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

18 - Family

I’ve been very fortunate to grow up in large, loving family. As the oldest of four kids, my mum and dad always made sure we were well provided for plus also making sure we had a great education. For the first nine years of my life, we were up in Cairns in Far North Queensland before moving down to Woodford in South East Queensland (about an hour north of the nearest main city, Brisbane). We were also very lucky to have two parents that had travelled a lot. My first trip overseas was Fiji when I was seven plus over the next 10 or so years we got to go to the USA, China, Bali and the UK/France. It has definitely rubbed off on me and my two brothers and sister with travelling being one of our biggest passions.

I took these photos while at home on the farm for Christmas last year using the timer on my Mamiya 7. They perfectly sum up our family with the inclusion of our loving and faithful dogs - Roly, Rusty and Cimba. My parents farm is such beautiful location and is always nice to visit for some much needed downtime away from the the busy world of city life. Can’t wait to get back up there again soon.

17 - Throttle Roll 2015

Throttle Roll is an event that brings together custom motorcycles and lifestyle. Held on the first weekend of May at Vic on the Park in Marrickville, it showcases a fantastic array of motorcycles, cars, music, denim and of course beers. This year the weather really turned it on with a stunning day on the Saturday which is when I went to check it out. A couple of rolls later and the result are the images below.

Shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Kodak Portra 160 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.

13 - Into the Desert 02

Arriving back in Australia after nine months away (three months travelling, six months in London), I was straight back to the 9-5 grind. I spent the next six weeks working back in my old job for the government all the while working out when I could get back overseas. Mostly I was focusing on getting back to London to see out the remainder of my visa ASAP. That all took a turn after having discussion with my good friend Ross, who lives in Melbourne. He reminded me that he was heading to the US in August for a trip around the states.

Towards the end of 2013/beginning of 2014, I had been talking to Ross via Facebook while living in London. He had told me that he was planning a trip to the USA to go to Speed Week, an event held on the salt flats at Bonneville in Utah in August every year. He had suggested that it would be a great thing to attend with the potential for some amazing photos. At the time I was interested but wasn't sure wether I would be able to come across as I had plans to travel Europe the following summer. So it was left at that.

Fast forward four months and things were a lot different. I was back in Aus, saving money and looking at what I could next in term of travelling. After my initial six weeks with work finished, I was fortunate to have the chance to move into another team which would extend my time there. Once I knew I had a couple more months work lined up and a steady stream of money coming in, I made the decision to book return flights to LA to go and travel the USA with Ross and his mate from Melbourne.

At first the plan was to travel pretty much together for the entire time with a road trip from LA to Utah and back and then across the country to Austin in Texas. But when I started to research and work out distances and costs, I realised that It wasn't worth it. I was still keen for the first road trip to the salt flats but after that I decided I would travel alone and visit places I had never been before including New Orleans, Playa Del Carmen in Mexico, Austin and San Diego plus time in Los Angeles. That would take approximately six weeks so I booked flights and accommodation for all the destinations I was heading to. Once this had been completed, I just counted down the days till I was due to leave. I worked right up until the end July and then headed home to Queensland for a week before making the flight to LA.

Arriving in LA on the 3rd of August, I headed straight for my hostel in Santa Monica. I made the decision to fly over about five days before Ross and Dunc were due so I could see a little bit more of LA. So for the next few days I roamed the streets of Santa Monica and Venice beach, photographing as much as I could. I was also fortunate to be able to catch up with my cousins while I was there. Andrew and I had spent lots of time travelling in 2013 throughout Europe so it was good to catch up with him while he was living in LA plus his brother Jono, who had been living and studying in New York, was also in town. So on my final day I headed back to the airport to meet up with the boys who had just flown in from Australia.

Road trip one - Los Angeles to Bonneville, Utah

After meeting them at the airport, we jumped in one of the airport shuttles and headed to the RV rental place to pick up our trusty stead which we would use for the next week as we navigated through the desert. Ross had made a rookie mistake and hired an RV from a place in Corona, which is at least a 45min drive from the airport. We were on a tight time schedule as we had to pick up the RV before a certain time otherwise we would have to wait until the next day. Luckily we got there in time, threw our stuff into the the back and drove the bastard out of the lot. We made a quick stop at Walmart to pick up some necessities and then hit the road.

