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MK: You’ve mentioned that you have the ‘style of a documentarian’, that feels really interesting to me, can you speak more about that? 

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GH: Over the years I have always casted people who have creative backgrounds in music or sport etc. This has given me the opportunity that allows me to tell a story through my photography and it most importantly feels most authentic and natural to me with the way I capture people.

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MK: You’ve chatted about capturing authenticity in your work and I think this comes out alot in your portraiture photography. How do you go about capturing that ‘real’ feel even when the person knows they’re there to pose for the camera? 

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GH: Thank you! I think this comes down to the way I work with talent. I usually let there be some sort of silence on the shoot or while I’m shooting. This helps them become grounded in themselves which helps give a sense of calming and let their guard down that shows through in the photos. I really try not to have them pose too much and let them stand still while giving them a couple of different pointers before going into anything too crazy.

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MK: You’re based in Melbourne but a lot of your work captures the flair and personality of New York in particular, when did you first visit and start working in the US? 

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GH: I have always been influenced by New York without even visiting – I think it was from watching movies and being obsessed with streetball and hip-hop since I was a kid. I was really drawn to it visually. I first visited in 2022.

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MK: What was it like getting ingrained with the bike life crews in New York for the Timberland campaign?

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HG: When I was in New York in 2022 I met a group of guys at the Vogue World rehearsals and I connected with them pretty much straight away because I grew up riding bikes. After that I came back to Melbourne and stayed in contact with Tyshawn, who is one of the riders I met. When I had this Timberland shoot come up I hit him up and he got his friends to be apart of the Timberland campaign which was a super special experience not only for me but the whole crew and talent.

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MK: What inspired you to start your clothing brand Charles Lebrun?

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GH: I grew up playing basketball and wearing baggy shorts every day as a kid and I was back playing after taking some years off and I couldn’t find a pair of shorts to train in so I was like “okay, I’m going to make my own.” The shorts I designed were based off the basketball shorts I grew up playing in and wore nearly everyday as a kid. When I was working on the name I decided to name it LeBrun, which is my grandma's maiden name. But they didn’t feel strong enough. I remembered going to The Louvre in Paris when I was 10 years old and Dad saying Charles LeBrun the famous French painter and designer is an ancestor in the family from the 17th-century and my great grandfather is also named Charles LeBrun.

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MK: Can you speak a little bit about Project G-101 and how that work came about?

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GH: Project G-101 came about when I was wanting another creative outlet. I was inspired by skate videos and I decided to buy my first vhs camera and the one I found was a Panasonic G-101 which is where the name for this project came from. I started making videos of my friends skating which led to me getting booked for jobs shooting VHS footage.

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MK: What have been your favorite photography mediums lately?  

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GH: Currently I am about to purchase my first medium format camera because the digital form is starting to feel like I’m a little too disattached from my work and I feel like going back to the first time of that feeling of when I fell in love with the process makes me the most excited.

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MK: What are your plans for the rest of 2024? Any exciting projects coming up? 

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GH: This year I’m planning to work more in Charles LeBrun and keep working on my projects as a director – I’m excited to shoot more film photography on my projects. I have also become the creative director for the Summer Jam streetball tournament that started in Melbourne, Australia which feels like I’m living my childhood dream.