Laszlo’s photo of a geologist in Nevada
I first met Laszlo Bencze nearly 30 years ago in St. Louis. He had come on a scouting expedition, looking for new corporate clients. Laszlo, I quickly learned, was a consummate photographer, and he had worked with some of the largest, most demanding corporate clients in the world. His annual report work was highly regarded throughout the design community.
During his visit to St. Louis, he quickly signed up several clients, including me, and he became acquainted with Doug Wolfe, whose firm also was making a name for itself in annual reports. The three of us have worked together on several major projects over the years. Most recently, Laszlo photographed several mines for Freeport-McMoRan, where I worked until 2008.
One of Laszlo’s passions, in fact, is mining photography, and he’s displaying some of his best mining photos through July 6 in Sacramento. If you’re anywhere nearby, you should drop by the Viewpoint Photographic Art Center to see his work. You can learn more here, and you can see more of his commercial work here.
“The people of mining work hard, safe, and honorably,” Laszlo says, “taking pains to cause as little damage to the environment as possible and remediating that which is inevitable. I have enjoyed my assignments onsite and have come to admire these dedicated workers, craftsmen, and artisans who transform dirt into the raw material of civilization.
“In a sense, what miners do is similar to what artists do. Both are in the business of taking the mess and confusion of opaque reality and bringing its meaning to light. Miners do so physically; artists metaphorically. In my photography onsite I am always on a quest for the telling detail, the revelatory moment, the meaningful pattern. Most of all, I look for people.”
In recent years, Laszlo has expanded his business to include high-end wedding photography. If you want an extraordinary photographic record of your wedding, hire him! You can see some of his wedding work here. I’ve known Laszlo a long time, and I know you’ll have a good experience with him.
