20 - Australia in colour 02

Another cold day in the city has me thinking back to warm, sunny days of spent at the beach and exploring during summer time. I always tend to photograph less during winter so here is a selection of images taken at the beginning of the year from Sydney and Noosa. Can't wait until summer comes around again.

Noosa Heads, Queensland

Sydney (Coogee Beach, Clovelly Beach)

Numskull (Elliott Routledge) - Newtown, NSW

16 - Portraits

There is something really rewarding about taking someone’s photo and trying to capture them in that one moment. It’s something I discovered and fell in love with while shooting my 25 portrait series back in 2012/2013. A simple portrait can have so much power in it, the person looking straight down lens at the viewer like a gateway to their soul, giving you a glimpse about who they are.

Since completing that series, I’ve been motivated to shoot more portraits but not nearly as much as I would like to. I do love photographing urban and natural landscapes but portraits gives me the most satisfaction. So in light of that I wanted to share a number of portrait I have shot over the past three years. A mixture of black and white and colour photos only using natural light.

1 - 4: Christian Carney - Surry Hills and Bronte, NSW 5: Anthony Christie - Coogee, NSW
6 -  9: Rach Steele and Forte - Redfern, NSW 10 - 12: Joel Birch (The Amity Affliction) and Dondi - Susnhine Beach, QLD
13 & 14: Erica Russell - West Hollwyood, CA 15: Lindsey Lafferty - Outer Banks, NC 16: Becca Wong - English Bay, BC
17: Anthony Christie - Monument Valley, UT 18: Ross Naumov - Melbourne, VIC 19: Pat Barrett - Frenchs Forest, NSW
20: Genna Welsh - Frenchs Forest, NSW 21: Lynden Foss - Bondi Beach, NSW 22: Angus Nicholls - Bronte, NSW
23: Mitch Sharrock - Noosa, QLD 24: Richie Christie - Noosa, QLD 25: Chiomi Christie - Bondi Beach, NSW
26: Justin Bonsey (Reponsible Runners) - Bondi Beach, NSW

Shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Kodak film. Developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab in California.

14 - Mexico

After spending three weeks in LA, road tripping around the desert and then New Orleans, I headed to the airport and was bound for Cancun via Houston. After clearing immigration and customs, I hopped into a taxi and headed one hour south to Playa Del Carmen (PDC). It was a destination suggested by my brother after he had visited it on a previous trip. Once I arrived at the hostel, I dropped off my stuff and then started to plan what I would be doing for the next five days. I immediately organised a couple of tours so ended up going to sleep early with two early starts in order for the next two days.

Getting up early, I waited downstairs at the hostel before being picked up by driver along with around 15 other people. We then hit the road for the day. The first stop after about an hour or so was a Cenote. Cenotes are freshwater caves that are dotted all all the Yucatan peninsula. It was really amazing to wander down into the cave to swim in the beautiful blue freshwater. After that we jumped back into the van and headed for our next destination, Chichén Itzá. Chichén Itzá is a massive Mayan ruin built in Tinum in the state of Yucatan. As one of the biggest Mayan cities ever built, it is also one busiest with so many tourists visiting. We spent a good hour or so exploring the ruins before we headed to another little town on the way back to PDC after a long day of site seeing.

Day two was much the same as the first. Up first thing and then picked up in the van and drive south to Tulum. Tulum is another Mayan ruin in the Yucatan area but instead is right on the coast on the Caribbean Sea. It was one of the last cities built by the Mayans and served as an important hub for trade as well as a defensive fortification perfectly position on the high cliffs. It’s a really beautiful location with the white sand beaches right there along with the fantastic history of the place. After spending a couple of hours in the ruins and then swimming at the beach, we jumped into the van and headed east to Coba. Coba is another large Mayan ruin site in Quintana Roo. The biggest appeal to visit this location is that you can climb the stairs of the Ixmoja pyramid. It’s a 15 minute walk from the front entrance or a quick five minute bike ride which you can hire. You then ascend the very steep stairs to the top. It’s a magnificent view of the entire site and surrounding jungle. Getting down is another story which most people either attempt facing backwards or using the rope provided. After we finished exploring the ruins, we headed to a local town which had direct descendants of the Mayan people that built the ruins and learnt a little about their way of life. We then jumped into the van and took the long drive back to PDC.

