I was born in 1946 in Brooklyn New York. By the age of six I began to think of photography as something special, and when I received a Brownie for my birthday I was ecstatic. At the age of 13 I started to develop a very serious interest, and bought my first 35mm. camera. When I entered Brooklyn College in 1964 I enrolled in the fine arts department and began to study fine arts, painting and especially photography. I was privileged to study with Walter Rosenblum and eventually graduated with a BA in Fine Arts and a Masters of Fine Arts.

I was always passionate about photography and I began by teaching photography in the New York City system. After five years however, the city was in turmoil and teachers jobs were not secure. I decided that a change in career was necessary. I applied and was accepted to NYU College of Dentistry and began my new training in 1973. There was never a day in school that I didn’t continue to also pursue photography. In 1978 I finished a postdoctoral program in Endodontics at NYU and began Private practice in New Jersey.

It was at that time that I met and became friends with Lee Witkin, founder and director of the revolutionary Witkin Gallery in New York. Through Lee I also became a friend of Evelyne Daitz his trusted right hand. Both Lee and Evelyne are responsible for my meeting many of the worlds greatest living photographers of the time. These include Andre Kertesz, Willi Ronis, Robert Doisneau, Cole Weston, Ruth Orkin and so many others. All of these associations are responsible for what you see on this site.

Group Exhibitions

• Photography at Brooklyn College,1968
• Two Views - Herb Benkel and Stephen Cohen, The Donnell Library NY 1969
• Brooklyn Where Its Happening, 1971
• The Graduate Thesis Exhibition, Brooklyn College 1971
• Trees, The Witkin Gallery 1992
• Photosearch, Work by 43 North Jersey Photographers, The Bergen Museum 1994
• Flowers, The Witkin Gallery 1994
• The Members Show, The YM-YWHA of Bergen County 1994
• Under 8X10, The Witkin Gallery 1995
• Members Only Art Show, The YM-YWHA of Bergen County 1995
• Two, The Witkin Gallery 1996
• Oh Boy, The Witkin Gallery 1997
• Oh Boy, Port Washington Public Library, Port Washington, NY 1997
• Sul La Tete, The Witkin Gallery 1998
• Clothes Off, The Witkin Gallery 1999

Individual Exhibitions

• Herb Benkel - Photography, Brooklyn College 1968
• We Regret To Announce the Passing, The Discovery Gallery NY 1972
• Photographs by Herb Benkel, The Atrium Gallery, Washington Twp, NJ 1995
• The Jewish Learning Project - Photographs of Brighton Beach by Herb Benkel,
• The YM-YWHA of Bergen County 1996
• Herb Benkel - Photographs, The Mary Polis Gallery, Paramus NJ 1996
• Photographs by Herb Benkel, The New York Theological Seminary, NY 1997
• Herb Benkel - Images of Italy, The Atrium Gallery, Washington Twp. NJ 1997
• Local Color - Photographs by Herb Benkel, The Atrium Gallery 1997
• Israeli Impressions, The Atrium Gallery 1998
• Unseen Images, The Atrium Gallery 2000
• Spain - A View, The Atrium Gallery 2000
• Provence en Colour, The Atrium Gallery 2001
• At Home and Away, The Atrium Gallery 2002
• Selections from Provence en Colour, Gallery 93, Hackensack NJ 2003
• Selections from Provence en Colour, New World Gallery, Westwood NJ. 2004
• Holocaust Survivors, Living in Bergen County - The Jewish Learning Project, The Bergen County Y a JCC, Washington Twp. NJ 2003
• A Short Trip To Israel, The Atrium Gallery, 2004
• Three Jewish Themes - The Jewish Learning Project, The Bergen County Y a JCC, Washington Twp. NJ 2005
• River Vale - Wetlands, The New World Gallery Westwood NJ 2005
• Two Different Eyes, The Atrium Gallery 2005
• Sea and Sky, The New World Gallery 2006
• A Return to Israel, The Atrium Gallery 2006