Franklin Templeton Opening Night

May 26, 2015 in Photo, Event Photographer, Press Photographer

Hayden Herrera speaks at the New York Botanical Garden

May 21, 2015 in Photo

Frida Kahlo: Art & Life - Lecture with Hayden Herrera Wednesday, May 20, 6:30–7:30 p.m.; Ross Hall

Hear celebrated scholar and author Hayden Herrera interweave Frida Kahlo's art and life, highlighting her childhood, the accident that turned her to painting, her tempestuous marriage to muralist Diego Rivera, and her passionate love for her native Mexico.

Ben Hider - Event Photographer based in New York City and Westchester

Madam Ambassador by Eleni Kounalakis

May 20, 2015 in Photo

It's not often you get to experience such an amazing New York City apartment. This one was straight out of the movies with a really nice Abelardo Morell in the entryway You can buy a copy of Eleni's book on Amazon here - Madam Ambassador: Three Years of Diplomacy, Dinner Parties, and Democracy in Budapest

Ben Hider - Event Photographer based in New York City and Westchester

About the book

In Madam Ambassador by Eleni Kounalakis a helicopter ride to visit troops in the Afghanistan war zone, a tense meeting with the newly elected Prime Minister, and…a wild boar hunt! Eleni Kounalakis was forty-three and a land developer in Sacramento, California, when she was tapped by President Barack Obama to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During her tenure, from 2010 to 2013, Hungary was a key ally in the U.S. military surge, held elections in which a center-right candidate gained a two-thirds supermajority and rewrote the country’s constitution, and grappled with the rise of Hungarian nationalism and anti-semitism.

The first Greek-American woman ever to serve as a U.S. ambassador, Kounalakis recounts her training at the State Department’s “charm school” and her three years of diplomatic life in Budapest—from protocols about seating, salutations, and embassy security to what to do when the deposed King of Greece hands you a small chocolate crown (eat it, of course!). A cross between a foreign policy memoir and an inspiring personal family story—her immigrant Greek father went from agricultural day laborer to land developer and major Democratic party activist—Madam Ambassador by Eleni Kounalakis draws back the curtain on what it is like to represent the U.S. government abroad as well as how American embassies around the world function.

Farewell FAO Schwarz

May 19, 2015 in Photo, Event Photographer, Photo Placement

Sometimes I get lucky and one of my photos of NYC exteriors gets picked up to illustrate a story. This photo seemed to be one of the few exteriors of FAO Schwarz and therefore ran all over the place. It's always cool to get a photo in Time Magazine and The New York Times.

Ben Hider - Event Photographer based in New York City and Westchester

NYCxDESIGN - Cosentino

May 18, 2015 in Photo

Cosentino Ben Hider - Event Photographer based in New York City and Westchester

Stone Barns Mobile Kitchen Classroom

May 17, 2015 in Photo

Ben Hider - Event Photographer based in New York City and Westchester

The Mobile Kitchen Classroom will empower high school students to become food citizens, actively contributing to the creation of a new, healthy and sustainable food culture. This intensive, semester-long program explores the history and science of food, diverse food cultures, resilient agriculture and cooking. The students' experience will culminate in the preparation of a Mindful Meal and production of a creative project to help spread the word about what it means to be a food citizen.

This Mobile Kitchen Classroom's innovative curriculum uses hands-on, project-based learning. Students will be immersed in engaging projects, lively discussions and meaningful interactions with farmers, chefs, educators and creative storytellers.

Stone Barns Center and SHFT Co-founders Adrian Grenier and Peter Glatzer are proud to partner in bringing the Mobile Kitchen Classroom to high school students in New York City and beyond.

NYBG Frida Kahlo Exhibit

May 17, 2015 in Photo, Event Photographer

Ben Hider - Event Photographer based in New York City and Westchester

This blockbuster exhibition is the first to examine Frida Kahlo’s keen appreciation for the beauty and variety of the natural world, as evidenced by her home and garden as well as the complex use of plant imagery in her artwork. Featuring a rare display of more than a dozen original Kahlo paintings and works on paper, this limited six-month engagement also reimagines the iconic artist’s famed garden and studio at the Casa Azul, her lifelong home in Mexico City.

Accompanying events invite visitors to learn about Kahlo’s life and enduring cultural influence through music, lectures, Frida al Fresco evenings, Mexican-inspired shopping and dining experiences, and hands-on art activities for kids. As a complement to your visit, use our new mobile guide to see rare photos and footage, listen to expert commentary, and create your own Frida Selfie to share with friends.