5 Questions with Josh Hilliam.

My name is Josh Hilliam and I am a Photographer and frother based in Auckland, NZ. With a deep passion for having fun, taking photos, and sharing moments and experiences with others.

Currently, in the early build phase of my career, I'm deep in the process of growing my brand and work.

Q1. What made you first pick up a camera?

My passion for cameras first started in my later high school years when I got my hands on a GoPro Hero 3. Being a big outdoors kid I basically took that thing with me everywhere capturing things like surfing, mountain biking, and any other fun outdoor activity I wanted to capture. 3 camera body upgrades later I'm now playing with some big kid toys.

Q2. What does success look like to you?

This is actually a question I probably haven't asked myself enough hahaha. Nothing like a bit of self-reflection! For me, I think the first part of success is how much I dictate my own time. Taking my first step into freelancing was a basic but large part of success as it was a huge directional shift into working for my own dreams, rather than someone else's. That along with constant growth.

Q3. What is your desert island lens?

Hands down would have to be a 24-70mm f2.8 lens. My most used lens that has a very solid range of focal length for most situations. In saying that if you're stuck on a desert island it might be really handy to have something that allows you to see great distances for help so maybe like a 600mm lens hahaha.

Q4. Which shoot for you stands out as most memorable?

The one time I convinced Land Rover to let me take a Range Rover Evoque out onto the beach and proceeded to shoot some high-energy rarkies. Absolute champions. Need to make a lot more of this happen in my life.

Q5. Which photographer influenced you and your style the most?

I like to break this question down into 3 different people to reflect the 3 main progression periods of my experience.

Firstly, Abe Kislevitz (@abekislevitz). Only the GoPro god and why all of their launch videos look like something shot on more than an action camera. His rich but faded style helped get me hooked on what it's possible to do with a camera.

Bringing it closer to home Lola (@lola.photography) greatly inspired me for the local NZ froth, one of a few who just nails the high contrast, rich colour look,

Lastly, Aaron Brimhall. With a love for engineering and machines, this guy showed me how I can take that love and turn it into creativity through photography and is someone who for sure inspired me to take the leap to shift my career.

You can find more on Josh here @joshilliam