Bruce Bennett Studios (BBS) had been photographing sports since 1973, and in the height of the studio’s popularity, BBS averaged over 500 man-games of coverage per season. Acquisitions of existing archives brought BBS’s image count to over two million images dating back to the early 1900s. In 2004 sold off its professional hockey photography business to Getty Images. At that point in time, BBS photos had appeared in virtually every major publication in the world including Time, Newsweek, Business Week, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Life, People, US, Stern, Macleans, Aftonbladet, ESPN Magazine, and the New York Times.

BBS had also become a major player in the Long Island region with its photographic coverage of public relations, live events, and stock imagery.

One of Long Island's largest photo studios specializing in sports and public relations photography, BBS completed its move to the Village of Farmingdale in 2000 with the addition of a full-service pro-sumer lab.

BBS closed its lab in June of 2005.

One of the popular items that our friends and clients looked forward to each year, were the companies holiday cards. The holiday cards can be viewed HERE.

TIMELINE

1973 Formed as a one-man operation by Bruce Bennett under the name Hockey Shots, etc.

1980 Brian Winkler becomes the Studios’ first hire.

1981 BBS signs on as the New York Islanders' Team Photographer.

1982 The company organizes as a sole proprietorship under the name Bruce Bennett Photography.

1984 Bruce Bennett Studios is established, and four additional employees are hired.

1986 BBS becomes team photographer for the Philadelphia Flyers.

1991 BBS becomes team photographer for the New York Rangers.

1992 BBS incorporates under the name Photo Visual Communications, Inc (dba Bruce Bennett Studios) and purchases a free-standing property in Hicksville, NY.

1995 BBS becomes team photographer for the New Jersey Devils.

1996 BBS enters the Internet scene with its first site at www.BBSHockey.com. “BBSWEB” features 500 samples of their work along with hockey humor, and legitimate hockey news links. By 1999, the site averages 20,000 unique visitors weekly.

1997 BBS signs on with Presslink, a Knight-Ridder News Organization for assistance in the distribution of digital assets to newspapers and magazines worldwide. (Presslink is folded into Newscom in 2001).

1997 BBS boosts its Long Island presence with the introduction of ‘Eye On Long Island’ at www.LongIslandNY.com which promotes Long Island regional stock and public relations photography.

1998 Our ‘photos via computer’ service is ported to the Internet under www.Rinkside.com to give clients immediate access to photography through the Internet.

1999 BBS staff grows to eleven with an additional sixteen freelancers employed weekly throughout the world.

2000 BBS renovates and moves to a new facility in Farmingdale, New York. In doing so, BBS triples its working space. The location features a full-service prosumer photo lab, 400 square foot temperature and humidity controlled archive room, shooting area, and digital archiving facility.

2000 BBS acquires the SportsPhotos.com name and begins to promote this as its own brand. BBS becomes an active player covering kids sports in the Long Island region.

2001 BBS receives photo licensing from the American Hockey League and the PHPA.

2001 BBS signs on as Director of Photography for the Major Indoor Soccer League and secures marketing rights for selling photographic prints to consumers.

2001 BBS enters into an agreement with PhotoReflect to provide the ecommerce platform for the sale of photographs to consumers through the Internet.

2004 BBS sells its hockey operations to Getty Images.

2005 BBS closes its Farmingdale operations.

 

COLLECTIONS

Photo collections that BBS acquired

John Hartman (Detroit Team Photographer 1980-90)

Art Foxall (Los Angeles 1990-1996)

Archive Photos, (NHL 1910-1985)

Tony Neste (NHL and College, Early 1980’s)

Czech Photo Archive (1972-1986)

Chuck Solomon (NHL 1973-1986)

Harry Klaff (NHL 1972-1974)]

Rich Pilling (NHL in b/w 1974-1988)