Very special thanks go to:

Werner Seitz and his brother Peter of Seitz Phototechnik AG (www.roundshot.ch) for giving me tremendous support and momentum in panoramic photography.

Paul Sherriff, not only for designing the website and trusting me to do emergency repairs of his clients' websites out of an airport lounge in Kuala Lumpur, but also for being a great friend

Ralph Steigrad, my 'uncle' in Vaucluse, f0r giving me IT support, hosting my website and for helping me get 'Real Sydney' off the ground (www.symsol.com.au)

Neta Steigrad, my 'aunt' and text editor in Vaucluse, for helping me find my voice in writing and letting me bend the rules every once in a while

My friends Scott Pollard and Jacob Highams for challenging me on the story and writing - you have both been a wonderful source of inspiration

Peter Travis, ceramic and textile artist, designer and colour expert, for introducing me to the world of style, for being a mentor and a tough devil's advocate and for the challenge of condensing his impressive 20-page resumé to a paltry paragraph

Many thanks go also to:

A Zurich work colleague, who wants to stay anonymous, for his great trust and foresight in ordering the first batch of 100 books in December 2001 before actually knowing its content

Assefa Tarekegne for his hospitality, encouragement and letting me light up his living room with the study lamp

Kay Cottee for taking her time for an unusual photo shoot

John Dynon, painter and artist in Silverton, for sharing with me the mystique of art in the outback as well as for the beer we had on the verandah

David Lian and Peter Townsend of the Sydney Aerobatics School for taking me on aerobatic flights with the Robin and the Red Baron - what a thrill it was!

My neighbour Jim Alexander for having a final read through the story and giving me some editing feedback

Dilhan Surin for helping me design this book and introducing me to the magic of odd numbers and white space. However, grey is this year's black!

The team at Vision Graphics in Redfern (www.visiongraphics.com.au) for their professional service and for getting used to 'continuous sleeves' and 18cm long transparencies

Leo Meier, photographer in Kempsey, for giving me invaluable advice on how to master scanning, colour conversions, publishing and printing

Glen Askew at Hi-Rez for his great scanning support and expertise in getting the best out of each and every transparency

The following venues and organisations for giving me permission to shoot and publish and for being part of my project (in alphabetical order): Bayswater Gym, Bills 2 in Surry Hills, Burgerman in Darlinghurst, Charlie Chan's Gaming in the CBD, East Sail of Rushcutters Bay, Gibara in Darlinghurst, Firstdraft Gallery in Surry Hills, George's Hairdressers in Bondi Junction, Harbour Party 2002, Home Nightclub in Darling Harbour, the Horizon building in Darlinghurst, House of Soy in North Bondi, Kim Sun Young Hair Design in the CBD, Kippo Hair Studio in the CBD, the London Hotel in Balmain, the Manly Art Gallery, Moore Park Golf Club, MG Garage in Surry Hills, Prince Alfred Olympic Pool in Surry Hills, Rapt In Hair in Marrickville, 'Rough edges' in Darlinghurst, Royal Botanic Gardens, Royal Flying Doctors at Bankstown Airport, the one-man crew of Seair, South Head Synagogue in Rose Bay, Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Swans, Silverton Hotel & Pub in Silverton, Thai Paper Box in Darlinghurst, Yalumba Winery in Barossa Valley, and finally Yulla in Bondi Beach

My models for making my panoramic images so much more attractive (in order of appearance in the book): Francesco Andreucci at Royal Botanic Gardens, Oona Tara and O'Shea Williams of Bondi, Brett Humble on the beach in Bondi, Michael in Redfern, Barrie Robertson at Burgerman, Don, John, Lorraine and Reinhard at 'Rough Edges', Guy Fitzpatrick, James Owen and TR Keller (speed), Richard (captain) Pearce along with Pauline and Richard Caulfield on the 'Bounty', Personal Trainers Matt Litte, Paul Sherriff and John Sinatore, Tracy Lavender (Queen of Urbanity), meat pie lovers Antonio Lionne, Dilhan Surin and Francisco Trujillo, the girls at Home nightclub, the Harbour Party crowd, for 'ethnicity' Danny in Marrrickville and Catalina Lechner in Darlinghurst, David Livingstone on the Tamarama beach walk, Scott Cantrill and David Nesbitt (the surfers of Byron Bay), and everyone else who so enthusiastically volunteered to be part of 'Real Sydney'

To my travel companions and 'assistants' Thomas Streule, Sabine von Manteuffel, Thomas Beck, and to Xavi Moreno who also acted as my models during our travels

To John McRae and to Xavi Moreno who took my personal pictures

All my Sydney friends in Darlinghurst and beyond, who have been sharing their views and opinions with me and who have made my stay so enjoyable

Swissart for promoting my site in their directory of Swiss artists (www.swissart.net)

My overseas network of family and friends for giving me feedback as well as promoting the website

And last but not least George Riedel for calling me during my military duty and bringing me 'down under'