We very quickly found out the RV was a dodgy, gas guzzling piece of junk. On the freeways steering wheel would wobble and shake and it was fairly gutless. But nonetheless, we were excited. We ended up just outside Vegas for our first night and stayed in one of the many casinos that are all around Vegas and Nevada. The next day we were up early and hit the road again, bypassing Vegas and taking the I-93 north up through Nevada. We were going to stay in a little town called Ely for the night but decided against it and drove through until we arrived in West Wendover which is right on the border of Nevada and Utah. It only has a population of 6000 but two huge casinos and it was bustling as everyone was in town for Speedweek. So we found a spot to park the RV and then went to check out some of the cars on show. After that we went into the Montego Bay casino for some food and a few drinks. Dunc and I got lucky that night on the slot machines winning $300 and $340 respectively from the same machine. The local coupe sitting next to the machine couldn't believe it and when I jumped off were straight onto it. We then called it a night and headed back to the RV for some sleep, ready to go and check out the salt flats the next day.

Waking up early, we were very excited to head out to the salt and get set up for the week. Unfortunately before we headed out there, we heard the terrible news that the event had been cancelled. Due to rain that had come through the previous couple of days, it had turned the flats into a shallow lake. There wasn't enough time for it to dry out so in turn the officials pulled the plug. To say the boys were disappointed was an understatement. But we were still keen to go and have a look. So after spending about 15 minutes taking photos, we jumped back in the RV and headed towards West Wendover. We pulled into a Starbucks and pulled out the laptop the plan our next move. After the huge disappointment, the lads decided to pull the plug on 3/4 of their trip, preferring to try and come back again the following year.

So with that in mind, we started the journey back to LA. We managed to gun it to Las Vegas and decided to stay for a couple of days as both Ross and Dunc had never been before. I did a bit of my own research and worked out that we could do a day trip out to Valley of State Fire Park . It was place I had found out about on my previous trip in the US but it was after we had completed my road trip with my brother, so I vowed to get there. Luckily for me, as one door closed another opened. We made the trip out there and it was very much worth the effort. You are driving through pretty standard desert scenery and then suddenly the valley opens up and this rich, red rock formations appear in front of you. We ended up spending a few hours there and many rolls of Ektar 100 later before heading back to Vegas.

The next day, we woke up around 4:30am and hit the road for our five hour journey to Corona. We couldn't get a refund for returning the vehicle early but it didn't both us too much, we'd had enough of the shit heap. One of Dunc's old friends then came and picked us up and drove us back to LA. I then left the boys and went and stayed with my friend Devin in Mar Vista, close to Santa Monica. She had just moved back from Germany, was unemployed and keen to do anything. So after a quick chat, we decided to head out to Joshua Tree National Park. Another amazing place I had wanted to travel to for a while and with the cutting short of our Speed Week road trip gave us the extra days to be able to do it.

1: Arrow Canyon Wilderness, NV 2 & 3: Driving through Nevada to Utah
4: West Wendover, UT 5 & 6: Bonneville Salt Flats, UT 7: Ely, NV
8 - 11: Valley of Fire State Park, NV 12 - 14: Moapa Travel Plaza, NV

Road trip two - Los Angeles to Joshua Tree and Salton Sea

We got up the next morning, packed the car and headed off. It's about a three and half hour drive there from LA. Arriving in the afternoon, we headed to our accommodation just outside of town. Devin had spotted this awesome little caravan on Airbnb and booked it for two nights. Best decision we could have ever made. After going to the pub for a few drinks and some food, we grabbed a case of beer and drove back to the caravan. We then sat outside drinking beers and gazing at the stars in the open desert sky. So cool.

