All you photographers out there, a word up on one of the most prodigious emerging photographers in Australia. And if you’re nursing an inadequacy complex, seeing Nirrimi Hakanson’s folio might propel you to briefly flee your aspirations and think about getting a job at the local supermarket. Hopefully, it will inspire you. The self-taught sixteen-year-old Hakanson has been taking photos on a digital SLR since the age of thirteen, after starting out on a disposable camera. Her distinctive style is ethereal and reminiscent of photo albums filled with enchanted childhood memories.

Her subjects (both friends and professional models) are cast in romantic portraits, in sophisticated fashion shots, in scenes of teenagers posing unaffectedly in everyday realms. What stands out amongst the girlish nymphs making friendship pacts with the sunshine is a certain rawness you don’t often see in fashion-oriented photography. This is partly due to Hakanson’s preference for natural light and emotive settings and most certainly due to her visionary nature. This week, Hakanson was announced the winner of the National Youth Week’s junior photography competition.

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