The third day was my chill out day so I spent it wandering around PDC and then along the beaches. I ran into two americans guys I had met the day before while on the tour of Tulum so we spent the day wandering the beach, drinking beers and watching manchester united play. I then headed back to the hostel eventually heading up stairs to the bar before going out for the night.

After partying hard the night before, the next day was spent relaxing and recovering. I then decided to book one more tour for my final day in Mexico since I had seen everything there was to see in the immediate area.

So getting up early again, the van picked me up and I was headed to Xel-Há, a commercial aquatic theme park, about 45 mins south of Playa Del Carmen. It’s a really sick place that you can explore on bikes, go snorkelling and swimming and eat as much food and drink as much alcohol as you like. It was a sweet last day just enjoying the last of the beautiful sunny Mexican weather before I flew out the next day bound for Austin Texas.

I had a great time in Mexico and will be back for another visit again sometime, especially looking at some good adventures to be had on the west coast.

1: Chichén Itzá 
2 & 3: Mayan ruins, Tulum
4 & 5: Tulum
6 & 7: Mayan ruins, Coba
8: Stray dog, Coba
9 & 10: Xel-Há

Shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Kodak Portra 160 film. Developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab in California.

11 - Europe

After our magnificent time spent in Iceland we had another early morning flight and we were on our way to Norway. Neither Bryce (my brother) or myself had been before so we were looking forward to entering the first of a few mainland Scandinavian countries. Once we had cleared baggage and customs, we boarded the train bound for downtown Oslo. One of my brothers friends had generously offered us to stay at her place but she was at work so we had to wait until later in the afternoon to go over. So we ended up stowing out bags away at the train station and explored around Oslo. The highlight that day was definitely visiting the Oslo Opera House which is situated right on the water with majestic views of the bay and islands contained within it. It's an amazing piece of architectural design with beautiful white sandstone which is blinding at times.

The rest of the day was spent eating found and taking advantage of whatever wifi was around. We then made the trek to Linda's house where we indulged in a few fireballs before meeting up with her friends for a night out. Eventually we made it back to her house around 6am the next morning totally exhausted (almost 24 hours since I had proper sleep and 48 hours for my brother). The following day was a rest day and our last day in Oslo as it was only a short stay. So we packed our bags and jumped on the bus headed south towards Malmo in Sweden.

Arriving in Malmo in the evening, we choose to stay there at another Marriott hotel. Once again we got a great deal through our friend Cori. It always nice to change it up while travelling and having a nice, clean and comfortable hotel room is something to cherish. The next day we caught the train to Lund to meet up with our friend Tim Lusch (Luschy). Luschy is guy we went to high school with and had spent a year living in Sweden during 2005. He had decided to go back for a visit during 2013 so we met up while we were are there.

After meeting him at the station Luschy took us back to Bjarred, a small town about 20 mins by bus. It's a cute little town that's right on the water in the Danish straits, between Sweden and Denmark. Once we dropped our bags off, we went for a walk down to the water and got some great photos along the pier. We then stayed for two nights at Luschy's former family hosts house taking it easy. The three of us then hoped on to a train and headed over the water bound for Copenhagen.

Oslo, Norway & Bjarred, Sweden

What can I say about Copenhagen, it's just the best! A beautiful. modern city with a bicycle culture fully integrated into it's layout. We managed to catch up with our Danish friends Patricia and Mark and went over to Patricia's parents house for Bryce's birthday. We were greeted with a monumental and delicious feast with the inclusion of cognac, schnapps and coffee. Definitely the best feed for the three months we had been travelling. We also took in a game of AFL with a mixture of Danish people and Aussie expats playing. On top of that, we explored all the sights to see around Copenhagen including Nyhavn and the Rosenborg Castle. We then caught another bus and headed south towards Berlin. 

