I am SUPER excited to announce the Vamos Bikes ebikes x @hotndelicious brand content partnership launch! And I’m actively on the hunt for other brand new @hotndelicious brand content partners too!
In November 2021, I reached out to Vamos Bikes ebikes co-founder Conrad Pattinson about partnering with his brand and he immediately said yes. Flash forward a few months and we’ve already shot 2 of our first 4 videos, including a Sydney Harbour shoot featuring Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge 2 weeks ago, and this epic Vamos Bikes x @hotndelicious finless surfing video with local Softlite finless surfer @notnotcamscott and Bondi Beach drone operator @robincooiman03, captured at Bondi Beach and from the cliffs at Tamarama.
For the past 1.5 years, I’ve immersed myself surf cinematography and the Bondi Beach surf community; swimming, editing and publishing a minimum 20 hours a week, and my online @hotndelicious brand presence has grown and evolved markedly. In late 2021, I made the decision to actively pursue @hotndelicious as a creative brand and scale it for the next phase of my career, as it brings so much joy to myself and others, whether Instagram followers be soaking up my sick daily surf Reels, seeing themselves surf on film for the very first time or even something as simple as checking the local surf conditions.
Not only has @hotndelicious surf cinematography become my main form of fitness, creativity, and social interaction, it’s the most wonderful tool for mental health and is now an ongoing revenue driver for the @hotndelicious business, along with my commercial product and lifestyle photography client base including KAIJU! Beer, Coaster Beer, Bondi Liquor Co and more.
I am SUPER excited to be working with Vamos Bikes and I’d LOVE to partner with other like-minded ambitious, creative and inspired local and global owners and founders of brands like Vamos Bikes, that fit my @hotndelicious vibe.
Gorgeous peach, purple skies sparkled and glistened on the water at Bronte Beach Rock Pool this morning, as I watched the sun rise over the ocean.
A solo surf photography walk from Bronte back to Bondi was just the recharge that I needed to start the day and a the cherry on top for this past 10 days with my Mum and Dad visiting Sydney from Melbourne on holidays and staying near me in Bondi Beach.
Finally I was able to see my parents for the first time in 1.5 years, who despite only living an hour’s flight away, felt like a world away at times with pandemic lockdowns, false starts and the like.
I gazed into the distance at Bronte Rock Pool on this winter’s morn, soaking up the energy of the ocean and skies, with sunrise swimmers, surfers and a few of the usual suspects from the photography tribe.
On the coastal walk back, I captured a lucky surfer in an epic barrel off Bronte Beach shot from Tamarama Beach, spotted Alex The Seal terrorizing the local salmon population off Mackenzies Point and captured this wicked umbrella-style wave behind Bondi Icebergs, that’s more reminiscent of waveforms that my home-boy Tim Bowman, Gergo AKA rugligeri or Seb AKA surfographer shoot and share with their respective photography communities.
My heart is soaring right now from the time that I’ve spent with Mum and Dad this past week. Having them as friends as an adult is an absolute privilege and we spent more days and hours together on coastal walks, hikes, exploring galleries, watching big wave surfing, shooting photography, sharing meals together and more, in this past 10 days than ever before. Just magical!
It’s fuelling me with fresh energy for the week ahead and to all of my South American, European, UK and North American friends in the hood and around the globe missing your friends and family right now, I know exactly how you are feeling and take heart. I hope that you’re able to get outside to get some fresh air today, call some friends/fam that you love and bring some fresh energy to your week.
From my little home by the sea in Bondi Beach to yours… Happy Tuesday, everyone!
It’s 1am and I’m struggling for sleep, so I put the pen to page to release thoughts that have been burning a hole in my brain.. my journey to Turkey to experience ANZAC Day’s 85th anniversary on the Gelibolu (Gallipoli) Peninsula.
On April 23rd my flight touched down in the beautiful city of Istanbul and I hit the road with one of my best mates Paul, in the station wagon that was to be our home for the next few days. After a brief encounter with a Turkish policeman (clip-on koalas are great for avoiding speeding fines 😉), we arrived in Eceabat on the Gallipoli Peninsula, parked our “hotel” on a grassy lot across the road from Vegemite Bar and immersed ourselves in the local culture… ah, I mean drank copious amounts of 500ml Efes beer cans with other Aussies/Kiwis who’d made the trek to Turkey for ANZAC Day.
