Finding natural beauty in Sydney is easy but photographing it in a new way is not so As I always enjoy conceiving a new visual language for a given project, I took up the challenge for these pictures in the Sydney Ocean Baths series. Sydney's coastal location demanded I document Sydney's love affair with water & my priority was to take an approach to photograph without cliche or pastiche. Whilst not the world's first, Sydney's ocean swimming baths do have a long history and are probably one of the best examples of a harmonious interface of nature & man. They embody our love affair of sunshine, sea & fresh air. Many of the baths were built in the early part of last century & Wylies baths was the first to allow mixed gender bathing. Because of the historic & nostalgic quality I decided to use film to give a paired back desaturated colour & portray the ocean pools in an evocative & emotional manner. The result is a harmonious homage to these beautiful pools.
