Benson Blake Photography » Hampton VA

Obama Speaks at HU 2010

Benson Blake Photography — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:59:48 +0000

On Sunday May 9th, Hampton University's 2010 commencement exercises got off to a memorable start. President Barack Obama delivered the Mother's Day commencement address at HU in front of 1,072 graduates and a crowd of about 12,000 relatives and friends. The speech was also broadcast live on several TV networks nationwide. I had the honor of being one of the photographers present to capture images of this presidential moment. Special thanks to Yuri and the University Relations staff at Hampton for all the hard work done to make this special occasion a success.

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Miss Hampton Portraits ’09

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:21:41 +0000

The day after the 2009 pageant, a portrait session was held for the newly crowned Miss Hampton University, Nikole Churchill. Promotional images were created using a variety of outfits and poses. Thanks to Bobby and Myrtle for assisting with the equipment setup and styling for the session. Here's one of my favorite images from the session. Good luck to Nikole, as she competes for Miss Virginia in the Spring 2010 pageant.

Miss HU Pageant 2009

Benson Blake Photography — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:21:35 +0000

On Friday October 9th, Hampton University crowned their newest ambassador. Nikole Churchill was crowned Miss Hampton University 2009-2010 at the annual scholarship pageant. The event began with all 10 contestants participating in an opening number, then introducing themselves one-by-one to the judges and audience. Each of the young ladies competed in the categories of swimsuit, talent, and evening wear. The final segment of the pageant was a question & answer competition, hosted by Shannon Cooper (Miss Hampton University 2008-2009). Laisha served as production director, creating this year's theme "Beauties of the Desert Sand". Once again, the historic Ogden Hall was selected as the pageant's venue on Hampton's campus. Thanks to Dr. Maye and all others who helped make the pageant successful. Congratulations to Nikole Churchill, Miss Hampton University 2009-2010!

Miss HU Pageant 2008

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:59:32 +0000

The Miss Hampton University Pageant took place on October 11th at Hampton University's Ogden Hall. Fourteen contestants competed for the chance to be crowned the next University queen. The theme for the event was "An Evening With The Stars". Thanks to Dr. Maye and Jerrica for organizing and producing such a great pageant! Former Miss Hampton University 2001-2002, Tiffany Jenkins Leatherberry, was the honored guest for the pageant. Tiffany had the honor of asking the contestants their questions during the on-stage question segment. Congratulations to Shannon Cooper, Miss Hampton University 2008-2009!

Deanna & Natario Wed

Benson Blake Photography — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:46:10 +0000

On July 19th, Deanna and Natario were married at First Baptist Church Denbigh in Newport News VA. The reception took place at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, where the bride and groom arrived from the ceremony in a white Rolls-Royce. Fortunately we were able to slip away for a few portraits with the classic car. Thanks to Melody and all who helped make this day a success! The decorations were provided by A Touch of Elegance, adding a splash of color to the reception. Special thanks to my assistants Gary and Charlie for helping out with the photography and lighting setups. Here's a sneak peek into Deanna and Natario's special day.

Decorations by A Touch of Elegance

Everyone capturing the cake-cutting, including myself

VA Outstanding Scientists

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:45:19 +0000

Congratulations to Dr. James M. Russell III, recipient of the 2008 Virginia Outstanding Scientist award. On last week, I photographed Russell and the 2007 award winner, Dr. M. Patrick McCormick, on the campus of Hampton University. Images were created of them in front of Ogden Hall, the Administration Building (pictured below), and other areas of the campus. Thanks to Yuri and her staff for coordinating this session. One or two images from the session will be part of a billboard display along interstate 64 in Hampton VA. Look for the super-sized image during August and September 2008.

Dr. James M. Russell III (left) and Dr. M. Patrick McCormick (right), winners of the 2008 and 2007 Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award

Ministers’ Conference ’08

Benson Blake Photography — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:05:54 +0000

The 2008 Hampton Ministers' Conference and Choir Directors'/Orgainists' Guild Workshop kicked off on Monday June 2nd on the campus of Hampton University. Preachers and church musicians from all over the country have gathered here to worship, network, and learn music and concepts that they can take back to their hometown churches. This year's conference speaker is Bishop Charles E. Blake, presiding Bishop of Church of God in Christ Worldwide. Here are a few images from the choir soloist performance and Bishop Blake's sermon. Enjoy!

Choir Director

HU JET Gala 2008

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:19:17 +0000

On Friday May 16th, I had the pleasure of photographing the JET program's Annual Black Tie Gala. The event was held at Hampton University's student center ballroom, where Wavy 10 (NBC) news anchor Don Roberts served as emcee. City of Newport News mayor Joe Frank was the recipient of the 2008 JET Visionary Award. Congratulations to all of the JET program participants! Also thanks to Gary for helping with the photography, and Myrtle for assisting with on-site portrait orders.