The next morning with dusty heads myself, Paul, Cam and Maz headed off to the nearby ANZAC Cove and surrounding battlegrounds to learn about Australia’s first foray into war as a country in its own right. For the uninitiated, during World War 1 Allied forces were sent ashore at ANZAC Cove to capture the high-ground overlooking the Dardanelles, the strait of water connecting the Aegean and Black Seas. Securing the Gallipoli Peninsula would mean being able to protect Allied ships being sent to re-supply and support the Russians who were under heavy threat by advancing Turkish forces.
In the cold dark dawn of April 25th 1915, our Aussie diggers hit the beach below sheer cliffs which meant initially that less than a few hundred Turkish soldiers were required to hold their ground against thousands of ANZACs whilst the commander of the Ottoman forces, Mustafa Kemal, (later known as Atatürk, the founder of Turkey) mustered the Turkish 19th Division to contain the ANZAC troops.
If you’ve not had the privilege, the Gallipoli experience is one that is almost impossible to describe. After spending the day traveling around the various battle-zones, our crew headed down to ANZAC Cove at midnight along with thousands of other Australians, Turkish nationals and New Zealanders. Sitting there in the freezing cold night at the base of the cliffs at ANZAC Cove, I tried to imagine what it would have been like for the young Australian and New Zealand soldiers (many of them younger than 18) half a world away from their loved ones and home. Soaking up a mixture of emotions I recounted tales of World War 1 horror, acts of selfless bravery and thousands upon thousands of casualties on both sides. I was also struck by the tribute later made by Atatürk to those ANZACs who died in Gallipoli that is now inscribed on the Atatürk Memorial in Turakena Bay, Gallipoli:
“Heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
All these emotions and a moving pre-dawn service on the crowded foreshore left a lump in my throat and tear in my eye. It is for this reason that every ANZAC Day no matter where in the world I am, rain, hail or shine, I rise in the early hours to attend the ANZAC Day Dawn Service.
This year I’ll be heading to North Bondi RSL for the Dawn Service, however Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance has been my port of call at dawn on ANZAC Day for many years and it means a lot to me to attend it with my Dad. A few years back, I asked Dad to find my grandfather’s service medals, as I never knew my grandfather as he was tragically killed in an accident just 6 months after my parents got married in an accident 1968. My dad tells me that I am a lot like my grandfather in appearance and personality, so finding his photo albums of his military service in the Middle East and Kokoda in World War II, seeing his service records and wearing his medals brings me closer to him and makes me feel happy.
To this day whenever I stand in silence for the Ode of Remembrance and the bugle call of The Last Post evokes the memories, goosebumps, lump and chills and what I learned my trip down to the Gelibolu Peninsula on Turkey’s west coast.
It’s impossible to fathom the sacrifice of our ANZACs both past & present.. but this is what ANZAC Day means to me… This is what it means to be Australian..
“At the going down of the sun and in the morning.. We will remember them.. Lest We Forget”
Post Script: I recorded Hot & Delicious Rocks The Planet! podcast a number of years back at Bondi Beach Radio show, that I created around ANZAC Day, my trip to Turkey for the 85th anniversary of the dawn landing in Gallipoli and what April 25th means to me. Download/stream it here on the Apple Podcast App or stream it via Spotify.
Hit Hot & Delicious: Rocks The Planet! up on social media here:
Sunrise fire. Bronte Rock Pool. Nature’s picture frame 🎞🌊🔥✨ Bronte Beach, Sydney, Australia.
One of the joys I get to feel by setting my creativity free through filming and my photography, is that I go with the flow and generally make a decision in that moment of what I wish to capture and how I’d to frame my shot to set the scene. That freedom is so empowering.
With film, you also then get to choose which segment(s) from the film or what multiples of videos you’d like to use in post production to tell the story of that moment. Of late, I have found myself pulling back from using many multiples of videos in my Reels content, as it often gets too busy and sometimes little pieces of gold don’t get their moment to shine. Even semi-regular viewers will know how much I froth and post ridiculous volumes of videos in my Stories post surf cinematography sessions. You can see how excited I get! I want to share EVERYTHING, however it’s also wonderful to slow the world down to individual, little snapshots in time.
