Nikon ran four of my photographs in its I AM campaign, full page, with my name printed on every one of them. Each ad set one Sydney photograph against a single line: I AM HOME, I AM UNSTOPPABLE, I AM READY and I AM IN PARADISE.
I was very proud for my work to be used to sell the very cameras I shoot on. There's something pleasingly circular about it: the pictures came out of those cameras, then went back into the world to sell them.
I AM HOME: Drift, Sydney Harbour
Nikon chose the most familiar view in the city for HOME: the Opera House and the bridge under a burning sky, above water gone glassy and still.
I AM UNSTOPPABLE: Mother Nature, Bronte Baths
UNSTOPPABLE went to a big day at Bronte. A set breaks over the rocks below the cliff whilst a line of people watches from the fence.
I AM READY: Standing Firm, Tamarama
READY is the quietest of the four: one figure on the rock shelf at Tamarama against a red sky.
I AM IN PARADISE: Solstice, Bondi Beach
PARADISE is Bondi on the shortest day of the year. A surfer walks the waterline under a pink and violet sky.
Drift, Mother Nature and Solstice are all available as prints. The commissions page has the rest of the commissioned work, including Vivid Sydney and a Citroën DS under the Harbour Bridge.
Richard Hirst has photographed Sydney's harbour, beaches and ocean pools for more than thirty five years. He is represented by YellowKorner. More about Richard.