KEVIN BENCKENDORF
The spine of this site

Stories

Long-form photographic essays. Places where wild nature and human life still meet, told in pictures and a few honest paragraphs.

A sulfur miner climbs out of the Ijen crater through the smoke
01

Devil’s Gold

Kawah Ijen · East Java, Indonesia

Miners climb into a burning crater and carry out nearly their own body weight in sulfur. Twice a day, for a few dollars a load.

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Alpenglow on a Himalayan peak, Bhutan
02

The Snowman Trek

Lunana, Bhutan — Sep – Oct 2025

Twenty-seven days on foot through the highest kingdom on earth. A route more people quit than complete.

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A marine iguana swims through turquoise water in the Galápagos
03

Salt & Scales

Galápagos, Ecuador — 2023

The only lizard on earth that feeds in the sea, and the strange, fearless island world it rules.

Coming soon