f/11: Photography by Nick

Meredith | Instagram | Three Thousand

2011-12-15T17:29:00.000+11:00

Last weekend a group of us tripped up to the 21st birthday party for the Meredith Music Festival.
I left big old, heavy SLR at home and took light, trusty iPhone with the ever more popular instagram (and an LC-Wide with a bucket load of film). These are a few shots for you.

A BIG thank you to Three Thousand for the cover shot this week as well as getting a couple out there for Sams 'Meredith Tops and Bottoms' too. Love, Xo

Nick Found

365 Project | Update.

2011-11-30T09:00:00.002+11:00

As you may remember I started a 365 Project a while ago. The only real rule was to take a photo every day. This I have now done (apart from one miss) for 229 days. *The actual 365 platform died for two days hence the number difference.

It is, so far, going very well. Taking photos is now just another part of my day, just like eating breakfast or brushing my teeth. It is less of a pain now than it used to be and it is on the very rare occasion it gets to 11:50pm and I think: "Holy shit, I haven't taken a photo yet." Coming up will be a lot of holiday season reds and greens as well as a bunch of beaches and maybe even a week of self portraits to mix it up a bit!

Let me know what you think. X

http://365.io/u/8cdade693d

Nick Found

Scotland | Glasgow | Tea, Parks and Old Friends.

2011-11-27T14:41:00.000+11:00

I have not posted anything for a while so I thought I would find some shots from the end of my trip from the begining of the year. These were taken in Glasgow, Scotland. I stayed there with two lovely friends of mine I met the first time I visited the UK in 2006. I hope one day they can come to Melbourne so I can return the favor. Xo

Nick Found

Germany | Beelitz Heilstätten | Part Two.

2011-09-30T10:42:00.001+10:00

As we were leaving the main hospital building, two of us decided that it was best to scale up to the second story window of the - what appeared to be - school building. Armed with only my 15mm Fisheye, as climbing with anymore camera gear seemed stupid, I was able to get these few shots off before we had to run and miss our train.

I would recommend checking out Beelitz Heilstätten, however, take a spare pair of underwear and some confidence, it is defiantly not the place for the faint hearted. It scared the shit out of me!

Enjoy. Xo

Nick Found

Germany | Beelitz Heilstätten | Part One.

2011-08-24T09:19:00.000+10:00

There are few places in the world that scare me as much as this one. Originally built as a Tuberculosis Sanatorium, it was converted to a Military Hospital during the First World War. It was then taken over by the USSR who remained in control of the hospital until 1995.

The 60 hospital buildings in the town are now all deserted, left for ruin in the 90's. Once upon a time I can imagine these grounds - surrounded by dense pine forests - would have been quite beautiful. Now though its like a ghost town, no sign of life, no wind, no noise, just kilometers of nothing but the shells of the once beautiful buildings designed by architect Heino Schmieden.

Germany | Berlin | Devil's Mountain.

2011-08-18T14:04:00.000+10:00

This is possibly one of the coolest and most curious places I have had the chance to visit.

Teufelsberg sits atop a man made hill just outside of Berlin (former West Berlin). The hill is made from an estimated 400,000 buildings destroyed during the Second World War. What is so odd about this place is not the hill itself but the Nazi Tech training camp below. It was so hard to destroy, the Allies decided to bury it instead.

It is now the home to an abandon listening station set up by the US National Security Agency in the late 50's to listen to Soviet, East German and other Warsaw Pact nations military traffic.

Nick Found

Germany | Berlin | Cafes, Adventures and One Regret.

2011-08-09T10:05:00.000+10:00

Another few shots from Berlin for you. Still saving the best till last. Keep an eye out for full sets from both Teufelsberg and Beelitz-Heilstätten Sanatorium. These ones though are mostly of an afternoon I spent with two beautiful people at Tempelhof City Airport, which in mid 2010 they turned into a city park - the largest public park in Berlin - now called Tempelhofer Feld. Enjoy.

Nick Found

Germany | Berlin | Blah.

2011-07-27T12:55:00.001+10:00

Having not posted any shots from Europe for quite some time I have forgotten most of the daily details, however I hope that the photos can tell a few stories. There are a lot of shots from Berlin and it was quite hard to select a few to post. I can tell you this though, do yourself a favor and visit. The city is alive and bursts inspiration and creativity. Easily one of my favourite places in Europe and it was a joy to return too and photograph again.

Nick Found

Family Portraits | Mothers Side | 2011.

2011-07-09T17:03:00.000+10:00

This Easter was the first time in as long as I can remember that all of my cousins, aunties, uncles, brother and sister were together in the same house. I have always wanted to photograph the family as - to my knowledge - it has never been done before.

Below are the people closest to me, beginning with Frances Bongiovanni - Nana. She moved from Malta to Australia in 1957 with her family; Edward (husband), George, Angela and Louise (children).

Frances Bongiovanni.

Louise Stadly, Angela Found & George Bongiovanni.

Louise Stadly, Frances Bongiovanni, Angela Found & George Bongiovanni.

George Bongiovanni.

Jeanette Bongiovanni.

Paul Bongiovanni.

Hayley Bongiovanni.

George, Hayley, Jeanette, Bianca & Paul Bongiovanni.

Bianca Bongiovanni.

Damian Farley.

Bianca Bongiovanni & Damian Farley.

