Long post incoming……I figured with a new website there comes a need for a bit of history for those who are interested. This is benleephoto.com.au in probably its 5th iteration, the biggest difference on this occasion is the almost 10 year hiatus between this version and the last. A bit of backstory for those who are interested..

I started professionally shooting surf photography in around 2008. This was a during the golden years of surf and bodyboard magazines. There were publications aplenty and many businesses willing to invest in their riders. The next 5 year were filled with so many great times and memories. Numerous trips overseas and around Australia with friends chasing swells and adventure. During this time I invested so much into chasing this dream, but received 10 fold in life lasting memories.

Alex Gray South Australia — Alex Gray - South Australia

In complete honesty, I struggled to adapt to the changing market from print to social media. Print media was slowly starting to die, so opportunities were drying up. Camera gear and travel related debt was increasing and it started to take away the joy I had previously felt and before long I had forgotten about all of the positive experiences. I felt myself spiral down a hole of negativity and poor mental health. It was shortly after this period of time (2013) that I started to rediscover my love for ocean photography in the form of empty waves. I started to devote all of my free time to getting up as early as possible to photograph the ocean before the sun had risen. I have some great memories from this period of time, leaving home at 3am to paddle river mouths in the dark and big hikes up the beach just to try and score waves on a full moon.

Next came life. A move to the Gold Coast for work brought some days with good waves, however I found I very rarely picked up a camera. It was during this period of time when I met a very special girl and discovered that there were adventures away from the ocean that I also enjoyed chasing.

A few adventures to camp on Bribie Island in 2015, a desire to move back closer to my recently born nephew Cooper and a chance opportunity through work for a transfer led to us moving to the island in 2016. Bribie Island quickly became a home and the years that followed were a blur filled with two miniature dachshund’s followed by two miniature humans. This period of my life is by far the highlight, becoming a dad to Emmy and Noah has completely transformed my life. Although with most highs there are also lows. Juggling two young kids and senior leadership role has had its challenges on both my mental and physical health.

It was during this period that I started to realise the importance of having something to focus on and identify as, other than just being a dad or a leader at work. I started to reacquaint myself with my previous love for ocean photography. Although Bribie Island isn’t the first place many would think of when thinking abut good waves in SE QLD and it is pretty inconsistent, it does have some really fun days in-between.

Once again I was struggling with an outlet to share my work and not getting the satisfaction from social media such as Instagram. A long desire to. improve my video skills and a curiosity about YouTube eventually led to me building up the courage to film and edit a video. The first of which I'll share below.

Starting a Youtube channel was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. From someone who literally hates being in front of the camera, this was a big step. It has been however one of the most rewarding things I’ve done. It has had so many positive flow on effects such as motivating me to get in the water and film behind the scenes surf photography session and getting out there and recording special memories with the family that I’m positive we will appreciate in the future. It has also given me the opportunity to meet some epic new friends.

2023 I have managed to slowly build my Youtube channel and invest a lot more time into photography. For once the ocean hasn’t dominated the screen of my camera. I’ve been spending a lot of time chasing landscape photos with my drone around Bribie Island and the Glasshouse mountains.

In 2024 I have big plans for travel and to keep on building on my range of fine art prints. With a bit of luck and planning maybe I could one day be lucky enough to open a print gallery on Bribie Island. The importance of dreaming big is a lesson I want to instil in my children . For anyone that has gotten this far and chooses to invest in my art, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your support allows me to keep chasing my dreams.

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