Ben Apfelbaum

OLYMPIC HEROES RECEPTION HELD ON FORECOURT OF SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

The first welcome home of many others took place in Sydney recently.

After a reception at Kirribilli House hosted by the Governor-General Peter Cosgrove, the athletes crossed the harbour by boat to be welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd  at the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House. After official welcomes by the Lord Mayor Clover Moore and the Premier Mike Baird, the athletes plunged themselves into the crowds, signing autographs, and posing for selfies.

No-one was left disappointed as the athletes took their time mingling with the public and the occasional family member and friend.

In a deliberate move to emphasise their equality no medal winners wore their ‘bling’.

Culture was not forgotten as plumed Samba dancers symbolising the Rio De Janeiro return to the beating of the giant Japanese drum,. to Kurinuki Taiko heralding the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.