Angela Found.

Stephen Found.

Stephen & Angela Found.

Nicholas Found.

Katherine Found.

Stephen, Angela, Nicholas & Katherine Found.

Benjamin Munday.

Demelza Rickard.

Benjamin Munday & Demelza Rickard.

Louise Stadly.

Roland Stadly.

Louise & Roland Stadly.

Eleanor & Matthew Stadly.

Eleanor, Aiden & Matthew Stadly.

Luke Stadly.

Aiden & Luke Stadly

Frances Bongiovanni, Aiden Stadly & Louise Stadly.

The Family.

Nick Found

365 Project | Photo a day | Update.

2011-06-09T17:40:00.000+10:00

I have mentioned this in the last couple of posts I have done, however, this time I thought I would tell you about it properly (not that there is really much to tell!) 55 Days ago a couple of friends of mine and I started a 365 Day Photo Challenge. It is pretty simple really, take one new photograph everyday for a year. If you miss a day you receive a fail - mobile phones are allowed but not loved. The idea is to improve photographic skill and experiment with new ideas/techniques.

When I we first started it was pretty casual, however, this has now totally taken over my life. To make it even better, I live with one of the other people doing the challenge, suffice to say our own blogs and personal/collaborative projects have slowed down a little.

//The main contenders are as follows:

Myself, Industrial Designer & Photographer.
http://365.io/u/8cdade693d

Diana Marcela Mejia Correa, Graphic Design student & Photographer.
http://365.io/u/14e796c87c

Bernard Winter from thegraf, Feature Film editor & Photographer.
http://365.io/u/ab25590c7c

Brady Haseler, Industrial Design Graduate, just joined 365.
http://www.365.io/u/7d2cd0f8e3

Chris Cooper from thegraf, Industrial Design Student, uses tumblr to be different.
http://coop365.tumblr.com/

Keep checking back for regular updates. Xo

Nick Found
**All images are property of the mentioned photographer. I take no credit for shots that are not my own.

Band | Boy & Bear | Corner Hotel.

2011-05-30T22:50:00.000+10:00

On Friday night I headed to the Corner Hotel with Bernard Winter from thegraf to shoot Boy & Bear for tonedeaf. It was a great night of music with the guys playing their third sold out show. Also of note were the support Jinja Safari, well worth seeing if you get the chance.

Nick Found.

Germany | Dachau.

2011-05-18T22:00:00.000+10:00

Whilst staying in Munich I took the opportunity to go and see the Dachau Concentration Camp - I got told it was a great day trip. I do not really have any words to describe it. It hurts me to think about it and taking shots never felt so wrong. As you walk through the entrance to the camp you read the words "Arbeit macht frei", meaning "through work one will be free".

The camp was divided into two sections: the camp area and the crematorium. The camp area consisted of 69 barracks, including one for clergy imprisoned for opposing the Nazi regime and one reserved for medical experiments. The courtyard between the prison and the central kitchen was used for the summary execution of prisoners. The camp was surrounded by an electrified barbed-wire gate, a ditch, and a wall with seven guard towers.

It was disturbing to be there. Seeing the faces of the people who died there and hearing the voices recorded at the camp chilled me to the bone. Here are a few shots I took, they sort of really dont tell the story well enough.

Nick Found

Germany | München | Better late than never. Right?

2011-05-10T13:04:00.000+10:00

After a few weeks of side projects and being smashed at work I am finally back to editing my remaning travel shoots. I have also started a 365 Photo Project with a couple of friends of mine and this has started to consume my Lightroom rather than processing the Gigabytes stored from the trip!
I will write up a blog post about this eventually.

Ergo, here are a few shots from Munich. I decided against the glitzy cityscapes for this post and went for the graffiti/cemetery look instead.

Nick Found

St Kilda | Golden Hour | LOMO Plastic.

2011-04-17T00:45:00.003+10:00

You may (or may not) have read on here that I have a LOMO Diana Plastic lens that I sometimes play with on my Canon. This evening my good mate Bernard from thegraf and myself headed down to St Kilda beach for a quick shoot. I went only with the Plastic, something which I sort of wished I didn't do, there was an amazing sunset/reflection shot that would have looked bullshit on a 16-35mm L. However it's done and I am pretty happy with these shots. Bern on the other hand rocked the 100mm Macro and the 15mm Fish Eye. Three of the most bazaar lenes you could take for a trip to the beach.

Nick Found

Australian Grand Prix | Day #3

2011-04-11T22:49:00.001+10:00

Most people who have the option, will go to the Grand Prix with their longest lens possible. I left my 70-200 at home and instead took out a Fish Eye and a 16-35mm wide angle. Now to most this would seem stupid, however, in my many many years of attending race tracks I have learnt that unless you are in a photographers trap, the likely hood of getting some decent shots of fast moving cars is rare.

Instead I took these shots. Sure one day I would like to have a lens the size of a small child and a pass to the traps, but for now, beers, sun and Race One Qualifying will do me just fine.

