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Nigel Arnison - photographer
I will save you the standard photographer profile written in third person telling you what a great photographer I am. I will even save you from the portrait of myself staring over some expensive camera gear looking off into the sunset. I have never been that sort of photographer. Photography is my trade. Don't get me wrong there has always been an element of magic in photography. The old days of dipping your hands in deadly chemicals daily for the thrill of seeing your image appear in front of your eyes was always the best part of the day, aside from the fantastic fried rice and satay sauce from the old China duck café outside the Morningside Arts campus.   Unfortunately the café's management has changed along with their fried rice.

I consider what I do a documentation process. The ocean is the artwork, I am merely documenting it. I don't even know why I have to document our great surf days it's just something I feel is my role, more than my job.  

I love photography, always have and always will. I never felt I had to learn how the camera worked I just seemed to always understand it. A bit like that song you have always known the words to but can never remember actually learning it. Dad gave a 35mm Minolta x-300 slr when I was 14 and that was the start of it really. I remember going to Lakeside raceway and shooting 11 rolls of film. Dad never complained about the processing cost he just knew I needed to shoot to understand how it works. Now with digital the learning curve in photography is a lot less expensive.  

I have always preferred Nikon equipment not for image quality although it's very good it's more about the feel of the camera and where you like all the camera controls. I think because it's always black and heavy. I am a big bloke and I like the feel of a heavy camera. In 35mm film I shoot with a Nikon F100, F5, F90 and the old 801.   The F5 is a bit of a collector's item but is very rewarding to shoot with. It can shoot up to 8 frames a second (not that I need that sort of speed) and can be used to hold your car on a hill if your handbrake is broken. The old 801 is the workhorse that ends up in the water housing. If it gets wet I can replace the camera for under $100. When I shoot from the water the camera is set to manual and the settings loaded in before the camera goes in the housing. Therefore all the modern camera options are not needed out there. The exposure is set on the beach along with focus. All I have to do is swim in the barrel and get the shot. The F90 is the backup 35mm body. I am now shooting with the 10.2Mp Nikon D200. One of the best digital slr's for the buck at the moment. The body is only $2000 compared with the 12.2 Mp top of the range Nikon D2x at $8000, ouch.   That is the problem if you become a photographer, you will spend all your money on photography equipment.   I have recently invested in a few new lenses for the quiver, a Nikon prime 300mm 2.8 lens and a 16mm 2.8 wide angle lens. I don't now how I did without them for so long.  

People talk about camera brands having better quality, let's face it, in the film days it comes down to the lens, the film and the exposure, that's it. This determines the sharpness and quality of the image. Now we have the digital era, quality can come down to brand name as the manufactures have variations between the technologies of their sensor. These days most of the brands have sorted out their faults. Leaving the consumer to choose a camera on its usability, brand and price.  

Choosing Canon over Nikon is like choosing Ford over Holden or Mercedes over BMW. You will choose according to the looks, the handling and whichever camera your Dad had.

Anyway I could talk all day about this stuff so you better come down to the gallery and say g'day.

All our love to our five year old staffy girl named Ayla who passed away in an accident on the Cooroy farm on Tuesday the 25 th of July 2006. We had her from 6 weeks old and she was more on Surfari than any of us.   She was a huge part of our life and she touched the hearts of everyone she met. She was much loved and will be missed forever.

Sally
If you have visited the On Surfari site at a market or festival then you will have already met Sally. Sally puts in the hard work of setting up market or festival, as well as being On Surfari's number one salesperson. She loves getting the On Surfari photos out on display, having a chat with the customers, and wielding her sexy pink feather duster. Heaven help any speck of dust that lands on one of her frames.

In between markets, Sal can be found in her home-based On Surfari workroom, where she divides her time between cutting prints, matting prints, making frames, stretching canvases, and wrapping products. Basically, almost all On Surfari products have been created and assembled by Sal.

Despite having sworn never to work in the hospitality industry again, Sal is now in charge of the coffee machine at the On Surfari Gallery. And she makes a mean macchiato.

Sally also acts as photographer's assistant when she can, juggling camera lenses, changing films and dealing with Nige's artistic temperament.