Ben Apfelbaum

BONDI JUNCTION CROWS AT ROOSTERS VICTORY

Over the long weekend I could not spread myself to the extent of attending the Grand Final of the National rugby League competition. What with covering the Cosplay convention and the Manly Jazz Festival the only way I could cover grand final activities was the circus would have to come to me. And so it did…

Around the corner from where I live is the Easts Rugby League club and at 1.30am to thousands of ecstatic fans the victorious Sydney Roosters team appeared on the rooftop brandishing the Grand Final victory trophy. A trumpeter blew, drums banged, flags waved, and over a loudspeaker system Queen’s song ‘We Are the Champions’ soared into the night sky. Fans stayed with the proceedings until 2.30am. There was a large police contingent which was not used due to the happy and good spirited nature of the fun filled proceedings.

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.