Nick Found

YVMPS | Crank Up | Autumn 2011

2011-04-06T19:59:00.001+10:00

I spent last Saturday up in the country with my Grandpa and Dad at the 'Yarra Valley Machinery Preservation Society Crank Up.' Basically it is a bunch of blokes (and a few ladies too) who bring there restored stationary engines out for show. These engines were once the power stations for farms, mills, factories, pumps and amusement parks. Now days most are left to rust, however the lucky ones get snapped up by collectors and enjoy a life of oil, fresh paint and love. To most this might sound a little odd, however to these boys (and myself) this is a brilliant way to spend a weekend. The sun was shining, the motors were running (most of the time), the sausages were burning and everybody was having a bloody good time. Watching my Grandpa act like a school boy with his Engine Club mates was a great laugh. A lot of these boys are pushing 80 and they ran around this place joking and laughing like they were 16 again (but don't tell there wives!)

There is something about the sound of a 100 year old engine that is kind of calming, except for the bloke with the coin stamper, that was abusively loud! I have subsequently given my self a mission to join these blokes at the next 'Crank Up' in september (the start of the season), so stay tuned to see the progress of a pretty unique engine build.

I got the old Canon out as always and captured a bit of the atmosphere. You might even see some of these in the next YVMPS Club Magazine! So keep your eyes out.

Nick Found

Germany | Füssen | A fairy tale Castle.

2011-04-03T17:46:00.000+10:00

Coming from Istanbul, anywhere one goes in Germany is going to be culturally shocking. My first stop was Füssen which is in Barvaria (for those keeping note!) A very nicely situated town at the foot of the Alps and home to the famous castle of Neuschwanstein (one of King Ludwigs - he had a few).

Füssen is stunning. It had snowed the day before I arrived and then the sun came out and gave off five days of winter warmth which unlike Estonia didn't cause transit nightmares. I mean there is a reason why this place is nick-named the Fairy Tale town, it is like a hidden oasis for a winter get away - there a few places that one can be as relaxed as here.

These days made for some great (no, un real) photography, which is exactly what I wanted after the busy streets and grey skies of Istanbul. Crisp light, bright bright whites and ridiculous blues that my glass just ate up. There are a couple of shots in here that might need explaining - the one of myself was taken by expert amateur photographer Christina Klüber and the half toned shot was taken through a pair of sun glasses, just for something a little different. Aside from these it was business as usual at camp Canon; big exposures, crazy fish eye, lots of light, some dreamy black and whites and a little snow writing - just the way I like it!

See here. Xo

Istanbul | Part Two | Tea, Shisha, Baths and Mosques.

2011-04-01T00:21:00.001+11:00

Sitting in a Shisha Lounge enjoying my latest read 'The Bicycle Diaries' by David Byrne (Talking Heads fame) I was pleasantly shocked when a hat-trick of Cold Chisel came on the stereo. The order was classic: Forever Now, Flame Trees and of course Khe Sanh. Now the most beautiful part of this whole situation was not the fresh apple tea I was enjoying, not the apple mint Shisha, not the solitude, not even the peace and quiet away from the busy streets of Istanbul. The most beautiful part was that the Shisha master of this lounge could not speak a word of English, he could, however, sing every word these songs perfectly. If you did not know he was a Turkish man from the south you would have sworn he was our Jimmy.

Anyway, enough Australian pride. Istanbul is a really incredible city. It is pleasant chaos, this really is the only way I can describe it. One could very easily get lost in the culture, food, markets and back streets. I found it hard to leave here, there is just something about the place that draws and locks you in. I think it is the people more than anything. They are so humble. I mean there is shit everywhere (across Europe and Asia), 18 million people crammed into not very much space (25-30 in summer) and who really knows what the hell is going on on those roads, but everyone is happy. No one complais about how hard the day was or how cold it is. They laugh, sing and dance. This is what is beautiful about Istanbul (well Turkey really). I have never felt more safe or welcome in a city as I have there.

It also made for some great photography. Please. Xo

Nick Found

Moose | Gaylor | Film.

2011-03-26T11:05:00.000+11:00

Last night was spent onsite at the Mance Design studio in Richmond filming the first half of a short documentary on a new collaborative project between Moose (Reverse graffiti artist) and Dean Gaylor (Head of Mance Design). Bernard Winter from thegraf and myself got a shit load of great footage and the project is looking amazing. Stay tuned for updates and the final edit.

Nick Found

Istanbul | Part One | Cats and Carpets.

2011-03-25T00:27:00.001+11:00

As the "make peace with what ever God you barrack for" sign starts to flash the plane does a small barrel roll to the right and I end up with a second lap full of hot tea - perfectly steeped once again. You know when the cabin crew start to cry that everything bad is about to happen. I take the brace position - because I can reach the seat in front of me - this apparently will help as you hurtle into the ground at Mach 5. I am sure it is now all over. The captain comes onto the radio.

Captain: Gentlemen and Ladies, due to a slight technical problem we have been delayed a further fifteen minutes. Sorry for the inconvenience, we will have this bird in the air as soon as the First Class toilet can properly evacuate the rare and exotic caviar it will no doubt receive en-route (possibly exaggerated).
Guy Beside Me: eh man, can yous believe dis shit? I dinnt pay free pounds last minnet to be delayed fer en our.
Me: What the fuck, we are still on the ground. Why is there tea in my lap? Dammit.

Anyway, whilst in Istanbul I took some pictures. They are shown below. A bit more of a story and a few more shots from one of my favourite cities coming up soon.

Nick Found.

London | Road Test | Canon S95.

2011-03-11T20:06:00.001+11:00

Introduction.

