Benton Collins Relic Photo Story

You know, Bruce and I, collectively, put in a lot of years researching and producing Bloodline. It was a mutual passion that we were following. Actually, pursuing, might be a better term for it, because we were, without a doubt, totally driven as neither one of us had ever been on any other project in our careers.

Because of the undercover nature of some of the investigation, we worked almost completely in a vacuum and were totally unaware of what other people might think of the finished project.

When the film was first released last spring in New York, we were no less than blown away by the responses we received from audience members. No one was more amazed than we were at how the film, and our journey, seemed to touch people in a very deep way. It was humbling. The people we met there had a very profound effect on us. One of them was a professional photographer named Benton Collins.

Benton shot photos of our premiere and press conference. He asked if we would also like some still images of the chest and relics we found in the Languedoc which dated back to 1st Century Jerusalem.

While we were being touched by our experience with NY filmgoers, apparently Benton was being touched by the relics as he photographed them in his Manhattan studio. Below is his recollection of that day. - René Barnett

Photographing the relics was a great honor for me from any angle you wish to see it. At a minimum they have tremendous historical significance just from their certified origins of 1st century AD Jerusalem and IF the story checks out to be true, I have touched the very same cup that the Biblical Jesus had once actually held in his hands. This aspect of course holds a different meaning for everyone, ranging from the purely historical to the intensely spiritual, for me it was more of the latter.

During the shoot I had a very strange thing happen. I added a small loaf of bread behind the cup to make a simple still life. I intentionally made the light on the top of the bread very dark as I wanted the light to focus more on the cup, but on two frames during the shoot, my top light fired off much brighter than I had set it for, making the bread much lighter than I had intended. I moved on to finish the shoot and upon reviewing the erroneous frames, I was struck with how much more powerful the shots that had the brighter light on the bread were. Was this strictly equipment malfunction or could this possibly have been something more? My equipment has never done this before and has not done it since. Could this have been a divine sign? And if this really was a sign, what could it mean? The main meaning I have received from this is that the extra light was to illuminate that it was not only the 2000 year old cup that was important, but also the fresh bread that I had just picked up at the corner store with it’s here and now life giving vitality. I really do feel that God / a higher power or whatever you wish to assign, was telling me that He/She or It, is vitally present, just like the fresh bread in my still life.

It gets weirder...

Initially, this story and photo with the bread was not included in the original disc I had sent to René at the Bloodline office in California. After many weeks of Bloodline having possession of the original disc, I received an e-mail from Robb Wood, Production Coordinator at 1244 Films, asking if I could send him another one. It turned out that the original disc that I had sent them had cracked inside his computer after he had inserted it in perfect condition! (it had been read before at their office with no problem) I have handled hundreds of discs and this is the first time I have ever heard of this happening! I don't even know how it would be possible for a disc to crack inside a computer since the disc only spins. There is no physical contact (except sitting on a spindle) or uneven pressure applied to the disc of any kind in a computer drive. Very strange!

Was this a continuation of equipment malfunctions surrounding the relics or something else? I have always felt uncomfortable about not including the cup and bread still life in the original disc. Somehow, I have always felt that this photo should be shared with everyone. When I heard about the cracked disc, I took it as an opportunity and was prompted to include this still life in the new disc I sent. It is my hope that the viewer will enjoy this photo regardless of whether the extra light on the bread was ultimately caused by a rare equipment malfunction or something so grand as divine intervention. I have a feeling that time will eventually tell us the truth. – Benton Collins

Please stop by our Bloodline products page to see the incredible Benton Collins limited edition prints available on our site for all to experience and enjoy. To view and purchase click HERE.