Located on the main drag in sunny Southampton, a small inlet in the picturesque and plush Hamptons area of New York, 75 Main is an elegant designer-friendly restaurant packing a small but delightfully robust menu. [Photos by Alison Zavos]

On a strip of high-end retail outlets, this place, serving predominantly Italian and New American cuisine, is a beacon of fine taste: from the muted colour palelle of the interior (yes, brown is in. Again) to the simple, yet creative, subtle but satisfying food. New owner Zeynel “Zach” Erdem (who started there as a bartender some eight years ago) has transformed 75 Main from a comfortable but decidedly unhip meeting place to a hangout for the young entrepreneurial set. Hence the emergence of a niche music nights several times a week, which fills the room with sweet sounds amidst the clinking of cutlery on bone china.

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Curated by Feature Shoot’s Alison Zavos, Sea Change is a group photography exhibition — part of the Wassaic Summer Festival — which examines our complicated relationship with animals and the environment in wake of the greatest environmental disaster in American history, the BP oil spill. [Photo by Mark Mahaney]

Featuring the work of 25 emerging and established photographers, most of whom are based in New York, the exhibition (August 13-22) will be displayed on the beautifully decaying walls of seven rooms in the old Greek Revival Hotel section of Maxon Mills.

Participating photographers are Alexander Diaz, Annick Rosenfield, S. Billie Mandle, Charlie Engman, Elizabeth Weinberg, Eric White, Eva Fazzari, Geordie Wood, Jacqueline Di Milia, Kate Kunath, Katharyn Addcox, Katie Shapiro, Lexi Adams, Margaret Inga Wiatrowski, Mark Mahaney, Marten Elder, Nadya Wasylko, Niv Rozenberg, Rachel Barrett, Rob Hann, Robert Warren, Stanislav Ginzburg, Steven Brahms and Timothy Briner.

Sea Change runs between August 13-22. Art Reception in Maxon Mills, August 14; 5pm-7pm. Wassaic Project is at 19 Furnace Bank Road, Wassaic, New York.

New York area photographers are invited to submit work for inclusion in Sea Change, a group show curated by Feature Shoot’s Alison Zavos as part of The Wassaic Project Summer Festival, to be held in Upstate New York between August 13-15. Through portraits, landscapes and still life imagery, Sea Change aims to examine our relationship with nature, animals and our surroundings in light of the greatest environmental disaster ever in the US — the BP Oil spill. Check out the details for submissions here. [Photo by Jacqueline Di Milia]

There’s an interesting interview up on the Lomography website with Feature Shoot founder, and photographer in her own right, Alison Zavos — a contributor to Lost At E Minor — discussing, among other things, her experience shooting with a Diana F+ camera.

Whilst staying at the Kimber Modern in Austin, Texas, recently, I came across these awesome hammocks made from car selt belts designed by Ting London, which they had hanging in the communual space at the hotel. I checked in with Kimber, the owner of the Kimber Modern, and asked her how important the small design touches are at the hotel and how she keeps abreast of what’s out there that might work well? ‘The small design touches are crucial. It’s what sets us apart from so many other small hotels. Every item, no matter how minor is thoroughly researched to make sure it works for the hotel. I feel that it’s the every day items, like cork screws, salt shakers, pot holders etc. should be little works of art. So much thought goes into those small details or design touches. I search on line for unique exceptional items. I also get a bunch of catalogues and design/architecture magazines’. [Photo by Alison Zavos]

What was it about the belt hammocks that first caught your eye at ICFF?
‘The fact that they were made out of recycled seat belts and the amazing design and quality of the hardware. They were designed by an architect which I thought was super cool’.

Anything special you’re looking to add to the Kimber Modern decor in coming months?
‘We’ve added the water feature and triangular shaped sail cloths over the main deck area. they create so much shade and decrease the temperature by 20 degrees.They are about 25 feet up so you don’t really notice them. Other than the water feature and sail cloths, we keep trying to improve upon the small detail items and breakfast foods and of course we want to add more art to the rooms’.

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These stylish works by New York-based artist, M11X — aka Mikal Hameed — blend his musical history with his creative nature as he ‘calls on us to forget our indivualized nature and relationship with our headphones and demands that we start to share our music as it was meant to be: unplugged and free’. [photos by Alison Zavos]

I visited Toronto for the first time a couple of weekends back to check out the Luminato Festival and explore the city itself, which is being promoted as a more socially progressive and cultural alternative to other Canadian hotspots such as Montreal and Vancouver. And for good reason. Toronto is a fascinating place on many levels: from the architecture in the city center, which seamlessly combines the ornate majesty of pre-1940 buildings with the glistening facades of more contemporary designs; to the long, straight roads which defines movement though the city and contains an assortment of hidden gems; to the overall cleanliness of the streets and the overwhelming sense that a bustling creative community is doing all it can to foster the careers of others around them. It was an eye-opening experience. I left the city with a feeling that Toronto is very much on the rise, casting aside its wintry persona and thriving on the back of what is clearly a dynamic and exciting creative scene. Photos by Alison Zavos

The premise behind the Lomographic Amigos program is simple: The Lomographic Society International equips selected photographers, musicians and other creative types with a Diana F+ camera and some film and asks them to shoot the film for them, which is then displayed on their website. Former Lomo Amigos have included Radiohead, Modest Mouse, and David Arquette. These beautiful Lomo shots above and below were taken by Feature Shoot founder and editor, Alison Zavos, whose own photography has been featured in the American Photography annual.