This up-date is a little different to my usual travel posts. I have reached this weird half way point (well technically nearly two thirds) in the trip and due to a British Airways/Finnair logistic/flight path issue found myself in London for two days. As I am not treating this as part of my trip, it is more like being stuck in limbo, I decided I could not be fucked carrying around my dSLR and all its lenses and really wished I owned a Lieca M9. However, I then remembered blowing $7000 on another (any) camera body was a dream and not soon going to become a reality. So I did the next best thing, borrowed my sisters Canon S95 point & shoot.

Main Body.

So it felt a little weird walking around with a point & shoot, kind of like roaming the streets without pants and feeling very much like the tourists I hate. However, it really wasn't that bad (personal image aside). Now, this camera is bloody brilliant! As far as pocket cameras go the experts at B&H in New York tell me its the top end unit before getting into that weird mid ground between the 'throw it in your bag, lets go clubbing, OMG Myspace' size and 'holy shit this backpack is getting heavy, I really should have left the 70-200 at home' size. Back to the S95 though, I first started using it in Auto, but soon got bored of the simplicity - the shots were pretty decent, however, just a bit to flared and not what I knew this camera was capable of. Manual though came up trumps. One is able to play with the same settings available on a dSLR so total user control was no problem. I also loved the 'scene' settings which allow you to switch between things like Fish Eye, Vivid Colour, Tilt Shift, Nostalgic, Panorama, and more I can not remember. I had a play with most of them and the results were great. I would not sell up all me gear and rush to the nearest online store to get one, however, I would happily (on occasions) leave my kit at home and use this. I have never found a point & shoot that I liked, let alone one I would use to accompany my dSLR, so thanks Canon!

Tangent.

Sunflower seeds are not something I think about often. There was this dude who drove a trolley - well actually he was the brake man - in San Fran who ate them. Quiet guy, not very helpful, I bought a jacket just like his, it is brown, very warm. Whilst in London though, I took the yearly trip to Tate Modern (which one must do to stay up-to-date with contemporary art) and there was this exhibition there by a Chinese conceptual artist named Ai Weiwei. Standing on the overpass looking down the Turbine Hall one sees a field of sunflower seeds. I judge before reading of course, "what a lot of shit, art these days is rubbish, study design." I then read the board, it says: Sunflower Seeds is made up of millions of small works, each apparently identical, but actually unique. However realistic they may seem, these life-sized sunflower seed husks are in fact intricately hand-crafted in porcelain." One cannot begin to imagine how many hand made, hand painted seeds are down there, luckily there is a clever info graphic to tell you - Over 100 MILLION. Now standing down on the floor of the Turbine Hall, the size of this installation really hits me. One cannot actually begin to try to explain with words the size of this piece, see photos below (they don't really do it justice either).

Conclusion.

This was a long post I know, however one would assume that if you made it this far you are probably part of a minority (I would have skimmed it at best!) so well done! The beauty of it is there is now not much to say. Below are a series of photos from the Canon S95, these are as they came from the camera, no editing (bar cropping and straightening - I had a cross-eyed day) so see what you think compared to the previous posts. Regards.

** Standard Manual Shot.

** Standard Manual Shot.

**Nostalgic Setting.

**Faux Tilt Shift Setting.

** Standard Manual Shot.

** Standard Manual Shot.

** Standard Manual Shot.

| Sun Flower Seeds |

** Standard Manual Shot.

** Faux Tilt Shift Setting.

** Nostalgic Setting.

** Nostalgic Setting.

** Nostalgic Setting.

** Standard Manual Shot.

** Standard Manual Shot.

***Here is a link to ARTCARDS Review of Sunflower Seeds by Ai Weiwei.

Nick Found

Finland | Part Two | Bear is a Mans meat.

2011-03-09T00:03:00.000+11:00

Heading north into the Arctic Circle in a less than impressed Volvo. Racing at 80 kilometers per hour along frozen lakes on a high powered Ski-doo. Having the juice in your eyes freeze in sub -20 temperatures. Shooting behind a pack of 12 overly energetic Huskies. Finland just never stopped impressing the pants off me.

The last day was obviously when the weather became perfect - one has never seen colours so clean, crisp and fresh - with all the right signs to see the Northern Lights racing through the sky. However, the flight back to Helsinki saw the old Canon race south, away from that one shot that I have dreamed about for so many years.

I am glad that I missed these Northern Lights (which I will only believe exist when I get to see them!) It really makes for the best reason (not that one is even needed) to return to one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen.

Please enjoy some more of the remarkable Finnish landscape.

Nick Found

Hello Australia | I am home.

2011-03-06T16:42:00.002+11:00

After three months of sleeping on starch drenched bed linen and enjoying life with no commitments, I am back in Melbourne and preparing to face the world of full time employment. This I see as a good thing - aside from missing the hell out of Europe (Berlin)!

On the plane (somewhere over India) I made a list of shoots I want to do, these will slowly make there way up here as well as the remaining posts from the trip. There will be a bit of Finland, England, Turkey, Germany and Scotland as well as heaps of additional posts, as I slowly trawl through the 80 odd gig of captured memories!

Here are some necessities. Xo

Nick Found

Finalnd | Part One | Sorry Rudolf.

