Happy Snappers of Bondi

By Alex Robertson

Remember the days we used film for cameras? ….We talk about it like it was 100 years ago but in actual fact, it really wasn’t that long ago.

These days, anyone can be a photographer. Wait let me rephrase that everyone is a photographer. Everywhere you look someone is taking a selfie, a table shot of their food or asking some complete random on the street to take a photo for them (in good lighting of course). Bondi is home to thousands and thousands of photographers but there are only a tiny percentage of them I consider PHOTOGRAPHERS!

Aquabumps
You don’t need to know anything about photography to know what aquabumps is (if you live in Bondi of course). Eugene Tan started aquabumps in 1999. It’s a website, newsletter and Bondi gallery based around the ocean and all its glory. Every sunrise Uge is out and about it Bondi snapping up waves, local surfers, sunrises and anything that goes on at that time of morning before the rest of Bondi wakes up. With 45,000 email subscribers, 150,000 website readers and 107,000 Facebook followers, it’s safe to say he has created a monster…. A beautiful monster!

Frothers Gallery
If anyone was in Bondi last April they would have noticed a big red shipping container filled a rotating roster of talented photographers and artists works. In the mix of all the talent was another one of my favourite Bondi Galleries, The Frothers Gallery. The gallery is made up of 9 legendary photographers, who clearly, from the name, all froth on a bit of surf photography. But it definitely stretches further than that, these boys are talented….really talented and their website is a maze of photography heaven!

RosieBondi
When we first opened QT Bondi I spent a lot of time trawling social media looking for local talent to showcase on our Instagram. I wanted to show the rest of the world how many talented people we have in the bibble. In doing so I was also showing them how beautiful Bondi really is through their photographs. I stumbled across Rosiebondi. At first I started following her because of her name but once I had a closer look I was so impressed I got stuck looking at her photos for hours. I loved her style and the way she incorporated so many Eastern Suburbs locals into her beautiful shots. I couldn’t believe at the time she didn’t have more followers but the numbers are starting to increase and I am more and more impressed each day with her work. She is definitely an up and coming star!

Cover Photo: Aquabumps