BENJAMIN S. SKRAINKA

Bio

Benjamin S. Skrainka takes street and documentary photographs because it is good for the soul. He grew up in St. Louis, MO, where his mother, Linda Skrainka, was a leader of the St. Louis school of painters and thought it normal to take her children to Max Beckman and similar exhibits. Despite many hours in the “woodshed” practicing the trumpet, Ben followed the traditional path of too much education – including a PhD in Economics – and a career in science and technology. However, he inevitably found way back to the arts as a photographer.

The Leica Akademie, in particular Dotan Saguy’s workshops, provided the majority of Ben’s photographic education, though access to a darkroom in high school helped. Through corrective practice, these lessons enabled him to learn to produce compelling images. Ben currently resides in Sonoma, CA with his wife, Selina, two dogs, two cats, and six chickens.