The next day we went and explored Joshua Tree National Park. It's a fantastic national park with beautiful rock formations. We then headed back to town, stopping along the way to take some photos of the old, rundown buildings no longer used. We headed back to the caravan for one more night before having to make the journey back towards LA. Getting up the next morning, I did some research about a place called Salvation Mountain. It was built in the 1970's as a concrete monument to God and looked amazing to photos I saw on while googling it. It was only about two hours drive from where we were so I mentioned it to Devin and she was keen for it. So we packed up the car and headed off to Salvation Mountain. As we were driving out there we were stopped by police as two semi-trailers had crashed together which closed the road. Getting anxious as we needed to be back in LA by a certain time, we decided to wait to see if it would clear up. 45 mins later and the road was clear so we continued onwards. We had put the location into google maps but when we arrived, we found that nothing was around. Thinking that maybe it was back towards the town we had driven past, we turned around and headed back. Next thing you know, there was a US-Mexico border crossing. It was about 50 miles from the actual border but the checkpoint existed as there was a main train line that came up right next to the highway from Mexico into California.

I then began to pack myself as I had left my passport back in LA. We didn’t think we would be going even close to a border crossing so I left it behind. We were pulled over and questioned by the guards before jumping out of the car so they could inspect it. We also found out that Salvation Mountain was back in the direction we were heading, only a couple more minutes down the road. After about 10 minutes they gave us a stern warning about having the right identification papers all times before letting us go. As soon as we jumped back in the car, we smashed in back to LA. I was very disappointed about not seeing Salvation Mountain but alas I will get back there one day.

1: Caravan in Joshua Tree - CA 2: 3 - 5: Joshua Tree National Park - CA
6 & 7: Keep Out - Joshua Tree, CA 8 & 9: Devin and Me - Joshua Tree, CA 
10: Lonely cowboy - Salton Sea, CA 11: Salton Sea - CA

Shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Kodak Ektar 100 and 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.

10 - Iceland

After leaving the warm 38 degree, end of summer weather in New York City, we were greeted with a much cooler 10 degrees when we arrived at Keflavik airport in Iceland late at night. We disembarked and grabbed our belongings before jumping on a bus to make the 30 min journey to Reykjavik. Once we arrived arrived, we made our way to Kex hostel and then went straight to bed ready to take on the next day.

We woke the next morning to a beautiful day in Reykjavik, brimming with excitement and the realisation I was finally in Iceland and ready to explore.  Firstly I was in admiration of the hostel we were in. A beautiful old building which looked like it had previously been a butchery or something. They certainly know how to decorate in Iceland with all the great little touches that made staying here a real treat. Beautiful furniture, lightings, tiles, books and large rooms. Definitely the nicest hostel I've ever stayed in during my travels all over the world.

We decided on our first day to spend time walking around Reykjavik and checking the sites. We visited Lake Tjörnin, Hallgrímskirkja and a quaint camera/photography gallery all within a short distance of our accommodation. The second night in Iceland was another quiet affair as we waited for our cousin to arrive the following day from Copenhagen.

Our second full day was spent much the same as the first. I did a small hike up to a lookout in the middle of town but apart from that we just relaxed at the hostel. Our cousin Andrew finally arrived in the afternoon and we caught up over a few cold beers with a long overdue catch up and talks of what to do while in Iceland. We decided as the fireball started to flow (cinnamon whiskey) that we would hire a car and drive around the south western part of the island.

With an early start the next morning, we picked up the car and hit the road. We decided to do one of the most popular tourist routes, The Golden Circle. It's a fairly straight forward touring route within a couple hours of Reykjavik which takes in a lot of various sights. This included Þingvellir National Park, The Erupting Great Geysir and Little Geysir, Gullfoss waterfall plus a quick trip along the Kjölur Route. Some absolutely amazing locations which makes you grateful to be in country with so much beauty. After a full day of exploring, we drove back to Reykjavik. We then decided to go out for some food and drinks. With another possible quiet night on the cards, we sat around at the hostel before meeting some people who were going on a tour out of Reykjavik to see the Northern Lights.

