Combining his love of photography, sports and making his own money, Ben Queen realized very quickly that there was a market for amateur photography in his hometown of Bridgeport, West Virginia.

Participating in baseball, soccer and basketball since age 5 and then running track and cross country for Bridgeport Middle School, Ben took advantage of his "down time" during sporting events to learn photography by taking lots of pictures. His teammates and friends received dozens of FREE photos from Ben taken with a 35mm camera.

Parents would offer to pay Ben for the photos he took as a way to help him cover the cost to develop the photos. Although he has never taken a photography class, Ben has received lots of advice and pointers from local professional photographers like Gary Griffith, Sam Santilli, Joe McNemar, Bob Shaw and Tom Mellotte as well as from Bridgeport High School journalism teacher Alice Rowe.

Ben saved up and bought his first digital camera in 2006 which enabled him to see his photos before they were developed. No more processing fees associated with 35mm film! With a digital camera and long-range lenses, Ben got to keep only the best photos and then began to offer them for sale.

In 2007 at 12 years old, Ben started his first business (this website) taking photos at area sporting events (Little League, PONY Baseball, youth football, cheerleading, danceline and middle school games). He has since been hired to take photos at birthday parties, car shows, dance recitals, plays, Halloween parties, family reunions, special school events and school dances.

Unlike photography for portrait purposes or for artwork, Ben's "focus" is on Event Photography -- capturing people engaged in life.

In June of 2008, the Harrison County Chamber of Commerce named Ben the "2008 Young Entrepreneur of the Year". With the support of his family, friends, neighbors and now the local business community, Ben and his website business, www.BenQueenPhotography.com, was on its way.

In January of 2009, Ben's photo "The Longest Yard" was selected in a nationwide contest to be the winner of the "2009 National Amateur Photo Contest" sponsored by Canon USA and the Professional Football Hall of Fame. The theme of the 2009 contest was "Why do we love football?" and more than 10,000 photos were submitted. Ben's photo featured five Pee Wee league football players from Harrison County.

For winning the contest, Ben received a complete four-person travel package and tickets to the 2009 Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Ben, who had never before even attended a professional football game, found himself taking photographs at one of the most exciting Super Bowls in the history of the National Football League -- earning the Pittsburgh Steelers their sixth world championship, using the last two minutes of the game to narrowly defeat the Arizona Cardinals.

While in Tampa, Ben got to spend time with legendary sports photographer Peter Read Miller as well as photographers from Sports Illustrated and other national publications. The trip to the Super Bowl was a "super" learning experience.

In addition to winning a trip to the Super Bowl, Ben and his family were special guests at the 2009 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Pre-Season Football Game hosted by the Pro-Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The 2009 Hall of Fame Class included Derrick Thomas, Rod Woodson, Randall McDaniel, Bruce Smith and Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, Jr. In addition, Ben got to meet and photograph numerous other Hall of Fame inductees.

Ben's photograph was unveiled on August 7, 2009 and on permanent display in the Hall of Fame Museum.

The folks at the Hall of Fame also invited the five boys captured in Ben's photo and their families to visit the Hall of Fame Museum and the pre-season game (Buffalo Bills vs. Tennessee Titans). In all, 53 people (who became known as The Queen Team) from Ben's hometown traveled to Canton, Ohio for this exciting weekend.

Ben is now a freshman at Bridgeport High School. He is expanding his website into an easy-to-use outlet for other amateur photographers (students and adults) to sell their work as well as an easy-to-buy place for family and friends to purchase photographs.

If you or someone you know would like more information on becoming an Event Photographer with BenQueenPhotography.com please click on the link found on the home page of this website.