Almost ten years later in 2004, Benzenberg’s second book, “Somber Beauty” was published in Tirana. It was at this time a quieter and more dismal life for the people of Albania. “Somber Beauty” retained the recognizable themes of life in the mountains and the remainders of dictatorship- it continued to document the Albanian struggle for survival.
The book includes portraits of people from every part of the country, conducting their daily life in whatever circumstance they may have found themselves. Benzenberg’s book reveals a full range of human ‘moments’ that include the plight of Kosovar refugees during the crisis of 1999. She records efforts of Albanian families at reconciliation and healing following complete personal devastation of long remembered vendettas (blood wars). Her photographs create the overall image of a country slowly moving forward, while some of its people remain untouched by the flow of time. Of course always, as they reflect themselves to the artist herself.