After speaking with them and not having to drop the car back off until the next morning, we decided to make the journey in attempt to witness it. We ended up driving back out to Þingvellir National Park with another French Canadian guy in tow to see it. After standing around in -1 temps with very little activity in the sky for an hour, we were almost about to leave when one of the group spotted movement in the sky. We grabbed our cameras and took some shots as we saw it the sky above us. Satisfied with what we had seen and some good photos, we drove the hour back to Reykjavik.

For our final day, Andrew and I decided to check out the most famous tourist spot in Iceland, the Blue Lagoon. Bryce had seen it on a previous trip so stayed behind at the hostel. We hoped on a bus and journeyed over to the lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a natural hot spring located in the Grindavik Lava Fields not too far from the airport. It's become such big popular sport that people who are on quick stop overs between North America and Europe will come out to swim in its warm waters before going back to the airport to their next destination. It's a fantastic spot with the surrounding lava fields making you feel like you are on the moon. After a few hours enjoying the water, we headed back to Reykjavik.

On our last night we had a big one. We firstly went a tapas restaurant and ate minke whale and puffin for the first time. The puffin ended up being quite salty and gross but the whale was delicious. We then headed to a bar and drank into the night, ignoring the fact we had a early morning flight the next day. About 1am I decided to head back to the hostel for some shut-eye while my brother and cousin continued into the early morning. Finally about 4am he came into to collect his belongings as I was waking up. We jumped on the bus for one more time and headed to the airport before catching a flight onto more adventures in Europe.

Lake Tjörnin (Reykjavik)
Bike rack and dog (Reykjavik)
Hallgrímskirkja (Reykjavik)
Esja - Faxaflói Bay (South West Iceland)
Þingvellir National Park (South West Iceland)
Little Geysir  (South West Iceland)
The Erupting Great Geysir (South West Iceland)
Gullfoss (South West Iceland)
Kjölur Route - Kjalvegur (South West Iceland)
Blue Lagoon, Reykjanes Peninsula (South West Iceland)
Grindavík Lava Fields - Reykjanes Peninsula  (South West Iceland)

Shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Fuji Pro400H film. Developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab in California.

08 - USA 01

So after our amazing road trip through Arizona, Utah and Nevada we packed up the hire car and drove back to Vegas. We then dropped the car off and jumped on the greyhound bus to our next destination, San Francisco. Now for anyone that hasn’t caught a greyhound bus before, well it’s very basic. Uncomfortable seats, power outlets in awkward spots and pretty terrible wifi if you are lucky to be on a bus with one. We had decided to catch a bus instead of flying to SF to save money ($40 compared to $150). The compromise was travelling 14 hours via LA and catching two buses. So leaving LV around 4pm with a quick stop in San Bernadino to change buses, we eventually made it to SF by about 7am the next morning. Absolutely shattered, we made our way to the hostel before catching up and some well needed rest.

We then proceeded to stay in San Francisco for the next five days wondering the streets, seeing the sights and catching up with friends. So waking up around 4am on our last day, we packed the last of our things and headed to the airport bound for Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

San Francisco

So after spending just over three weeks in Canada, we hopped on a late night bus out of Toronto bound for Buffalo. We were heading to Buffalo to catch a the train to NYC as it was again a cheap option to get to our next destination. We ended up waiting on an abandoned train platform in the early hours of the morning before our train eventually arrived and we were headed to NYC. Arriving in Manhattan, we then hopped on another bus to go across the bridge to New Jersey for the night. One of my brothers friends works for the Marriott in the US and could get us cheap deals every now and again on rooms in Marriott's across the country. This one happened to be just over the other side of the Hudson River in NJ. So after a quiet night in our hotel, we headed back to Manhattan to catch a bus seven hours south to visit our friend in North Carolina.

Finally we arrived in Norfolk, Virginia and were greeted with our friend Lindsey who came to pick us up. We then jumped in her car and drove about 45 mins south to Outer Banks. Outer Banks is a 200-mile stretch of peninsulas and barrier islands separating the Atlantic Ocean from mainland North Carolina. It's a quaint part of NC with lots of holiday beach houses and a small local population. But come summertime, the population surges with lots of people staying during their summer break. There is also a lot of history in the area with the Wright Brothers first ever flight occurring in the Outer Banks.

