Time to Increase the Blog Posts

As noted in the previous post, things have accelerated on the book project. Since shooting Brad’s lovely bus, I have had a great run with leads from Brad, the Kombi Club Forum and from groups like the Bayside Kombi Kruisers. 

The result is that there has been a great run of new images and meeting fantastic new folks in the Kombi Kommunity and travelling all over the countryside in my own van.

Meeting the new people and receiving their positive encouragement is brilliant and well worth this project and my time.

Without a doubt, the biggest batch of enthusiasm has come from a collective call the Bayside Kombi Kruisers here in Brisbane and their response has been nothing short of overwhelming … almost literally. In the last couple of weekends I have have been privileged to be able to have two large group shoots … seven and eight vehicles to line up and photograph. Totally worth the sunburn from the second shoot 🙂

And then, with a few more contacts from the group, I finally got up close and personal with the T3 … the younger cousins of my T2. What makes these buses even more special is that they marked the transition from the air-cooled to water-cooled engines. Mid-way through the series, the motor type was changed and the two I met yesterday were both “wet motored”. Same same but different.

So, now with a few more vehicles scraped off the sensor, it’s time to update the draft of the book and start to sort out how this thing is going to get published.

Until next time, Keep Kalm and Kombi On.

{Don’t forget to check out the Facebook site or send me an email (kombiphiles [at] gmail.com) and let me know when you are available for a photoshoot in the greater Brisbane/SEQ area}

 

Progressing Through The Fields

Well, progress on the book hit a bit (well quite a lot really) of a slow patch. However, last week I had the pleasure of shooting my first non-direct (as in friend or friend of a friend) contact and his beautiful ’66 Splittie, Evie.

Through this contact, I am now in touch with more folks (thanks to both the FaceBook site and the KombiClub Forum (which is an essential resource if you own a Kombi of any variety). So once more, we are building steam behind the project.

To add to the mayhem, I have gone and become a Kombi owner (finally) myself. So now there will be a little bit of a distraction while I do some touch-up work on Pompi and then take her out on the road to meet and photograph her cousins.

Until next time, may the road be smooth and the wind fresh on your drives.

Progress is a slow wander through many fields

First lesson on the journey is that no one is ever going to be more enthused than you so you need to keep your enthusiasm up by whatever means you can. Fortunately, through friends, family and my growing connectivity to the Kombi community, I keep getting encouraged just at the right moments.

Second lesson is that just cause you know how great, wondrous, essential, needful, worthwhile and rewarding your project is … it may take some time for others to see it. You need to get out and about, spread the word, don’t be afraid of people seeing the message too often and talk to as many people as you can. Momentum will build.

Third lesson is that when you operate within a particular circle, it will seem that everyone that ever existed works within that circle as well so all you have to do is put out your shingle in that circle and they will flock to you. Well … surprise, surprise, that is not the case. Just because all the people you communicate with regularly are on the Book of Face, that doesn’t mean everyone is – you need to be active in multiple zones (virtual and real) to find your participants.

So, with that in mind, I was reminded this week that not everyone like the Book of Face and that I need to keep my activities fresh out here in the blogosphere. If you are in FB space, there is now a page for viewing: http://www.facebook.com/kombiphiles

There are now two shoots completed and three more in the pipe … still a long way to go so the hunt is very much still on for more material so please leave a message, email me or visit the FB page and follow the activities there.

… and here comes the Book

OK – time to back up the words with the actions.

For a while now, I have harboured a desire to merge my interests and goals by creating and publishing a photography book about one of the many things that interest me. So, after much thought, I have decided to embark upon creating a book entitled “Kombis of SE Queensland” {Updated} “The KombiPhiles: A Book Venture”.

The purpose of this book will be to showcase the wide variety of VW buses in the SE corner of this great state and get some background on the owners and their rides.

Watch this space as the plan unfolds Click here (or follow the link above) to visit the page about the book.

Universe-ity of Colour

I have been lucky to have friends that understand while riding our bikes I may suddenly sidetrack, stop and madly take photos. This happened on a morning commute to work when this hippily colourful bus showed up at University of Queensland.

Another one of those times when there was a “sense of Kombi” and sure enough, there she was. I suspect that this was a re-painted version of one I had seen previously but I can’t be sure

Suffice it to say, having your work day morning start with this much colour is just great.

Pizza and Kombi – Dream Combo

Occasionally there is a wondrous combination of interests – and in this case it is my favourite van and proper Italian pizza. In Brisbane, there is a member of the ever growing collection of cool food vans – the Kombi Pizza guys from Pizzantica.

Not only is this one of the coolest Bays – the dual cab ute – but it is also outfitted with a pizza oven and the team make a great pizza!

They do catering so can come to an event and provide both tasty pizza and stylish vannishness

It is a beautifully presented van too

Dropped in the Cotswolds

Every Kombi that I shoot has a story of where I saw it and this one was (again) a serendipitous accident from a slight wrong turn on holiday. As we were returning from a day trip back to our cottage on the Cotswolds section of our 2011 UK tour, I chose to pop down a different road … and this is what I found. It was hidden in the village of Lower Swell.

The Superbly slammed Splittie van with the huge muffler that must have scrapped every stone that it went across looked so out of place in the location … but it was simply gorgeous.

A lot of work has gone into this beast to make it look so ratty but it was wonderfully presented.

What makes this find so special is that it was nowhere near any show so it makes it even rarer in my book.

Classic Splittie

Most of my finds have been serendipitous accidents … and this one is no exception. On the ride home from work one evening, this glorious 66 Splittie, replete with curtains and wood slat roofrack.

If there was one thing that I am not so much a fan of, it is the wheels. The gold BBS(?) wheels just seem to be out of step with the rest of the bus. However, having said this, I certainly would not complain about them if it was mine.

West End Wanderer

The mid to late Type 2 T2 wagons are probably the most prevalent in the Brisbane region. This one was seen in West End replete with white ringed tyres and a gorgeous fresh paint job

   
     

The Actual Camper

It has been a long time since I have actually seen a campervan being used as a camper. It was very quiet and was in immaculate condition while resting at the Clarkes Beach camping grounds in Byron Bay in April 2015

[more details to come]