The saltmotion Journey

Soon enough this forum will be a place of discussion on a range of events, both local and international, from writers around the globe. Readers will be able to comment and contribute and we look forward to having your opinions and thoughts published on our website.

The first article will be up soon. Until then, I thought I would take a few moments to tell you a little more about saltmotion and our journey so far.

I started learning to use a camera in the early years of high school. Soon this became my all-consuming passion and I was doing everything I could to get out of other classes so I could spend more time in the dark room (digital photography was still a dream back then). Most of my friends were either body boarders or surfers and I often found myself perched on the cliffs at Tamarama taking my first steps into the world of surf photography.

At age 15 I became heavily involved in SCUBA diving and was working weekends in a dive shop in Coogee whilst still spending as much time as possible with the camera in the surf and underwater. The dive shop gave me an opportunity to use some underwater camera housings, which is where I learnt the basics of photographing in the water… as well as a few harsh lessons on how to be gentle with equipment. I am pretty sure I still owe a friend for a flooded camera!

As soon as high school was over I moved to Lord Howe Island where I worked on the local dive boats and spent countless hours in the water as well as riding some pretty amazing waves. This was meant to be a 1 month post which turned into a two year stretch, which turned into a 6 year overseas adventure taking in most continents, countless photographs, perfect waves and amazing people.

On returning to Australia I was now 100% sure that I wanted to pursue photography full time and began assisting in commercial studios before building my own client list. It was a few years after this, in 2007, that saltmotion was born.

What started out as a way for my friends critique my work turned into a small website where anyone could view recent photos from around the beaches. The site grew – and eventually became a weekly update of photographs with a wrap-up of events and conditions. By 2008 the saltmotion website was taking up a fair chunk of my time and I was out with the camera every morning and building a steady following which is still growing strongly today.

2009, and a guy that grew up calling Bondi his home beach made the move to Manly – for a girl. With my photography career now well established, I was dedicating a lot more time to the photographs for the saltmotion website. With a little prodding from friends the decision was made to send out a daily report.

Since saltmotion began publishing daily reports the site has gone from strength to strength and the local support has been amazing, thank you.

It was not long after this time that the idea of a permanent place to display and sell the photographs started being discussed more frequently.

Lots of talk about a gallery and discussions with friends still left us feeling that there was something missing from the equation. We really wanted to create a space where people could come and appreciate art but also stay a while, relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Enter Marc Desveaux and Sep Ashakni – A chance meeting to talk about T-shirt design led to discussions about their dream of opening a café – not your standard cafe, something with a good vibe, lots of creative energy and of course first class coffee and cakes.

The team was now together and the saltmotion gallery / café was under way. Just before Christmas 2009 we found the perfect location. The process of opening a gallery and café together is no small task. Anyone who has his or her own business knows about the work involved it getting it of the ground. But we got there!

The doors are now open, so come down and visit us at saltmotion. After all it is the people that really make the place come to life.

Enjoy your day,

Joel Coleman.

p.s. there are far too many people to thank to possibly list them all here. To everyone that has been there along the way, you know who you are – Thank you.