2011-03-02T23:17:00.000+11:00

Traveling Europe through winter generally means that one will experience cold weather. Therefore, the hunt for the coldest weather becomes an exciting challenge. I like challenges and after the last few months freezing my extremities off (slowly you learn to wear woolen layers), I now like cold weather. Wikipedia says the following about Finland:

The country tops continuously the international comparisons of national performance. Finland ranks the best country in the world in the 2010 Newsweek survey based on health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life.

The Finns eat Bear; they also eat Reindeer, why would one not want to go there! As a person that is trying to be a photographer, Finland is like a playground, everywhere you look there is something to take a picture of. The only problem is when it gets to between -20 and -30, taking a picture becomes a much harder task. You eventually get used to the pain in your eyes, temple, hands and trigger finger - these can be put aside whilst thinking about framing - unfortunately though, my camera does not have the ability to do this (it does not even have a name!) At these temperatures I lost the connection between the lens and the body, there was no ability to white balance, servo focusing did not respond, live view locked up, play back took ages and eventually it just shut down. One could imagine that if this nameless camera could talk it would say something like: "Seriously nick, do you not think of my feelings?" Followed by: "Fuck off."

Here though are some shots from the minutes before several camera freeze ups!

Nick Found

Estonia | Tallinn | Just like before.

2011-02-15T20:24:00.000+11:00

I have fond memories of Tallinn so returning was a must. I would, however, like to forget the time (European summer 2009) that I drank a gut full of this special Estonian herbal supplement, sourced from rare and probably endangered plant life, ground elephant toenail and mixed with the souls of lost and forgotten children. That was a bad twenty-four hours. But I digress.

Memories of summer skies, long drives, quiet nights, boating to Hiiumuaa, walking through the forest and of course - how can it be forgotten - a shoot I did there which can be called 'beachFace' (still one of my favourite times behind the camera), are all the ways I will always picture Estonia.

This time was not as warm and the beach was not visited (it's winter). Tallinn in summer is a beautiful, romantic city. Tallinn in winter should be stunning. Unfortunately, as the plane landed it got warm (-1 to +3) during the day. The winter wonderland that I was told about melted a bit, refroze at night and turned the streets into a city wide, week long, ice-skating rink! This in-turn yielded some of the most amusing walking one has ever seen/experienced. As I walked, I laughed and one could imagine that the people I passed on the street were questioning my sanity.

I miss Estonia, it will always be a special place for me.
Here though, are some pictures.

Nick Found

Austria | Part Two | Drugs, Drink, CNN & Sleep.

2011-02-14T00:14:00.003+11:00

After learning how to be a professional skier (?) and spending 3 days watching CNN drugged out of my mind on Flu tablets, Penicillin, Codeine and filled with secret Austrian health drinks (thanks Barbs), it was best to leave Dienten and head to St Wolfgang, a short drive up the road (that, though, is neither informative or relevant). With a couple of days of rehab & detox it was business as usual: Get up, shit, shower, shave and shoot.

I was told that out of my window there was a great lake in which the area was named after (Wolfgangsee). Unfortunately there was also fog. Not the "lets get the camera out and shoot dreamy contrasting landscapes" fog, more of the "where the fuck did the world go, I swear it was here before that nap" type. On the last day though, en-route to Munich airport it lifted, and my god was it pretty! This was reminiscent of Lake Bled (not so romantic), huge hills, awe inspiring reflections and stark, crisp sky.

In here also (separated by a triple space and a vertical line for ease of access) is a shot comparison taken with that pokey little Diana Plastic LOMO Lens I spoke of previously. It is easy to see the difference (one hopes) between my usual L 16-35mm f/2.8 and the Plastic. One day when I am not constantly being face smashed by new land/city scapes I will leave the Canon glass behind and shoot solely with plastic. Until then, it is just a tease!

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Nick Found

STATUS REPORT | Blogs are decieving | Camera location.

2011-02-08T04:27:00.002+11:00

I thought that it might be a good idea to make a post in regards to the whereabouts of my camera. You see, I am not what one calls a 'consistent' blogger. To the naked eye it would seem that last post I made with shots from Austria reflects my current location. For any good, up-to-date blogger I guess this would be true. However this is at least a month out of date to my travels. When I left Melbourne I had planned to keep the posts a little shorter, more frequent and relevant to my position either in America or Europe - kind of like a journal. It is evident this was a total fail.

Right now I am in Munich, Germany, and have a little under a month before returning to Melbourne. In the following weeks you can expect the usual two part updates with shots from the following countries:

Austria (part two), Estonia, Finland (Santa, Rudolf, etc), England, Turkey, Germany, (current country), Scotland and any other possible diversions that may arise.

Nick Found

Austria | Part One | Man Flu.

2011-02-06T21:23:00.002+11:00

After a Skype conversation with a close friend of mine about how fortunate it is I haven't caught my death yet - as Australians never have to deal with this degree of cold - I forgot to touch wood and was smacked in the face with some sort of sick Austrian flu. To be fair (to Austria) it did start in Slovenija and the two days I spent sucking ass (slang for 'not being very good at') on the most phenomenal ski slopes one has ever seen, I guess was not the best way to cure/aid the ill.

On a side note, Dienten am Hochkönig is where this post originated from, an Austrian hidden secret. With a population of 18 (or there abouts) and over 150km of perfect (PERFECT) ski runs. One would really wish to be good enough to ski this, I however, am not. The pain, the cold, the near death "hey beginner skier lets learn on this black run" lesson, eating snow, and the oncoming flu definitely reminded me how much I like: standing still, photography, warmth and life.

