Mae Lee Lane or Chop Alley. This small laneway in downtown Hong Kong is well known for its hand carved name chops or seals as commonly referred to. I had the priveledge of getting my very own ‘waxlyric’ chop, handmade by a polite man who also allowed me to snap a few frames whilst he tediously worked away.

Pioneer surfer, Michael Peterson stencil I photographed late last year at Burleigh Heads on the same wall that MP stood against for Hugh McLeod’s portrait over 30 years earlier. Well known for his deep single fin barrel riding at Kirra and Burleigh in the 70′s, MP’s flow, style and graciousness was something ahead of its time, this can still be witnessed in Alby Falzon’s ‘Morning Of The Earth’ classic 16mm film. Little did anyone know including those close to him, MP was suffering and battling from schizophrenia, the disease which would later contribute to the end of his surfing career and jail time at Brisbane’s Boggo Road.

If you are interested further in Michael Peterson you can pick up Sean Doherty’s book ‘MP: The Life Of Michael Peterson’ or check out the award winning documentary ‘Searching for Michael Peterson’ by Jolyon Hoff.

Original B+W Photo Hugh McLeod – Polaroid Matt O’Sullivan, click to enlarge.

An early morning walk up to Montmartre for sunrise over Paris, beautiful to watch a town come to life from above on an early wintery morning. After braving the chill we retreated to the warmer comforts of the Coquelicot, a small boulangerie with plenty of charm and a great Parisian breakfast. After 3 days of travel we have almost reached our destination… next stop Switzerland.

Kicked off the Australia Day festivities with a fun morning surf. On the way home Didier spotted this little guy out the window of the car swinging around in the hot midday sun. With no rejections what so ever he happily posed for my lens.

The lighthouse, whose practical function is to guide sailors, is also an emblem of hope, a symbol of man’s ability to challenge the darkness.

Here we are a new year and along with it a newly designed site. As we head into 2010, I take along with it a new set of goals & ambitions both for my personal and professional work.

That was the main idea behind creating an updated web presence, I wanted to be able to keep a more up to date documentation of my photography and where I’m headed.

As I write this, here in Australia we are in the middle of a hot & humid summer. I have been passing my weekends wandering & surfing the coasts, searching for perfect uncrowded waves which I can tell you is hard to come by these days, the uncrowded part anyway. With me on my adventures of course I always pack my cameras, usually I’ll carry both digital and film varieties, depending on what look I’m after with my imagery.

Next month I will be heading back to Switzerland, as well I will have a day or two in Paris, hopefully enough time to wonder up to Montmartre for a nice hot coffee and croissant! I will of course be taking with me my camera gear and trusty Macbook Pro so I’ll be posting frequently my writings and photos.

If you haven’t already be sure to visit the subscription page and leave your email to become apart of the mailing list, that way you can be kept up to date.

I thank you for your continual support & interest, I hope you enjoy the new site, see you soon. Matt.