Black and white in Ballarat

Corinne and I made the trip (my first, I might add) to Ballarat to check out the International Foto Biennale. The day consisted of a cute lunch destination, a photogenic cemetary, and a treasure trove of an antique shop. These are but a teaser; more Ballarat foto/photo goodness can be found here.

As far as the exhibitions themselves were concerned, our clear favourite was Italian-born, Australia-based fashion photographer Bruno Benini. Benini's works epitomise the glitz and glamor of the 1950s in Melbourne, and moreover, they show him to be a master of photographic composition. The NGV has a small collection of works by Benini (but sadly not a single image uploaded to its online catalogue!), however the majority of his prints and negatives were acquired by Sydney's Powerhouse Museum earlier this year. Coincidentally, the Powerhouse has a smart little online feature: its Photo of the Day blog features a new photo from the gallery's photo library every day. Daily photographic goodness: nice work, Powerhouse. If only the NGV would take note.

(Images from here and here)