Copehagen, Denmark

Berlin was a city that I had been wanting to visit for sometime. We spent about 4 - 5 days here exploring. The first night Bryce and I went to a gig for two Australian bands, The Amity Affliction and In Hearts Wake which was great. For the remaining few days we went out and checked out the rich history of the city from the architecture to the somber war memorial from the atrocities of World War 2. Our cousin Andrew also joined us again to travel after we spent time together in Iceland. Unfortunately during that time, I was bitten by an insect of some sort during the night and had my right eye swell up making my appearance like more like Quasimodo. Nonetheless we had a fantastic time and I can't wait to go back and see more of that amazing city.

Berlin, Germany

The final stop for me on the European trip was Prague. The four of us arrived after catching a bus from Berlin and headed towards our apartment we rented from Airbnb. It was awesome, a massive place that seemed to good to be true for what the cost was and a nice change from a cramped dorm room in a hostel that you had to share with fellow travellers. We spent the next few days taking in the sites and fantastic former soviet history of Prague and the wonderful old architecture. We also consumed far too much delicious Czech beer, which is some of the best I've ever had. Finally the day had come when I had to leave so after saying my goodbyes to the lads, who were travelling to Vienna, I headed to the airport bound for my next adventure. Back to the real world and to live and work in London.

Prague, Czech Republic

Shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Kodak  film. Developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab in California.

07 - Canada

So after spending a a couple of weeks travelling around the deserts of Arizona, Utah and Nevada and visiting San Francisco we eventually made our way north into Canada in the July of 2013. Canada will always have place in my heart after living in Vancouver for six months during the 2010 Winter Olympics. This was the first time I had been back since leaving in August 2010 so I was keen to catch up with lots of friends while also photographing the beautiful surroundings and also visiting some new destinations. 

Our first stop was Victoria, the capital of British Columbia which is located on Vancouver Island. My brother and I went and stayed with out friend who lived on the island for just under a week, exploring the west coast of Vancouver Island and also going to a small music festival. After having an absolute ball, we departed Victoria with my next destination being Vancouver while my brother flew to Chicago and we would meet again at a later point.

I ended up staying in Vancouver for over a week wandering the city taking photos of iconic locations while also visiting friends I had made on my previous journey. I also ended up taking three new portraits as apart of my 25 portrait series which I was extremely happy about. After a great week, I then caught a flight over to Montreal where I was to meet up with Bryce and continue travelling together.

Montreal is my favourite city in Canada. That great mix of french culture with a really bustling and creative city. We ended up staying with a Guatemalan guy from AirBnb which was one of the best choices we ever made. He showed us lots of great places to eat including the best tacos I’ve had in my life which you definitely wouldn’t have found out if you kept to the regular tourists routes. We stayed in Montreal for about 4 - 5 days before jumping on a bus over to Toronto for our last stop on our Canadian adventure.

Toronto is a nice city but really doesn’t do anything for me. We had been there before (2010) but wanted to make another visit as we have Australian friends that live there. Canada is one of the easiest countries for Australians to getting holiday working visas so you can never go to far without hearing the distinct Aussie accent. Nonetheless we had a great time in Toronto. We spent almost 10 days in Toronto which was a lot but we had a lot of extra days to burn up before we were due to arrive in New York City and then make our way all the way down to North Carolina.

Vancouver & Victoria

Montreal

Toronto

All images shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Kodak Portra 160 and 400 film. Developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab in Los Angeles, California.

04 - Australia in colour 01

I’m so privileged to have grown up in Australia. Great weather (most of the time), amazing beaches and landscapes, a wide selection of delicious fresh produce – what more could you ask for! So over the past four years I have shot a lot of 35 and 120 film with 90% of it being colour negative film. Don’t get me wrong, I love shooting black and white film and have started to shoot more of it recently but when living in Australia, it’s a must to capture the beautiful colours and tones in the landscapes. So here are a bunch of shots from various locations within NSW and Queensland since 2012.

Sydney, NSW (Manly Beach, Shelley Beach, Freshwater Beach, Bondi Beach, Gordon's Bay)

Goulburn, NSW

Queensland (Woodford, Noosa & Brisbane)

All images shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Kodak film. Developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab in Los Angeles, California.