Nikon has announced the latest additions to its professional ambassador program this week. Headlining the list of new additions is the principal photographer for the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, Helen Sloan. This comes after Sloan was added to the company roster for Nikon’s Photography Show 2016 earlier this year. Also added to Nikon Ambassador roster was Richard Peters, a noted wildlife photographer.
Sloan was born in Ireland and took to photography at the young age of 11, borrowing a her father’s camera for a school trip. “I practiced a lot and eventually he bought me my own camera, a Nikon F3, and asked his friend from the local newspaper to let me come and get some work experience in the darkroom,” she told Amateur Photographer after the announcement. “Once I got started, I never wanted to do anything except photography.”
Jeremy Gilbert, group marketing manager at Nikon U.K., said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Richard Peters and Helen Sloan to our Ambassador scheme. Through the ambassadors we are able to engage with our customers, but most importantly, encourage enthusiasts to take a step up with their photography.”
As noted above, Sloan is the principal stills photographer for Game of Thrones, so chances are any of the images you have seen circulating the web came from her. When asked about how she approaches her work with the show, Sloan said, “I just read the script for each season, because I don’t want to get ‘out of the moment’ — if I know someone’s going to turn into a bad guy two seasons on, that might affect how I shoot them now, so I try not to find out.”
You can think of Nikon’s ambassador program similarly to Nike or Adidas athletes — basically these are exceptional and notable photographers that Nikon has signed to help promote its cameras and imaging products. Ambassadors frequently represent Nikon at trade shows, workshops, on social media, and of course, in advertising.
