PROFILE

Michael Nicholson is an established commercial photographer who specialises in architectural and interiors photography.

He has a degree in architecture from the University of Sydney, and he brings the same level of vision, skill and experience to photography as an Architect brings to design, making him the photographer-of-choice for several leading architects.

After embarking on his photographic career, Michael further honed his craft alongside Max Dupain for 2 years – including a joint documentation of Sydney’s historic Walsh Bay Wharves in the late 1980s. He was one of 6 leading Australian photographers commissioned to document the completed New Parliament House in Canberra in 1987-88, and has been the exclusive photographer of Gold Medallist Peter Stutchbury for the past 15 years.

Having refined his photography practice within the constraints imposed by film, Michael brings a unique sensibility to his use of digital tools. Now, he creates striking images that stand out from the crowd in the uniform imagery of the social media era.

Michael readily admits he doesn’t follow trends; rather, he has an intuitive sense of how to create timeless images. His images do more than capture light and shadow, and the architect’s intent. Additionally, they seek and uncover relationships between spaces and forms, and place the viewer in the frame by evoking an emotional response that stimulates all five senses and a notion of “being there”.

His work has won several photographic awards and his images appear in collections including the National Gallery of Australia. Michael’s images have appeared in quality publications such as Habitus, Indesign, Architecture Australia, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper*, Domus and many online architectural sites as well as several specialist books. These include ‘Towards the Dawn’ co-authored with Trevor Howells (1989); ‘Under the Edge – the Architecture of Peter Stutchbury’ (2011); and more recently, a monograph on Frank Gehry’s only Australian project, the Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building in Sydney, which was published in 2015.

As well as working with established Architects to create photography that conveys their unique selling proposition, Michael is always keen to share his considerable knowledge and experience with emerging Architects. Please get in touch to discuss packages that support young practitioners.