Nicole Boenig - McGrade

After traveling around the world as a multi-lingual tour guide, and completing her commercial pilots’ license, Nicole Boenig-McGrade decided to study photography. She was rejected three years in a row to study photography at Perth TAFE and so not to waste any time, took it upon herself to study, research and observe.

In 2006, Nicole was involved in a tragic car accident with life altering effects, which has made her all the more determined to keep working on her photography. Life is too short to procrastinate.

Nicole lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband and two children (10 & 12 years old). She was born in 1968 in Papua New Guinea and educated in Germany. Her artistic talent was apparent from an early age and grew through her interest in visual arts. Nicole spent many years travelling, which gave her an appreciation of a variety of cultures and lifestyles. This was the beginning of her love for photography.

Photography is a private and personal journey. It's an eclectic collection of passion, vision, self sacrifice, empathy and an undying determination.

Traditional film photography, in particular black & white, is a passion, which crept up on me in 1994. Whether it’s a 35mm camera, medium format or large format – film and the traditional darkroom is a magical mystery.

I’m determined to keep this art form alive for as long as I can. Painters used to complain “Photography will be the end of painting”. If pixels should one day be the end of film, then I may return to my painting.

These are just a few of the photographers I enjoy studying : Sally Mann, Elliott Erwitt, Mary Ellen Mark, Dorothea Lange, Margaret Bourke-White, Jean-Claude Gautrand… as my book collection increasingly weighs down my bookshelves.

My work has been described as “honest and soulful portraiture”. To do this, I must remain true to myself. Life is full of raw reality and chaos... messy hair, grubby feet, challenges, romance and joy... It’s about the sharing of love, laughter and life.

– Nicole Boenig-McGrade