Ben Blankenship

Ben Blankenship - Bio

Ben Blankenship is a documentary film producer and director, cinematographer, photographer, and the Director of Video for The Outlaw Ocean Project, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization dedicated to exposing human rights abuses and environmental crimes at sea. His work with the The Outlaw Ocean Project earned the Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award — often called the Pulitzer Prize of broadcast journalism — for China: The Superpower of Seafood, an investigative series co-published with The New Yorker and subsequently distributed to over 241 global outlets in 53 languages. His video directing and cinematography have been integral to The Outlaw Ocean Project's broader award-winning journalism, contributing to team wins that include the Overseas Press Club's Roy Rowan Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, the WAN-IFRA Best Journalism Project, and the IAPA Excellence in Journalism Award for Photography and Video.

Before transitioning into investigative documentary filmmaking, Ben spent a decade working in film and television, building a foundation in production and visual storytelling that now informs his approach to human rights and conservation reporting. His investigative work has taken him to some of the world's most remote and challenging environments — from isolated communities in east and central Africa to the ice-covered expanses of Antarctica, from gritty seafood processing plants in India to the open waters of the high seas Pacific — helping to document stories that rarely reach mainstream audiences.

Alongside his production work, Ben has spent years teaching nature photography and documentary filmmaking in the field, bringing hands-on visual storytelling skills to communities and participants in some of the world's most extraordinary and remote places. Sharing his experience and knowledge with others has been a through-line in other volunteer work, including with Photographers Without Borders and the Society for Environmental Exploration (Frontier). For years he volunteered with the NYC Rock Camp for Kids, where he taught drums and managed youth music acts through live performances.

Ben lives off the grid in Costa Rica with his wife and twin boys, on a property situated within one of the most biodiverse wilderness habitats on the planet.

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