Right, enough whingeing, had to get that off my chest! The positive side is that there was about half an hour in these 5 days where I got the camera out long enough for the mechanism to freeze over and get a few shots worthy of posting.

Nick Found

Slovenija | Part Two | Say "no" to gipsy sauce.

2011-01-30T03:03:00.003+11:00

So you are like: "What the hell is the 'J' doing in Slovenija?" And I am like: "That's totally how the locals spell it and I am kind of trying to think/act like I am a local because this place is BLOWING MY MIND and I may not want to leave - now, considering it is now the 29th of January one would be safe to assume that never became a reality.

After a couple of days in Bled, drooling all over my camera, the Volvo was starting to winge that its gut full of anti freeze was not getting the required amount of stirring necessary to sustain safe day to day driving and hence it needed to be driven. It was the only excuse needed to find a road that headed east out of town and enjoy all that the country side had to offer.

There will never be a day like that expressed in the first Slovenian post (the whole restaurant meal scenario) however, before I left Melbourne I dreamt (that might not be a word) of shooting in fog, with grey skies, up to my knees in snow with the ground/trees/etc, all covered in white and trust Slovenia - the capital of the EU as far as I am concerned - to deliver the dream.

OK, enough verbal diorrhea about this place, you get the idea, it's superb. I will though just say this: There is this pizza place, right near that design sort of shop, above the sex palace, up the road from that place where the 'Vanilla Cream, Custard Cream Cake' (yeah it's real) is not as great as the one from 'Panorama' down the road, but I digress. The pizza shop, if you happen to order the Super Supreme, unless you have a mouth lined in silicone and a stomach strong enough to hold a stray H Bomb, do not, sorry I mean, DO NOT eat the Gipsy Sauce (not Gypsy). Get fucked it was hot. I stupidly took a mouth full of the stuff straight up and I saw colours I never knew existed and felt pain equivalent to that of birthing a large child. You have been warned.

Oh, and here are some photos of white! Xo

Nick Found

Slovenija | Part One | The route contains charge area.

2011-01-26T02:33:00.002+11:00

As you may (or may not) have noticed this post is titled by name of country, not city. This is because I was not set in a specific place for a week or two as in the previous posts. From Hungary the best way to Slovenia was by car (Volvo it seems), this meant getting out of the conformity of a city and into the freedom of the country side was super easy and, that is exactly what happened!

The first stop (and base camp) was Lake Bled in the North West of the country. I first visited here in the summer of 2006 (staying with Jani in his house of Jazz, a truly brilliant Hostel!) and fell instantly in love with the place. I had never seen a town like it before, so clean, fresh and a natural landscape that left your jaw firmly stuck to the ground.

I was so excited to come back. They say that if you dine out and have a dish that makes you spasm with joy, not to eat the same meal at the same place again as it will never be the same. I was worried about this with returning Bled, however, the weather played nice and holy shit, I am so glad I went back to eat there again.

Please enjoy these few shots as much as I enjoyed taking them. There are 100's more in the archive which I will look back on in the future as "that time in Bled when the planets aligned".

Nick Found

Budapest | Part Two | New Years Eve on a boat...

2011-01-23T07:59:00.003+11:00

New Years Eve. It was nearly a month ago, however, it will be a night not soon to be forgotten. Spending the night on a boat on the Danube with a 6 course meal and show should have been the warning, but we went anyway.

The first sign then should have been that the boat was too old to actually leave the dock, the next should have been the very politically correct dance troop moving very badly to a guy singing Abba. At this point, the petrol tasting sparkling wine, the 6 courses of terrible food, the petrol tasting red wine and the guy who threw bottles all became part of a night I will remember forever.

I can not stress enough how much this should not be experienced by anyone. As much as I enjoy retelling the story to people, the days after hurt. On a positive note though, Budapest continued to amaze me. Even though it was so cold that the metal components in both my camera body and lens contracted so much that the camera became unusable it did prompt me to find a rather nice beer hall where the Goulash consumed was that fit for a king!

I am now sick of typing and you are now sick of reading. Please enjoy the shots.

Nick Found

Budapest | Part One | A lap full of hot tea.

2011-01-16T08:28:00.004+11:00

From Prague, getting to Budapest was best achieved by train, this was painful for two reasons.
1) Being stuck in a glass box, moving past some of the most brilliant photo opportunities I have come across at something like 150km/h with no option to leave the locomotive for the entire journey.
2) Having a scolding hot, perfectly steeped, fresh cup of tea spilt onto my delicate genitalia (lap) (by a man who will remain nameless), ruining a good jumper, shirt and warm under top thing, thus forcing me to do a full costume change in the WC (toilet) that you could neither stand up nor sit down in it was that small, all the while wondering if the pain I was experiencing would ever end.

Now Budapest. This city is truly beautiful. Everyone who I had spoken to about Hungary and Budapest told me how quiet it was, how very few tourists there were and how great all the baths are! I can happily say it was quiet with very few tourists, however, one thing I was not expecting is the city itself is huge. Far bigger than I had imagined with both Buda and Pest requiring much more time to get to know. This is a place I will defiantly return to in the near future.

I loved shooting here, there were some great opportunities for some super long night exposures which will feature in this up date as well as Part Two in a few days.

