Damien Pleming for Nike

" Having a sporting background myself, I relish the chance to work on assignments with a sports bent. Agency 'The Locals' in Melbourne work closely with Nike Australia, and appoached me to photograph a number of jobs for them this year, involving the Socceroos and some of the Nike sponsored Australian track athletes. I had 10 minutes with each Socceroo which wasn't too bad, but when the admin at AAMI Park decided to move my setup 5 minutes prior to Lucas Neil arriving, it really got the blood pumping! "

- Damien Pleming

Damien Pleming and The Western Sydney Wanderers

" The Western Sydney Wanderers are the latest team to enter the Football Federations national Hyundai A-League competition.  I was commissioned by Nike Australia to photograph 3 of their stars; Aaron Mooy, Tarek Elrick, and Kwabena Appiah-Kubi in their playing strip.  I set up a studio at Nike head quarters in Melbourne. It is the perfect space to shoot this kind of action photography, as they have a fully netted indoor skate arena. With the netting and cushioned synthetic grass I sourced, I was able to get the players to kick through the ball in their boots with confidence, giving us authentic action shots in a controlled lighting environment. " 

- Damien Pleming