We only had a weekend here but we saw as much as as we could. This included exploring the sand dunes of Kill Devil Hills and a small road trip down the coast to Hatteras to check out some of many lighthouses plus some cool small towns with lots of abandoned buildings from past times when many more people use to choose Outer Banks as the holiday destination of choice. Lindsey then droves us back up to Norfolk early on the Monday morning and we jumped on the bus, heading north to Philadelphia.

Outer Banks, North Carolina

Philadelphia is somewhere neither Bryce or myself had been before considering the amount of travelling we had done throughout the USA. It's a very cool city with a lot of history, being one of the first cities founded in the late 1600's after the British first colonised the country. Again our time exploring was very minimal (two days) but I managed to walk around most of downtown taking photos on Mamiya 7 of anything interesting I could find. We then jumped on the MegaBus and took the four journey to our finally destination of the USA leg of our trip, NYC.

Philadelphia

New York City is huge. There is so much to see, do and places to drink and eat. It's of course a must to visit if you have never been to the USA before. But for us, it was more stop over on our way to Iceland and Europe. Nonetheless, I took full advantage of being there again (previously visited in 2010) and relentlessly journey around the city with my camera in tow. Visiting iconic locations like Central Park, the amazing view of Manhattan from Rockefeller centre and admiring the view from Brooklyn looking across the East River at sunset. But I also explored the lesser known places including streets of Bushwick, Green Point and East Williamsburg and Coney Island seeing some amazing street art, cars and meeting the colourful characters of such a great city. We ended up staying pretty far out in Brooklyn, not far from Coney Island, in predominately asian community which was an interesting experience. But finally after spending just over week, we headed to JFK airport and flew to one of my favourite places on earth, Iceland.

New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn & Coney Island)

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.

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.

06 - Into the desert 01

It was the end of 2012 and after working hard in Australia for more then two years, I was feeling restless. I hadn’t been overseas since coming back from living and working in Canada as well as a trip throughout the USA in mid 2010. So after a few discussions with my brother, we decided on doing a big trip through the US, Canada, across to Europe and eventually the UK where I would live and work. I spent another six months working hard, saving my money and planning for the summer trip.

As apart of the the USA trip, I suggested to my brother Bryce that we do a desert road trip through some of the western states to get out of the big cities and check out some national parks. Previously in 2000, we had done a huge family trip through California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. It was an amazing trip in hindsight which took in many iconic national parks but being 14 at the time, I never really appreciated the magnificence and beauty of the unique places we were visiting. So fast forward 14 years and with a much more mature perspective of a 27-year-old, I thought revisiting these beautiful location along with my love of film and cameras would be a perfect combination.

So in early July 2013, I flew from Brisbane to LA to stay for one night before flying on to Las Vegas the next day to meet up with Bryce. The road trip didn’t start according to plan with Bryce arriving eight hours late after being on standby for a flight from Denver. So once he finally arrived we picked up our small rental car and drove late into the the night to out first stop in Kingman just over the border in Arizona. For the next six to seven days we drove hundreds of miles throughout three states. We visited the magnificent Grand Canyon National Park, took in the rich, red colours of Monument Valley, got to witness the beauty of Bryce Canyon National Park and gaze in amazement at the large valley formations of Zion National Park.

On our final day, we packed our bags into our rental car and made the trip back to Las Vegas en route to our next destination, San Francisco. This is still one of the best trips I’ve been on in my life and really made me fall in love with the desert. So much so that I’ve been back for a second road trip (post to come soon) and more plans to go back again sometime in the future. Feels like my second home! It was also the first time I completely shot using Kodak Ektar 100 and man the results speak for themselves. The gorgeous red and blue tones really shine through!

1 - 3: Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona 
4 - 6: Monument Valley, Utah 
6 - 7: Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona 
8: Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
9 - 10: Kolob Canyon, Utah 
11: St George, Utah

All images shot on a Mamiya 7, 80mm f4.0 lens and Kodak Ektar 100 film. Developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab in Los Angeles, California.