(Nikon 1 V2, 1 Nikkor 18.5mm Lens)

The Nikon 1 V2 auto-focus in low light was just out-of-control! How the hell does this little V2-pocket-rocket focus-track on the silhouette of a mountain biker moving towards the camera in the last tiniest shred if twilight… it should not have been able to do that! I mean I could only just make out the rider against the skyline. I don’t even know many DSLR’s that can handle such conditions.

To see more Sports stories, click here.

I arrived at the beach to discover one of natures anomalies, a massive amount of seaweed had been washed up on Glenelg Beach leaving a 1.5m high wall of weed. This was made of Billions of small strands of Seaweed stacked and shaped into miniature mountains and valleys by the previous storm.

All photos by Trevor Hendy on Nikon D7000.

Every time a small Gulf swell washed ashore it would crash into the weed bank and perform as though it had just hit a rock wall. It created a child’s wonderland of play opportunities. It also made for some stunning images and a peaceful end to a big day.

To see more sport stories, click here.

While I waited for a reply, I noticed that there were so many more athletes there with an Xfactor. Children ranging from 11 to 18, all different shapes and sizes, all with a different disability.

And it suddenly hit me that they were all superheroes. So I asked Swimming Australia if I could dump doing all the pool action photos and make these kids feel special. Because they are. I wanted to portray them as Heroes. Swimming Australia loved the idea and let me loose.

All images shot by Delly Carr on a Nikon D4.

The athletes felt like superheroes that day. I didn’t know that at the time but it was the day that I made a difference in their life. They all had smiles on their faces. And that put a massive smile on my face too.

For more sport stories, click here.

For more stories from Delly Carr, click here.

I had only just dropped off my bags in my luxurious 5 star Tokyo Hotel room, when I had to rush down to the Lobby Lounge to meet my contact from Tokyo2020 for high tea and my initial brief. Thankfully I brought an endless supply of business cards downstairs, as 16 people turned up for this meeting! Staff from Tokyo2020, staff from the Creative Agency, staff from the Olympic Operations contractor, 2 personal assistants (assigned to me), and two language translators.

All photos shot by Delly Carr on the Nikon D4.

When my nerves calmed down and my mind stopped spinning, I had enough composure to listen and understand when the main focus of my assignment was presented to me.

The decision to appoint a city to host the 2020 Olympics will be made in 6 months time. It’s a 2 horse race now – Instanbul or Tokyo. Tokyo2020 feel that Instanbul may have its nose in front, promoting heavily the fact that the Instabul Olympic Games would be a bridge between the East and West. Nice clean political correctness. The stuff that the IOC loves.

Tokyo2020 were also worried that 70% of the IOC members participating in that vote had never been to Japan or Tokyo!

So part of their final push was to produce a book of images to show that Tokyo is much more than Sumo, Sushi, and Geisha. So my assignment was to show that Tokyo was beyond that, that Tokyo was as they put it ‘Sexy and Cool’. Throughout the three days I had to think ‘Sexy and Cool’ each time I pressed the shutter.

They didn’t want to hire a Japanese photographer. They wanted a photographer that could see ‘Sexy and Cool’ with ‘Westerner’s Eyes’. The same eyes of an IOC member. They chose me

They will present this book to all the IOC members in their final push to get their vote. Hopefully my images have that power to make a difference!

For more travel stories, click here.

For more stories from Delly Carr, click here.

My partner and I discovered a new world of food during our Nikon/MasterChef weekend in Melbourne. I won a prize that gave me a brand new Nikon 1 J1 Camera and a trip to Melbourne to feast our senses at four amazing restaurants.

I watch TV chef shows and they often talk about how all the flavours go together. To me, the flavours of the meal I cook at home “go together” because they are in the fridge together when I open it. But I will never stock our fridge the same way again. For every meal we ate, every ingredient on our plates played their own part in a harmonious masterpiece. It was a delicious weekend.

On a Friday night, we set off to Fenix in Richmond for a candle-lit dinner. We had a view of the Yarra and were spoilt with service. We were served a chef’s selection from the menu and our wines were matched amazingly with our food. From the three entrees we were served, we kept trying to pick which was our favourite; impossible. I thought mine was the rabbit terrine. But the pork belly was so tender and the crackling so crunchy. And the lamb! I know it’s cliché to say it was “a party in your mouth” but this was no metaphor, this was for real.

