I started working as a paparazzi in Sydney in my late teens, which shaped the way I work creatively. On the job, I became hyper observant, aware of peoples movements / surroundings and soon began to find interest and beauty in documenting the ‘infamous’ humans, as they interacted with one another and the environment we were in. On personal projects I work alone, shooting with the equipment I carry and being able to react on the spot to spontaneous moments. I slide mostly under the radar which lends to the candid aspect of my personal work. I choose to shoot mostly in film as I believe the depth and quality of the image relates well with my subject matter.

When I would visit this iconic Sydney beach I couldn’t help but notice the tourists and their bright colored designer outfits. I was lucky enough to grow up at the beach and spend a lot of time surfing and hanging around the beach, but some of these people have never been to the beach before, so I was fascinated in capturing their initial reaction when they see the ocean for the first time. Some would nonchalantly glance straight back down at their phones, unimpressed with what the beach has to offer. Others would swiftly walk across the hot sand with their shoes and socks and bright pink matching tracksuit and do selfies on the shoreline for an hour straight.

I would describe this series as a candid, tongue in cheek view of people at the beach.

After months of visiting the beach and burning through many rolls of film, I knew I had something and there was a running theme, therefore, I was very selective with who or what I would aim my lens at. I would walk the beach and loiter in the crowd of selfie sticks for hours and finish the day with only 2 pictures sometimes. Other days I would just wait at a view point and the subjects would come straight to me. Every so often if I was patient enough, the stars would align and I would spot, that split second special moment, then I would leap into action and try and capture it before they leave the beach and I never see them again. You have to be quick when your job is Reportage Photography. When I miss a picture I know that moment in time is gone forever.

I hope people appreciate my point of view and see the humor in this work.

Yes, I have made books in the past. Designed and funded on my own but this time I worked closely with designer Ziga Testen who is a master. He forwarded the idea to Dan at Perimeter and he loved it and we made it happen. It is a huge honour for Perimeter to have selected the book for publishing, they have such an amazing selection of photobooks and so many talented photographers, I feel so grateful for my book to be part of their collection. The fact that they distribute and show the book all around the world at the best book stores and book fairs will serve as incredible exposure the book wouldn’t otherwise have had.

As you can imagine, it takes a long time to execute this type of product. Once it’s done you feel like you wanna keep the ball rolling and move straight onto the next project. I have some ideas. I think I want to travel abroad for the next series. In the meantime, I will continue to work on private and commercial jobs.

Take your camera on the road and document everything and don’t let people tell you to not take pictures in a public place!