Sam Tolhurst: Capturing Australia’s Game
From early days shooting mountain bikes to shaping the visual identity of Australian hoops, cinematographer and photographer Sam Tolhurst reflects on creativity, culture, and the stories sport allows us to tell.
Interview by Overseas | Gianmarco Pacione
Photography by Sam Tolhurst
There are storytellers who document sport, and there are those who reveal the humanity running beneath it. Australian filmmaker and photographer Sam Tolhurst belongs firmly to the latter. What began as a teenage obsession with mountain biking magazines became a pathway into a world where courts, communities, and creative risk converge. Now a defining voice behind the Sydney Kings’ visual identity—and a growing influence across Australia’s basketball culture—Sam approaches the game not as a backdrop, but as a living arena for connection, vulnerability, and evolution.
In this conversation, he reflects on the roots of his craft, the power of trust, and the new creative frontiers shaping how sport is seen and remembered.
[OVERSEAS] Hello Sam, you’re one of the best at what you do. Tell us about your passion for cinematography and photography - how and when it developed and what made you document sports storytelling?
[Sam Tolhurst] This is a long story, but the pay-off is worth it. Funnily enough it all started with Mountain Biking. I was obsessed with riding bikes as a teenager, and would always hassle my mum to buy me the latest [R]evolution and Australian Mountain Bike Magazines. I was particularly drawn to the photography/art direction of [R]evolution and I remember having a bit of a lightbulb moment where I decided I wanted to take photos, just like the ones I saw on each page.
I started taking pictures of my mates riding bikes on the escarpment, and ended up putting together a spread where I’d copied a layout and article from [R]evolution and sent it to the mag’s editor. He wrote back, stoked that I was so interested in the magazine and offered me the opportunity to shoot and write something for real. I was 15 years old, and I’ve never looked back.
I’m now in my fifth season with the Sydney Kings. Turns out our team’s longest-running photographer, Tony Nolan, was the in-house photographer for [R]evolution magazine. Tony finished up at the Kings two seasons before I started - I became the successor of the guy who inspired me to start shooting in the first place! Tony and I are now great mates - we held an exhibition together last year.
[O] Your work powerfully fuses sports and raw human emotion. What drew you to this junction, and how does the intensity of sport — particularly basketball — serve as a crucial lens for exposing the more vulnerable, profound human narratives beneath the surface?
[ST] The answer is kind of pragmatic, really. I’ve always combined my passions with my hobbies (bikes, surfing, and hoops) with photography/filmmaking. It’s made for some really meaningful opportunities traveling the world, meeting people, and experiencing different cultures. My camera is responsible for so many of my favourite memories.
I’ve always been fascinated with people. I grew up in a family that is quite accepting, partially because we’ve got a few characters of our own in the mix. I feel like finding a way to connect with most people is one of my biggest strengths - it’s probably a significant reason why I’ve had so many opportunities in my relatively short career. I’d like to think I’m someone people like to be around - so long as they don’t mind a bit of a chat. I think it’s kind of natural that as your creative ability evolves, so too does what inspires you. Initially, all I wanted to do was shoot nice stills and footage of basketball games, and fill in the colour around those on-court, hero moments. But as time progressed, the characters within the game became more appealing.
Basketball is really just a vehicle for me to tell stories with. A vehicle so full with history, legacy and culture. It’s a rich environment to play in, and I hope I’m contributing meaningfully to it.
[O] Your inspiration—where does it come from? Who are the specific photographers, filmmakers, or creators in the basketball world that shape your style, approach, or creative mindset?
[ST] There’s a lot that inspires me, I don’t often feel like there’s rhyme or reason to things that catch my attention. I trust my gut, if it gives me a good feeling I’ll explore it a little bit. Experiencing different places, cultures and things has helped me develop a lot, too.
There’s been no bigger influence on my taste in recent years than my wife, Sarah. She is an art teacher, and an art nerd. I shied away from anything that wasn’t practical during my studies, so she’s helped me mature a little bit in that regard. I’m drawn to fun, so work that is light hearted and playful always catches my attention. Stefan Hunt, a fellow Aussie has been a long time favourite director of mine, and stills wise I’m really drawn to Atiba Jefferson. Atiba just has such an incredible body of work and is held in such high regard by the industry - I’d love to have an archive as deep as his one day. Nowadays with my stills I try not to draw too much inspiration from within our industry, because I like my work to stand out as much as possible, but it’s taken some time to get here. Early on, a huge influence was Bruce Ely from the Trailblazers, and so was Atiba’s studio work. I’m trying to push my work to blur the lines between athlete portraits and editorial style photography, so I’ve been looking at a lot more fashion photography recently. I’ve got to shout out Kevin Couliau too, he was the first hoops photographer I ever followed - long before I’d thought about shooting basketball photos of my own. Documentary wise I can’t get past Netflix’s Untold series, the cinematography in the Malice at the Palace episode is second to none. I also love what the Blue Ox guys do!