Don Roberts, Wavy 10 (NBC) morning news anchor

Newport News Mayor Joe Frank w/ JET program director Don Rose

Amber’s Portraits

Benson Blake Photography — Sun, 18 May 2008 13:50:43 +0000

I recently held a studio portrait session for Amber, a music major at Hampton University. We created lots of great images to be used for her upcoming vocal competition. Hopefully we can narrow them down to just one for the program. Here are a couple of my favorites.

HU Commencement 2008

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:30:51 +0000

On Mother's Day '08, Hampton University held their 138th Annual Commencement Exercises on the campus at Armstrong Stadium. This year's speaker was Christopher Gardner, whose life story was the made into the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" w/ Will Smith. This was a very emotional speech for him, since his daughter Jacintha was among the graduates that day… the first in his family to graduate from college. President Harvey made it a "two-fer" by presenting Gardner with an honorary doctorate degree. My cousin Greg also graduated Sunday with his MBA… Congratulations!

Slideshow (runtime 1:07)

Commencement speaker Christopher Gardner

Pageant Committee

Benson Blake Photography — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:08:05 +0000

On Wednesday, I held a studio portrait session for a few members of the Miss Southeastern Virginia Pageant committee. I thought it was neat how they just happened to show up wearing red, white & blue. Their solid-colored clothing worked great for these promotional images. Here are a few from our studio session.

SkillsUSA Competition

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:23:31 +0000

On April 26th I had the pleasure of being a judge for a Virginia high school skills competition. This year's state level competition was organized by SkillsUSA and held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center. High school students competed in areas ranging from brick laying to automotive repair to… photography. For the photography competition, there were four judges including myself and photographer Greg Adams.

My task was to judge studio portrait lighting. So, students had to position, meter, and adjust two flashes for a studio lighting setup. They took ten photos and choose what they felt was their strongest image… and explained why. After the competition, Greg and I answered a few questions and showed the students some lighting basics. Your's truly "modeled" a little, to help show different types of lighting.

Photos by Greg Adams

HU Athletics Awards ’08

Benson Blake Photography — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:52:07 +0000

On April 22nd, Hampton University Athletics honored their student athletes during an awards banquet at the university's student center. Coaches from each sport recognized their top performing players and presented MVP and other achievement awards. Here are some of the award winners and other photos from the event.

Hampton University 2008 Male Student Athlete of the Year

Hampton University 2008 Female Student Athlete of the Year

Ciara’s Portraits

Benson Blake Photography — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:18:48 +0000

I recently had the honor of photographing Ciara in the studio. She is a contestant in this year's Miss Virginia Pageant, and currently holds the title of Miss Southeastern Virginia. The goal of this session was to have a couple of strong images to use for the pageant's publicity. Well… we got more than a couple. Thanks to Ciara's pageant director, makeup artist and other supporters for helping to make this a success. Here are some of my favorites…

Ciara

Makeup artist, Natalie

Senior Night at HU

Benson Blake Photography — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:23:54 +0000

Thursday was senior night, and the last home game, for Hampton University‘s basketball teams. The men and women’s teams both defeated the Howard University Bison at Hampton’s Convocation Center. The Lady Pirates stayed ahead with a 74-46 win! The men also won their game, 71-59. Here are a few from that night.

Senior, Rashad West being recognized for joining the 1,000 Point Club

Action from the Men’s game

The Lady Pirates

HU Lady Pirates… The Seniors

LaToya & David in BE

Benson Blake Photography — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:47:38 +0000

One of my photographs has been published in the February 2008 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine! The photo is of LaToya & David, who are winners of one of the magazine's financial fitness challenges. Check out the full-page photo and article on page 80 of this month's issue. Black Enterprise Magazine is available at most Barnes & Noble and Walmart stores.

Holly Days Parade 2007

Benson Blake Photography — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:15:53 +0000

On the way from a photo session Saturday, I stopped by the Holly Days Parade in downtown Hampton VA. This year’s annual parade was hosted by local WVEC (ABC ch.13) news anchors Janet Roach and Joe Flanagan. The parade will be re-broadcast on WVEC on December 23rd at 2pm. Here are a few images I captured of the festivities.

Holly Days Parade hosts Janet Roach and Joe Flanagan

Jamie’s Senior Session

Benson Blake Photography — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:49:25 +0000

I had a great time photographing Jamie for her senior portraits. This was a fun studio session with a couple of casual outfits, and a formal portrait for her yearbook. Seniors are always encouraged to bring items that will help show who they are at this point in their lives. It can be a sports uniform, instrument, or something like their favorite hat. For Jamie, it was her trumpet that she enjoys playing in the school band. Here are some of the images from her session…