Benny Rebel Explained

Benny Rebel
Birth Name:	Bahman Vafaeinejad (Persian: بهمن وفائی‌نژاد)
Birth Date:	13 August 1968
Birth Place:	Arak, Imperial State of Iran
Citizenship:	German
Occupation:	photographer
Known For:	extreme close-up photographing of wildlife
Awards:	Trierenberg Super Circuit, two gold medals
Website:	(German) (English)

Benny Rebel, born Bahman Vafaeinejad (fa|بهمن وفائی‌نژاد; born August 13, 1968, in Arak, Iran), is an Iranian-German photographer known for his extreme close-up portraits of dangerous wildlife of Africa by approaching within feet of the animals.^[1]

In 1987, Rebel immigrated to Hannover, Germany. His interest in wildlife conservation led to his involvement with the environmental advocacy group Greenpeace.

He has taken adventures in many countries, including South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda, as well as Iran, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, the United States and some European countries.

Benny Rebel was awarded two gold medals by Trierenberg Super Circuit of Austria in 2002 and 2003.

Works

Exhibitions

• German: Zu schön um zu sterben [Too Beautiful to Die] (2000), in Hannover; comprising images of threatened wildlife he encountered mostly in South Africa.
• German: Bedrohte afrikanische Schönheiten [Endangered African Beauties] (2003), at Galerie im Keller in Hannover

TV shows

He has appeared in many TV shows of NDR, ARD, Arte, BR, MDR, RBB, RTL, Sat.1, SWR, WDR, ZDF, as well as Iranian channels IR 2 and IRIB Aftab.^[2]

Documentary films

• In Search of the King Cheetah (2006): a 60-minute documentation produced by NDR about Benny Rebel's work in South Africa.
• Wild Iran (2007): in 2006, Benny Rebel returned to Iran and produced this documentary about the wildlife of Iran.
• In 2007, Benny Rebel produced a documentary film about the extinction of the Bengal tiger in India
• In 2012, the German TV chains "ZDF / ARTE" produced two 45-minutes documentary films with Benny Rebel in Iran. This was a coproduction with following TV channels: WDR, BR, ORF and ARD.

Books

• German: Ungezähmt [Untamed] (2006), Munich: Herbig, : a book of his images from Africa and the Galápagos Islands; preface of the book is written by Heinz Sielmann.
• German: Die Tiere Afrikas in 3-D [Wildlife of Africa in 3D] (2007), Terra Magica, : featured images of African animals captured by using three-dimensional photographic technology.
• German: Mein Abenteuer Wildnis: Erlebnisse eines Tierfotografen [My Wilderness Adventure: Experiences of a Wildlife Photographer] (2010), Terra Magica,, 240 pages
• German: Bild-Design [Image Design] (2010), :https://web.archive.org/web/20141003072937/http://www.enjoyyourcamera.com/Canon-Accessories/E-Book-Bild-Design-von-Benny-Rebel::3613.html a book of photography tips in 80 pages with 145 photos.

Awards

• 2002 Trierenberg Super Circuit, Austria, gold medal, Nature category^[3]
• 2003 Trierenberg Super Circuit, Austria, gold medal, Nature category^[4]

Notes and References

1. Encyclopedia: Pallardy. Richard. Benny Rebel. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2012. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1882871/Benny-Rebel. March 25, 2014.
2. Web site: TV-Publications. Benny Rebel website. March 25, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140325191049/http://www.benny-rebel.de/en/publications/tv-publications.html. March 25, 2014. dead.
3. Web site: Results 2002. Trierenberg Super Circuit. March 25, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140421104413/http://www.supercircuit.at/index.php?um=4&site=results&sm=4&results=2002. April 21, 2014. dead.
4. Web site: Results 2003. Trierenberg Super Circuit. March 25, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140421104418/http://www.supercircuit.at/index.php?um=4&site=results&sm=4&results=2003. April 21, 2014. dead.