Ben Apfelbaum

PAUL GALLEN : HEART AND SOUL

There is usually a rush of sports books as a reliable stocking filler for Dad’s to read on their annual holidays.

The most recent of these is for fans of rugby league in the form of Paul Gallen autobiography HEART AND SOUL.

There is a risk that this book launch last week at Dymocks will be overshadowed by the recent boxing match entitled ‘The Code Wars’ between Room rugby league great Paul Gallen and Aussie Rules great Barry Hall.

The match resulted in a controversial draw and there is talk of a rematch.

I suspect that the fight may help book sales and the reviews may use boxing metaphors such as no holes barred and straight shooting.

But above all his rugby league career has been illustrious. Like the title of the book he has given his heart and soul for his club, his state and his country. As a long time captain of the Cronulla Sharks he led them to their very first premiership. He has led the New South Wales Blues to a long awaited win in the Store ate Of Origin series and he has played more than thirty tests for the Kangaroos.

There have also been lows when the Sharks were embroiled in a long running ASADA investigation into pep tide use. Throughout these issues Gallen is always bruisingly frank which may divide both the media and his fans.

Nonetheless his heart filled devotion go the code at all levels shines through.

 

 

 

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.