Anna Pihan
Photographer Anna Pihan shoots epic, luxurious locations which will make your senses ignite and skin sizzle, dreaming of moments under the European sun.
Words: Holly Terry I Photography: Anna Pihan
Monopli, Italy by Anna Pihan. Photo: Anna Pihan
Australian born photographer, Anna Pihan’s shoots visual representations of pure, enviable pleasure and leisure. Whether it’s through capturing an inviting empty chair, a beach umbrella faded by the Mediterranean sun or a summer scene by the sea, her imagery will transport you to a distant place and ignite the senses to the uncomplicated moments which make life so beautiful.
A keen photographer since her late teens, Anna was enthralled with travel by her twenties and would journey across the globe purely for the purpose of photography.
‘Each image is like capturing a memory, it’s rich in emotion and thought, when I see a photo I’ve taken, it connects me back to that moment, to how I was feeling, the experience, what I was drawn to,’ she says.
A life-long traveller, fostering a livelihood around exploration is in Anna’s blood, ‘My parents emigrated from Europe to Australia just before I was born, and we’d always make it back there every year for a few months. Later on, we lived on a small island in Fiji and when we weren’t traveling internationally, we were moving around a lot because my father would buy land, design and build our next house and then move onto the next project.’
“When I look through the lens, I escape into a world, observing and framing the beauty around me. Beauty is an empty inviting chair, a sun faded beach umbrella, an architectural detail, a summer scene on the Mediterranean — there’s so much around us.”
“I love just getting out and walking around with my cameras, connecting with the people and exploring at my own pace.”
‘I often travel on my own, which pushes me out of my comfort zone. I think it’s important for me and my process to experience a place for myself. Being somewhere else, immersed in different cultures, languages, architecture, the chaos, the colours and the design details is where I find my inspiration.’ Pictured: Puglia by Anna Pihan. Photo: Anna Pihan
The photographers’ inspirations and creative processes vary day to day and often arise organically. Unlike many of us die-hard 9-5er’s, Anna’s schedule is refreshingly intuitive.
‘Some days, I wake up slowly and other times I’m up for sunrise – each day is different, lead intuitively. But wherever I am, some form of camera is with me at all times.'
Often travelling alone, Anna is dedicated to stepping outside of her comfort zone, deeply inspired when richly immersing herself in language, architecture, food, chaos and colour.
Known for her fine-art prints and collaborations, Anna can now add publisher and author to her impressive repertoire. During the pandemic and oceans apart, the creative paired up with Hotel Magique, who together birthed a baby to create an incredibly sensory book, The Pleasure of Leisure which has modestly graced the pages of Vogue, Architectural Digest Spain, Conde Nast Traveller and Forbes. Including either prints within the first few pages, the book boasts photos and illustrations from three picturesque locations: Samoa, Australia and Italy, it is more-or-less entirely sold out (if you can manage to locate a copy, I would suggest you run, don’t walk).
While most of us have been in hibernation, no thanks to the pandemic, it has been a big few years for Anna. Having recently exhibited in New York, Sydney and San Francisco and contributing to numerous international publications, Anna will be spending this year in Italy, South of France and the Mediterranean, so keep your eyes peeled for some extra leisurely content.
Lucky for us, following the publication of uber successful The Pleasure Of Leisure, a volume two is also on the horizon.
And extra lucky for our readers, Anna is offering 20% off all prints, valid until 13th July 11.59 AEST. Enter HUNTER20 at check out. This offer is valid on all prints (prints and framed). Shipping is complimentary worldwide, framed pieces are available to be shipped within Australia only.
