My father. He was a photographer and taught me how to process film in our makeshift darkroom. No ventilation in a small garage in the burbs. Id spend all day in the in the middle of summer sweating and marveling over the magic in the trays with quick breaks in the above ground pool! The first time I shot, processed and printed my own photo was the beginning of what will definitely be a lifelong passion.

I’m less concerned about the garments and more concerned about directing and creating a particular mood or style from the model. If the model looks wrong, the garments look crap. I tend to shoot stories, not single images. I prefer a series of images that tell a story. Commercial or editorial shoots also have a product to sell so it’s important to be aware of this and make it gel with my vision.
    I appreciate great garments but I’m not overly into fashion. I like to keep a healthy distance from the industry and I approach a fashion/portrait or advertising shoot in exactly the same way. It’s just that one is selling garments, the other a person, and the other a lifestyle.

I have quite a loose shooting style that is quick but considered. I don’t just blaze away as a lot of people do and hope for a happy accident. That just won’t wash with an educated client or art director. So whilst my style of shooting remains loose and relaxed, I always have a vision of what it should look like prior to shooting.
    Usually the photo director or fashion director will be my main point of contact in an editorial shoot such as Nylon or Rolling Stone. Both are in New York and the timing can be difficult so email and FTP becomes an amazing technological advantage. Usually they know my style and request a story of similar nature with their cues, mood boards and style taken into consideration. Each magazine has its own aesthetic that you have to consider and merge with your own. I shot PINK for Rolling Stone USA recently and there was a huge amount of trust placed in me, which was a great feeling. I had a lot of shots to get in a very small amount of time, and it really is more a case of being a ‘convincer’ rather than photographer in those situations. You have to respect the artist and use some charisma to put them at ease and extract as many scenarios as possible. I think this is a major factor for a client when considering a photographer.
    It was nerve racking sending the images to the Photo director, who deals with some of the worlds most respected photographers. But when you get an email from the photo director saying she “loves the shoot” it’s a great feeling.
    NYLON has some great ladies working for them. They have a fun and young but very cool aesthetic so it’s nice to shoot for a magazine that knows what they want!

At the end of the day the success or failure of a particular shoot always lies with the photographer. You have to have the confidence, technical knowledge and ability to make everyone happy and at the same time crate images you love. If you don’t love them its not a success. On another level, having great models, subjects, hair and make up, stylist and client really affects the way the shoot ends up. For that matter, so does the light and weather – especially in Melbourne!

Photographically I’m inspired by the first wave of color photographers in the USA in the 70’s. Guys like Stephen Shore, William Eggleston, Joel sternfeld and more recently guys like Alasdair Mclellan, Hedi Slimane, Alec Soth and Todd Hido amongst others.
    Non-photographic heroes are usually Aussies that made it like Bill Henson, Ricky Swallow, even INXS, and generally my mates around me here in Melbourne. Whether they’re musicians, surfers, photographers or painters.

You can always do things different ‘next time’, but the industry is very fickle so if you don’t nail it the first time, you rarely get a chance for a next time! Thank god I haven’t flaked one! Sometimes I finish shoots and I’m really excited because the results have surpassed what I expected! That’s a good day in photography.

Secret wish job would have to be Johnny Depp, Ewan Macgregor, Doutzen Kroes or Agness Dean for ID, Another magazine or Interview Magazine. Maybe all at once.
    However If I wasn’t a photographer I'd probably be very interested in racing cars or motorcycles or being a free surfer. Paid to travel the world surfing without the stress of competition.

I recently had a show of abstract installations that a friend of mine and I built and photographed in studio and on location. Installation art, and in particular Land Art are directions I really want to pursue. It combines my love of the land and the ocean and allows me to get my hands dirty.
    I’m also working on shooting a short film script I have been writing. I love the possibilities of film. Movement, music and dialogue allow me to tell a story in more depth than a photograph. I often use films as references for my shoots.

“Earth Verses” keep an eye out for them. Beautiful limited editions of Australian made t-shirts with amazing cottons and photographic prints of installation art. Created by me.

Anywhere in the suburbs or along the coaSt Great Natural light and quintessentially Australian.

Any client with style, taste and budget. And of course those who pay on time!

There’s always numerous albums, but as a staple, The Rolling Stones ‘emotional rescue’ or any stones pre 80s.
    More recent album that’s getting flogged is Blitzen Trapper, Furr. Or The Delta Spirit.

Coffee, well dressed women, vintage motorcycles, obscure cameras and surfing. In no particular order.

 

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