Looking through the design workshop yesterday I discovered a book I made nearly twenty years ago. It reminded me how grateful I am to one of my mentors, the bookbinder Michael O’Brien, a man of enormous talent, insight and good humour, and without a doubt the most eccentric person I’ve ever met. I met Michael in 1994, just before he moved his workshop from Auckland to the South Island. One of the books he was working on was for a European art collector, to mount his Picasso drawings. This was a revelatory experience for me. Do people like this exist? Do they pay thousands of dollars for books? To View More >>

Doing their Chicken Little impression, the media say the sky is falling. Some of our clients are worried, but personally I wonder. Here's why. First, Heather and I have been through it before (no, not the great depression! that was our parents and grandparents)... 1. The 1984 New Zealand currency crisis (that might mean nothing to you, but our country almost went broke). 2. The 1987 share market crash. 3. The 1997 Asian financial crisis. 4. The 2001 Tech meltdown. Sure, they probably weren't as bad, but we survived them all. In fact in each of those years except 1984 our sales increased. And To View More >>

Three weeks after first meeting, Hollie and Richard had chosen the ring. Nineteen months later, on 13 February 2010, they married. Binky Nixon photographed their UK wedding at St Mary the Virigin Stotfold church followed by a reception at Wrest Park, Silsoe. A traditional but personal affair. They're now expecting their first baby and have Binky lined up for a pregnancy shoot in a few months. This is their 14x10 Duo album . Enjoy... Click here to view a slideshow of Hollie and Richard's album. To view more of Binky's work check out her blog. Cheers, Nigel PS Binky tells us Hollie recommended To View More >>

Many photographers are lone wolves. Not in the hunter gatherer kind of way but in the sense that they work alone and contact with the outside "photographic" world can be limited. However we are in a creative industry and so to keep the creative juices flowing you need to go beyond your doorstep to appreciate and develop as an Artist/Photographer. The great thing about the internet is you can share information, ideas and opinions with fellow photographers easily. Joining the DWF gives you a forum where fellow professionals can be open and frank about the issues that they have been having. Sometimes To View More >>

I've talked about Photojunction and Workspace. Now may I introduce you to Queensberry Lab Direct. This downloadable program is for Aussie and Kiwi photographers to order print products (traditional prints, canvases and fine art inkjet) from us. The difference between Lab Direct and the Workspace shopping cart system is that with Lab Direct, you are placing a wholesale order and paying for it yourself, whereas in Workspace it's your client placing the order, and paying the retail price that you set. Lab Direct very simple. All you need to do is to import the images, much the same as you do with To View More >>