All photos shot on a Nikon 1 J1.

The Boathouse was our next discovery; a relaxed restaurant looking over the Maribyong River in Moonee Ponds. We shared our meal with some friends and devoured everything on our plates. We had to stop ourselves from licking the bowl clean from “Gary’s” deconstructed Cheesecake.

Saturday night took us to MAMA BABA’s in South Yarra. I love in Melbourne how you can go down a street which seems like an empty dead end, but you find the coolest gem. MAMA BABA is fun and funky, with staff to match. We were indulged by Poppie and Dwayne whose suggestions on accompanying wines and cocktails were faultless. We ordered the Mama Menu and enjoyed the Greek and Sicilian combo of flavours and finished off with an Italian Mess that was anything but.

Our last visit was to the impressive Rockpool in the Crown Complex where we watched the world go by outside. The large mains were cooked to perfection, but it was the dessert that finished our trip off perfectly. Grilled Pistachio and Chocolate Millefeuille, I still dream of you.

We had an amazing weekend of food, accommodation (at the Westin) and service, including our chauffeurs from 1300 PICK UP, which all contributed to a great weekend away.

Thanks Nikon and MasterChef!

To see more food & travel stories, click here.

One of the six new roles is the position of Lifestyle Photographer in Victoria and I was sent out to test it for a day.

Melbourne cafe food
(Nikon D7000)

But one of the biggest conundrums I have when heading out to shoot is which lenses do I take with me?! So I set myself the challenge of purely using my AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G lens to see exactly how versatile it is.

Melbourne cafe coffee
(Nikon D7000)

From laneways to catwalks, from coffee shops to restaurants I snapped away even being brave enough to turn my dial to ‘M’ – fully manual – something I rarely do.

Melbourne cafe jam
(Nikon D7000)

Through trial and error I slowly built my confidence to capture the city through my viewfinder and ended up with a variety of photos, which I think and hope you may like. Enjoy.

Learning on the job!

Ben

For more food & travel stories, click here.

Fo more stories from Ben Southall, click here.

Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race. Captain of the San Isidro II, Angel Espana (CHI), wetsuited up after diving for Luga, Sea Urchins and King Crab in the Magellan Straight. (Nikon D700)

For more sport stories, click here. For more of Mark Watson’s stories, click here. Or, to find out more about Mark, visit www.inciteimages.com.

This photo was taken for the most prestigious adventure-sport photography competition in the world, the Red Bull Illume Project. The concept had been imagined over a few beers after a climbing mate told a tale of BASE jumpers flying past him. So we found a location, secured the guys, and headed out.

On the day, we arrived early to set up ropes, harnesses, check angles etc. As everything had to be perfect (we would only get one chance). And, I had to be hanging off the cliff to get in the right position as well. We nearly bailed on the whole project when the clouds and wind rolled through. But our patience was rewarded when less than 10 minutes before sunset the sun finally dropped below the clouds. However, the climber needed to work through the crux (hardest part of the climb) to get into frame, so it was only a few minutes before sunset when the BASE jumpers could launch…

I shot 9-frames per second on my used and abused Nikon D4 but knew it could handle the knocks while abseiling and would allow so many quick high-res frames continuously. It was damned close, but we nailed it and made it to the semi-finals of the contest. But ‘no gold’ unfortunately, so we’ll have to ‘step-it-up’ next time.

BASE Climb – the Red Bull Illume Project

To see more Sports stories, click here.

I have been photographing crazy-arse people doing stupid things in extreme locations for more than a decade now and I am fortunate to be an Ambassador for both Nikon and Lowepro these days – two big names in the photography world.

Here are a couple photos from the archives.

The North Face – The Whole Nine Yards (Nikon D3)

Red Bull Glory Glide 2009. (Nikon D3)

To see more Sports stories, click here.

To see more of Mark’s stories, click here. Or, to find out more about Mark Watson, visit www.inciteimages.com.

There was something for everyone and smiles all round – I think these photos tell the story. Enjoy!

All photos by Kirra Pendergast on Nikon D7000.

To see more music stories, click here.