purity within people in their true form almost feels like a lost art though it should be normal and I think it's something to be applauded regardless of who you are, where you come from or your current circumstances. At the end of the day we're all human no matter where on this planet you are. Some are just taught differently, experience life differently or go down different paths. You'd be surprised how many people you'd get along with or find commonalities with if it weren't for the barriers we've created for one another.

In your online Bio, you wrote about breaking down barricades and looking past judgements between people. How do you think your photography has helped in doing this?

Earlier this year some kids hit me up to feature some of my photos in this wild ass underground art exhibit they put together in their native home of Russia... They were also one of the leading demographics on my IG for a while. There's a picture of the girl with a red bandana hanging around her neck hanging in someones home in Australia and there are people from so many different walks of life that I've met or communicated with because of my photography. Honestly speaking, I'm not sure what I ever expected out of this but the support and people who have reached out have been more than I ever would've imagined. The reception and understanding for the message is there. At this point I only hope to build on that as this has never been for me, it's for everyone in those pictures and I hope to one day do them justice on another level that one can only imagine now.

What have been some common motivations you found between different groups?

We all just want to be happy as simple as that may sound but also in how difficult it may be to achieve. Some have it, some spend a lifetime chasing it. John Locke was on to something when he wrote about the pursuit of happiness and not much has changed since then. No matter who I approach or where, the conversation is always defined by a passion or aspiration to be... and in finding these people I'd like to hope that we've all provided each other with a building block to that path.

How does using film in your photography help you tell these stories?

There's something crazy about physically capturing an image of somebody. The refractions of their physical form and light onto this piece of film, it's like they gave you a part of themselves. I also only get 10 shots per each roll on my Pentax so each picture needs to be purposeful with intent behind it. And then there's the film, which type and why. There are many variations of black and white and color films but only one is going to tell this story the way I need it because if I choose something dark and contrasty to tell a beautiful and bright story, it isn't there. All of these things working beautifully together is what does it for me.

What is next for you?

Not sure. I've been dealing with some of my own mental struggles which have made it difficult to be as active as I'd like to be but we'll see. There's an idea I've been holding onto for some time that I want to shoot but finding people to buy in and trust the vision has proven difficult. Outside of that just taking it as it comes and trying to piece it all together.