Author(s): Simon Upton (Artist)

Australian Reference

Sydney-based photographer Simon Upton has always loved sport, both as a competitor and spectator. At 15 he received a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport,, and between 1984 and 1992 represented Australia at swimming, both nationally and internationally, most notably at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Once his swimming career was over, Simon moved to Amsterdam where he started as an assistant to fashion photographers before venturing out on his own. For 10 years, he worked as a photographer in Europe and the United States before returning to Australia in 2001. His career takes him around the world, and he is well known for his fashion, travel and celebrity photographs, which appear in many local and international magazines, as well as his numerous advertising campaigns for many well known brands and companies. While he no longer plays sport competitively, he is still an avid surfer, thinking nothing of travelling thousands of miles for the perfect wave. He wouldn't dream of jumping on a bull, but can ride a horse and, like most Australian men, likes to watch rugby, cricket and virtually every other sport.