Rob 'RobShots' Bennett honored by city for photography work

Jan. 3—Rob Bennett is known in and around the City of Niagara Falls as a roving photographer who often ends up in the right place at the right time to get just the right shots from an active fire scene or law enforcement investigation of a crime.

While Bennett — the man behind RobShots Photography — has developed a knack for capturing compelling images of police and fire activity, he said his initial interest in becoming a photographer stemmed from something completely different: A love of aviation and of photographing airplanes.

"I always had those little cameras and stuff like that, but it wasn't until 2015 that I really started looking into more expensive cameras and more professional cameras," he said.

"It was the 2015 Thunder of Niagara Air show and I love aviation so it was just about getting decent pictures of the airplanes at the air show," he added.

The 31-year-old Falls native worked for Prior Aviation and as a package loader for UPS at the Buffalo Niagara Falls Airport while he continued, during his off hours, building his skills as a photographer.

He initially operated under a business name taken from his initials, RJB Photography.

One day, he said he got a text from a friend who referred to him as "RobShots." Bennett said he knew right away a name change was in order.

"I said 'that's a catchy name' so I changed it and it just stuck," Bennett said.

In the years since, "RobShots" has become a regular at police and fire crime scenes, mostly in the City of Niagara Falls. He has also added coverage of local high school sports and community events. Rob's work regularly appears in the Niagara Gazette and he has sold photographs and videos to the Buffalo News, WKBW News Channel 7 and other outlets as well.

Memorable moments include a pair of daring rescues at the brink of the Falls, one in 2019 and another in 2021.

He said one of his proudest moments as a news photographer came in 2017 when he joined Samar Hamilton, former owner of the online site The Niagara Falls Action, in keeping tabs on a police search for an Ohio man who was wanted for reportedly murdering his girlfriend.

By following tips and police scanner reports, Bennett and Hamilton were able to capture the first photos of the suspect, JeShawn Elliott of Youngstown, Ohio, when Niagara Falls police and other local authorities tasered and captured him.

Officers later found the dead body of Elliott's girlfriend in the trunk of his car which he parked in a downtown parking lot.

The story, and some of RobShots photos, made statewide and national news.

"We knew something was going on, but we weren't quite sure what was going on," Bennett recalled. "We did some riding around and found the scene and we were on the scene before the Gazette or any of the news stations were on the scene."

Bennett has a high regard for law enforcement and has long aspired to become a a police officer himself. He said his interest in following up on police and fire calls started as a youngster.

"Being a police officer was always a dream of mine," Bennett said. "Growing up my dad had a police scanner and we would always go out to the calls and stuff like that."

"I just have a special place in my heart for law enforcement," he added. "Over the years, I've developed relationships with our police and fire."

Developing those relationships has involved two important things: Striving for accuracy and respecting the boundaries of police and firefighters while they are doing their jobs.

"It's respecting what they are doing," he said. "From a criminal justice background, I know how important it is to keep a scene secure for evidence collection and stuff like that so I just, when I arrive on scene, I stay back. If I need to get close, I respect their boundaries."

Bennett received a pair of honors for his work last week from the Niagara Falls City Council and state Assemblyman Angelo Morinello, R-Niagara Falls.

His city council recognition, which was sponsored by Councilman Ken Tompkins, described Bennett's "honest portrayal" of local police and fire activities as "very much appreciated and valued by all our public safety officials, and both the superintendent of police and fire chief."

"I was almost in tears," Bennett said, recalling the day Tompkins told him the council intended to honor him and his work. "To be recognized by my city, I mean that's pretty important. I'm not a super hero out here doing some of the work that some of these other organizations are doing. I'm just keeping people informed."

"To have the relationship with a lot of people — the mayor, the city council, our police department all the way up the chain, our fire department all the way up the chain, Assemblyman Morinello, those relationship I cherish," he added.

Bennett received his citations during last week's city council meeting at city hall where he was surrounded by family, including his mom, dad, three brothers, his sister and his best friend and his wife.

"To have my immediate family and my best friend there who support me 100 percent in what I do, it was special," he said.