I’ve spent almost 20 years honing my craft. My work and my experiences have been extremely diverse, ranging from conflict photojournalist to advertising photographer for clients such as Engen, Sanlam, the Democratic Alliance and The Sun newspaper (UK). My work has been featured in numerous international publications ranging from Conde Nast Traveller to Oprah (US) and numerous cover shoots for Runn
er’s World Magazine all over the world. In 2006 I won the coveted Mondi Magazine Photographer of the Year Award (gleefully beating my friends, Marc Shoul and Pieter Hugo) and the Media24 Award for Excellence. I have shot hundreds of images (mostly portraits) for too many South African publications to list here. Motivated by my curiosity, my work has always reflected my changing interests and facilitated my learning, allowing me to move from politics in the 1990’s, through Space Science (Africa’s Giant Eye – a book documenting the building of the SALT Telescope 2000-2005, NRF), Sports, Movement and Martial Arts (a series of books for New Holland Publishers) and, more recently, the psychology of happiness and the connections between the mind and body in healing and evolving psychologically (‘Return to the River’ (working title) a documentary film, looking at a group of Western Yoga Teachers on a retreat at an Ashram in Rishikesh, India (currently being edited). After a near fatal car accident in 2000, I began to understand the world through the lens of Joseph Campbell’s idea of the ‘Hero’s Journey’ and my life and work have subsequently become a personal journey to wholeness, an idea best expressed in Robert Bly’s book ‘Iron John’. My rehabilitation having led me to study Tai Chi, then Kung Fu and more recently to study and teach Ashtanga-based Vinyasa Yoga and to practice Vipassana Meditation. Having spent so long using my creativity in the service of the mainstream media, and feeling increasingly pulled to a more independent creative life, in 2013, I began work on a personal (and pretty meandering) creative project, which I’m calling ‘A Path with Heart’, creating images that combine my personal interests, advertising quality production values, classical aesthetics and, where possible, my love of movement. The work ranges from images of dancers, horses and birds of prey, to the skulls of primates and underwater nudes. One of the images was shortlisted for the FEI Solidarity World Photo Grand Prix earlier this year. I hope to exhibit the work as a solo show in the near future. I also plan to teach a Photography course, combining mindfulness practices with technical training to help make the social media environment more aesthetically pleasing. ;-)
Testimonials:
Working with Nick is a great way to spend the afternoon. In fact 'work' isn't really the word for it - it's more like hanging out with your buddy, doing cool stuff and laughing a lot. I am a camera-shy person, and Nick, with the skill of a child psychologist, manages to coax me out of my self-consciousness every time. As for the product, quite simply, I love Nick's work. In each situation, he reads the dynamics, picks up on the nuances and allows intuition to guide him. His pictures convey a humanity and beauty that reflect not just the subject at its most genuine, but the influence of Nick himself to beckon that subject into its best light.
-Kate Ball , owner of YogaSpirit, Constantia
Nick is in the amazing place of being both a qualified photographer and a trained yoga teacher. This makes him uniquely positioned to be able to understand the body and what is required of it, the yoga postures and what they should look like and of course what makes a beautiful photograph. He also has the ability of communicating effectively to make you get the most out of your body for the best photo. On top of all this, he’s a joy to work with!
- Danya Davis NLP Coach and AcroYoga Teacher
I AM BLOWN AWAY BY YOUR WORK.
- Colin Du Plessis - Procurement Coordinator – PPECB
These are outstanding! (Your work is) . . .truly beautiful. You can be well proud. –
Sam Bainbridge, Art Director, Publications – Design Infestation
I’ve been watching your career … and must congratulate you. You have developed as an incredible artist - you always were, but being an artist is an ongoing process, isn’t it? I love birds of prey … and have done a lot of research into falconeering for my first book, Plaasmoord. So I was really thrilled with your photographs. Well done!
-Karin Brynard, Journalist and Writer