Enjoy!

Nick Found

Prague | Part Two | Tropical 3000.

2011-01-08T08:50:00.003+11:00

Here is a little more from the Czech Republic.

Apparently this is the quiet time of year to visit, however, the sub zero temperatures did not at all stop the masses gathering in Prague for an Eastern European white Christmas! Admittedly, I am one of them so I guess it is hard to complain.

Remember to hit up Facebook to keep yourself up to date with all the posts, locations and eventually some stories behind the shots that are posted!

Nick Found

Prague | Part One | A family white Christmas.

2011-01-06T08:32:00.002+11:00

Being from Australia, for most of us, traveling overseas is a big deal! We are far enough away from the rest of the world (please don't tell anyone!) to warrant large extended periods of time away from home. As the title of this post indicates, I am now in the Czech Republic, Prague to be exact. Here with my family for a white Christmas! (I am fully aware that it is the 5th of January, just play along!) This was not though as easy as it should have been. It snowed, A LOT!

A simple one stop flight from JFK to Prague ended up being a combination of three flight cancellations, a night in London, a train to Bristol, a delayed flight to Brussels (Belgium) before finally making it to Prague three days late and just before Christmas. Apparently there was an 'anti freeze' problem!

I won't say to much more, you can just enjoy the shots!

However, I would though like to draw your attention to the first image. It was taken with my 5D MKii using a LOMO Diana EOS Lens Adapter and a plastic Wide Angle, LOMO Diana Lens, which is full frame compatible! This was shot at 50mm, with no F Stop, no Focus, none of the tricks that come with 'L Series' glass and zero post editing. I had a play with it in Brooklyn however forgot I had it until now! I will attempt to do a few comparison shots at 50mm shortly to really show the difference between good glass and retro plastic! Until then, absorb the brilliant softness of this first shot and what ever else follows!

Nick Found

NYC | Part 2 | Goods = X + Tax + Tip @ 20% of X...

2011-01-03T20:31:00.003+11:00

I am sitting here trying to catch up on the Melbourne radio I have missed over the last month! Currently streaming my favorite program 'Blue Juice' on PBS 106.7fm and it has me nicely in the mood for a second post from New York.

In there you will find a little Manhattan, a little Brooklyn, a little love and just enough shots taken directly into the sun with a nice colour to black and white ratio.

Originally I wanted to keep to one post per city, however, I secretly knew that was never going to happen! Trying to condense a week of shooting down to 10 shots is next to impossible. Ergo, here is a little more NYC.

Nick Found

NYC | Part 1 | Congac is a true gentlemens drink.

2011-01-02T03:02:00.007+11:00

So San Francisco is really a lovely place, however, after spending just under a week there I felt that leaving the city - which was known in the late 50s and 60s as the birth place of the famous LSD and psychodelic (later changed to psychedelic) movement - and heading east to New York was the most logical city upgrade. San Fran reminded me of Melbourne just a little; not too busy, not too many tourists and just enough hills to make your leg muscles throb for days.

NYC on the other hand is a clusterfuck of commuter mayhem. 1.7 million residents all comfortably packed into a 60 square kilometer area (this is in Manhattan alone, the county of New York has another 18.3 million people hiding throughout the other 4 boroughs!). Add a ridiculous amount of Christmas tourists into the mix and 8 days of near perfect weather (sunny, maybe slightly overcast and a temperature somewhere between -12 and -2 degrees C) and you have your self one seriously brilliant city!

I never thought that I would really like Manhattan, I am not a Sex in the City fan and I don't know anyone called Chuck Bass, these (and Wall Street) seem to be the only things people relate to when they speak of NYC, so I was not expecting much! How I underestimated!

I must say though, the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to Bedford Avenue was truly the highlight, for two reasons. 1) Finding somewhere that is peaceful with just the right amount of 'hipster' always meant good food and good bars. 2) You were still only a 5 minute subway ride from the center of the earth (downtown Manhattan!)

I am not able to put all the shots into one post so I will quit with the typing and add some more mindless dribble into the next installment!

Xo.

Final image shot by Sarah Tulloch on the High Line.

Nick Found

San Francisco | The last days of my beloved Vignettes.

2010-12-29T08:49:00.004+11:00

Finally I give you my first update from abroad, it long over due and I am sorry! This is a very special update, it not only marks the start of 3 months of international shooting but it is the last update where I will have to use my little 'snubby' Sigma 30mm Prime f/1.4 glass, which (as it is not full frame compatible) gives off those sometimes pretty Vignettes you see in my shots.

I found a cheap camera house in down town San Fran where I picked up a more than suitable replacement for my poor old Sigma! It will feature heavily in all the following updates!

For now though, enjoy these last few Vignettes!

Nick Found

Winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

2010-12-24T04:15:00.001+11:00

After lying in my last post about updating shots every couple of days I thought I would update you on what has been going on and try to excuse my self for the lack (or total lack) of photography!

In the hunt for weather that is a little more stable than Melbourne I have headed to the Northern Hemisphere! I have spent the last two weeks in the States, firstly visiting San Francisco and then heading to NYC. I will update these shots soon, I promise!

Now however, I am sitting, delayed, in Brussels airport (Belgium) en-route to the Czech Republic for what I am hoping is Christmas in Prague, however, after two plane cancellations, a bunch of delays and two extra country stop overs that were not planned, anywhere that is not the inside of an airport or train terminal is "all I want for Christmas!"