The freedom to tell a story and share your creative expression/art from your perspective is everything! And that’s what continues to make this so special and brings me so much joy!
If you made it this far… I love you! Go get creative!
xo Dan AKA @hotndelicious Captured at 6:17am Tuesday the 7th of September, 2021.
P.s. I’m self-taught and I love that composition has always come easily and felt natural to me. Composition is key. I set the frame for my Instagram video below subconsciously to capture a minimum of 5 elements that I knew would inspire me and make me happy… can you guess what they are?
Black & Gold. Sunrise Sessions & Silhouttes in Bondi Beach.
Awake before dawn as per usual, but out of action and out of the surf for a few days, I’m still so stoked that I was able to soak up sunrise at the beach with my DSLR this morning.
Loving the black & gold silhouette action and captured a few of snaps of my fellow shooters too.
Hope that you’re having rad week, peeps, and enjoying this gorgeous Sydney weather!
Ride The White Lightning AKA “The Chris Friend show”. Magic mornings in the hood yesterday!
I bumped into several of my favourite sunrise shooters on my morning photo walk including Walt Kennard, Uge (Aquabumps) and more, and in Bondi Beach surfing news, it appears as though the sand bank creating our beloved left off Ramp 2 that’s been around the past few months might have shifted, however it was such a gorgeous morning and the waves were firing both left and right at the south end of the beach.
Part II of my Monday morning was in the water filming surf vids for 2 hours with my home-girl Ema AKA Sister Slater, Derek from Beach Grit and @yourmate_. I even caught my 1st video shot from inside the barrel today!!! I’m seriously frothin’ right now! And finally Part III sunset sessions filming in the water were fire! South Bondi was PUMPING! 😊✨
“Are you hot & saucy” 😆🤣 Ha ha ha… NQR, but I’ll take it! 😂 Bangin’ Sunday Sessions in Bondi Beach yesterday arvo! 📷🌊✨
The torrential rain’s been pouring for 2.5 days solid now and despite the sh*te weather, the line-up was packed with frothers who got sick of being stuck inside this weekend in Sydney. Soak up all the glory!
Swarms of bluebottle jellyfish hit Bondi Beach for breakfast yesterday for about the billionth time this season.
100s upon 1000s of bluebottles lined up the 1km Bondi Beach shoreline as I cruised down to shoot sunset surf sessions and clear my head after a busy day.
And man, the surf was hectic! I love being able to build people up, so I don’t often shoot and post surf mayhem and crashes, however the short boarders were absolute frothin’ and killing it in the southerly mess of massive waves, so I captured some absolute bangers!
I hope that you enjoy the carnage as much as I do! 😆😂🤣
Camera Kit: Canon 6D with an EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS lens
If you were surfing out there yesterday afternoon, I captured a whole lot bunch of rad surf shots too and more than happy to sell you prints. Check out the full gallery here!
Magic little morning in Bondi Beach! With the overcast skies and low light, I decided to skip a sunrise surf videography sesh with my crew and chilled in one of my favourite spots under the pandanus trees in South Bondi, soaking up the sound of the waves rolling in and the sunrise vibe.
I cruised down to the beach, bumping into a few of the locals including Uge and Joel Pilgram from Waves of Wellness (WOW) Foundation, whom I ended up snapping some killer shots of, carving up the right hander off South Bondi, with Mackenzies Point as the backdrop.
I’m glad I skipped the surf videography session this morning, as I’ve just had multiple reports back of masses of blueys in the water (bluebottle jellyfish) this morning ⚡️⚡️⚡️ and instead of getting stung, I got all zen with my morning walk and captured some fab surf pics of Joel & co tearing it up, including some dude who had barrels for breakfast!
Such a rad start to Friday with my One Wave Bondi Tribe before we jumped in the ocean this morning.
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New year, a new gear and I’m feeling refreshed after my first holiday in about a year too! We’ve had gorgeous weather in Bondi Beach this past week or so, so I took a little extra time off to recharge this week and now I’m ready and raring to go!