[O] How do you forge trust under fire — in crucial championship runs or the raw vulnerability of an athlete's recovery?
[ST] I think it comes down to two main factors, time spent with the athlete or group and knowing how to approach them in each situation. I probably came into the game a little starry eyed, and definitely crossed boundaries in the beginning. Fortunately, the senior staff of the Kings during my first season were incredibly forgiving, and when I needed to be told how to behave they’d tell me gently.
Fleur Mcintyre, former Assistant Coach of the Sydney Kings (and now Assistant GM of the Phoenix Mercury) likes to remind me of the time I caught a flight with the team and took my assigned seat in the exit row without offering it to any of the boys. I’m 5’11. Over time I’ve improved a lot, and there’s still room for improvement - but those senior staff members have become friends, and now I get to help guide those who are new.
[O] With your deep documentary roots, how is visual storytelling in professional sports transforming? And what specific new frontiers can creators like you explore to redefine those boundaries?
[ST] It’s funny, I’ve only really been at this for 5 years, and in my time I’ve seen such an increase in people shooting in all sports, not just professional. Social media is, of course, the majority of the reason for that, so naturally I’m seeing work that’s aimed at feeding algorithms and driving engagement. I try not to sacrifice art for engagement, so I’m often drawn to work that feels like it was created with similar intent- people creating work because they like it, not because they think the masses will interact with it.
I understand the importance of having an active and engaged audience, but think it’s important to strike the right balance. I’ve always felt like creating work that follows trends makes for a portfolio that won’t stand the test of time - you may as well create work that aligns with your creative journey. If you’re trying to evolve, then you’re always going to be pushing your own boundaries.
[O] You’ve documented projects requiring deep immersion in diverse communities. What specific observational and capturing techniques do you employ to distill the essence of a new culture or team environment when you first encounter it?
[ST] I think it’s actually easiest to capture the essence of a culture or team environment when you’re experiencing it for the first time. You’re hyper aware of your surroundings and interactions, so it’s easier to take note of shot opportunities, storytelling beats and a more cohesive creative picture. You become a little bit desensitized to everything when it’s part of your routine, and inevitably take things for granted. The Sydney Kings play in Australia’s only NBA sized arena, yet I have to consciously make the choice to leave my favourite spot on the baseline, to go and hunt for different angles. When you’re in a new environment, you seek out every opportunity for variety in shots and coverage without thinking about it.
[O] As a key figure of Australia’s creative basketball scene, how have you experienced and contributed to the game's cultural boom? Where will this creative energy take the sport next?
We’ve got a lot of people committed to growing the game at every level, and the work is starting to show. Basketball in Australia has had a huge revival; it was massive in the mid 90s and those who were around for that boom say it’s similar now.
[ST] I definitely think I’m influencing basketball (and sport) studio photography in Australia, but it’s not been without help. I’ve been on this journey alongside my colleagues Joel Cama, Syd Nepomuceno and Max McRae - we’ve all been responsible for lifting each other’s standards and building together. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from my friends Liam and Tom at Teel Studios - they basically taught me how to shoot with strobes. My two gaffers/lighting assistants, Rewiti Brown and Nick Gascoine have helped build out my creative style and both have taught me a lot about light theory. Lastly I’ve done all of this while working at Total Sport & Entertainment, my bosses Paul Smith and Paul Kind have given me a lot of creative freedom to develop, and trusted me to deliver and execute. My individual growth has been a huge team effort.
In the future I’d like to see us establish more of our own creative identity over here. Sports content in Australia is quite downstream from the US, so it often feels a little diluted to me, but that’s natural when our industry is so young - I was the same starting out. As we become more experienced, I think we’ll start to see more creative individuality, and I’m really looking forward to it!
[O] Looking ahead, what narratives are you compelled to explore next, and how do you anticipate your artistic expression will evolve?
[ST] As a bit of a full circle moment I’m just about to head to Western Australia to shoot a documentary for Fujifilm to launch their first ever cinema camera - the Eterna 55. It’s about my childhood hero, Sam Hill. I’m making a conscious effort to document more of Australia and Australian Culture - we’re such unique characters and our culture is pretty funny to me. I’m also working on a short film with Jordi Hunter (pro hooper in the NBL) who could, and one day will become a hugely successful writer. Whatever it is, if it seems fun & interesting to me then I’m down to shoot it. Adventure is what really appeals to me.