I have though been shooting my way around and have a bunch of shots to load up, just as soon as I am not totally overwhelmed by new faces, places and airports! Watch this space: Bridges, hills, cars and the odd face are on the way!

Xo

From the vaults_005: Coppin St 2008

2010-12-07T18:29:00.002+11:00

Thought I would put up one more post before heading off to the States and Europe for winter/holiday. I will be updating shots every couple of days so keep visiting!

I managed to get into the demolition site on Coppin St, Richmond to grab these shots before this beautiful playground of a building got destroyed to make way for a bit more urban sprawl. All good things must come to an end, and sadly, so did this.

Nick Found

From the vaults_004: Qatar 2006

2010-12-03T10:40:00.004+11:00

Whilst looking through my images from Qatar yesterday, I was blissfully unaware of the current World Cup bid that was happening. So with even more relevance (for those nearly as far behind as me, Qatar will host in 2022), here are a few shots from my time there.

These were shot on my first dSLR, a Canon 350D, during the 2006 Asian Games.

The last two images are of the local Qataris celebrating after there win in the football final against Iraq on December 15th. I doubt anyone slept that night with the sounds of car horns, revving engines, fireworks, flares and general party continuing on well into the morning.

Nick Found

My first time_2006.

2010-11-30T16:06:00.003+11:00

In 2006 I got my first camera that I cared about enough to want to actually take photos with. This was a parting gift before I headed off to Europe for 6 months of back packing. To clarify, by camera I don't mean Canon dSLR, it was a Kodak V570 Dual Lens point and shoot (I had to learn to crawl, before walking into the world of SLR and then running into full frame dSLR!).

I covered some distance in that 6 months, taking way to many photos, not knowing that it was the beginning of a life long obsession and love.

So my idea was to do a couple of posts of my early shots highlighting my learning process, however, after tracing through 5,000 images and only sadly finding 16 that I was happy with (I really thought there were more at the time!) means that there will be only one post!

So enjoy these, and remember three things:

1) You will always get a better shot on a dSLR.
2) Point and shoot cameras will though fit in your pocket. and
3) Practice and persistence will make a better photographer.

Malta

Switzerland

Rome

Tuscany

Scotland

Nick Found

The Vignettes: EXPLAINED.

2010-11-29T20:16:00.003+11:00

By now I am sure you are wondering why most of my images have a Vignette (for the non photographer, the dreamy or sometime hard black ring around the shots).

This is easily explained. No it's not a Photoshop effect. It is because two of my lenses (Sigma Prime 30mm f/1.4 & Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6) are not full frame lenses. I am in the process of getting a full frame lens to fix this minor problem!

I do though enjoy the Vignette just a little. So do not fear, the snub nose of the 30mm will always remain in my kit.

Nick Found

Between the signs.

2010-11-29T19:49:00.003+11:00

Along the Nullarbor, buried 17km off road is an old sheep station that used to be a service station for cars attempting to cross the mighty desert. When they were beyond repair, the cars were laid to rest out in the paddocks.

When the new highway was made, this station was forced to close. It remains today as it did when it was left. A history museum of times past. RIP.

Nick Found

From the vaults_003: 10,000km

2010-11-29T18:33:00.003+11:00

In January 2010 a group of us (three housemates and two friends) decided to drive to Perth and get a beer. Our trip was to Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle, 20 minutes south of Perth. It saw us do 10,000km over road and dirt, find temperatures that pushed 50 degrees and see one house mate and one friend become way to close.

These are their stories:

There will be a separate set of shots to come of some old shot up cars.
Stay tuned.

Nick Found

upClose_001

2010-11-29T18:07:00.004+11:00

I have a small thing for Macro photography, I don't shoot it often enough, for two reasons:

1) I keep forgetting I have the lens! and
2) It just doesn't look as good as short Prime 30mm 1.4!

Sadly though, being an Industrial Designer has made me think way to much about the aesthetics of this little, long (but too thin) piece of kit. However, it's out and expect to see more of it.

Nick Found

From the vaults_002: ESTONIA 2009.

2010-11-29T17:52:00.005+11:00

Whilst enjoying the Estonian summer on the beach I thought I would have a play with my Canon 50mm Macro lens and practice my Portraiture skills. Usually sticking to subjects that don't move, this was a shoot I really enjoyed.

And my two favourtie shots of the day:

Special thanks to the beautiful Kati Valbet for her legs and face. Xo

Nick Found

From the vaults_001: ICELAND 2009.

2010-11-27T18:25:00.012+11:00

One place that I have always wanted to visit is Iceland. In July 2009 I did just that. We hired a car (Suzuki Swift) and drove around the Icelandic Ring Road (A1) taking in the 24 hours of daylight, epic topography contrasts, the beautiful people and traditional foods.

I plan on returning to Iceland in the next couple of years to work, shoot and experience more of the magic that this little gem of a country has to offer.

Check out InspiredbyIceland to see what you are missing.

Nick Found

Welcome.

2010-11-27T16:04:00.001+11:00

In another attempt to publish my photography work and creative inspiration I give you my new blog.

Expect to see lots of hills, big landscapes, an obvious love of Black and White shooting, travel documentation and my progression into capturing more images of people.

Please enjoy. Xo