*** Limited edition A4 prints in A3 mount, £45 *** If you are a venue in Devon & would like to host an exhibition of Salt & Sass please get in touch! *** Featured in Coast, Devon Life and Exeter Living magazines and on BBC Radio Devon ***
In the winter of 2021 I started taking photos of my friends during our cold water swims on our home beach of Budleigh Salterton, Devon, UK. Our dips in the ocean, together or alone, became something we craved. We found it made us feel better physically, mentally and on a soul level. It became our salt water therapy.
As I’ve stepped into my fourth decade, it’s taken some work, but I feel stronger, more beautiful and better equipped to deal with life’s curveballs than ever before. Stripping off and throwing myself into a mass of churning waves or slipping into silky sequinned liquid has played a big part in my holistic wellbeing. It provides a few moments of escapism and adventure in the day, is reinvigorating and revitalising.
We are in our element when we let go, immerse ourselves in nature and the water. At that moment, we are our primeval selves, connected to Mother Earth. That feeling, that connection, is powerful and it makes you feel powerful.
Through Salt & Sass (previously, Saltwater Sisters), a photographic project capturing women in the waves, I want to help women forget their inhibitions, feel awesome and feel beautiful. In turn, I hope this feeling of empowerment extends to everyday life, for example, encourages women to focus only on their unique beauty when they look in the mirror, and to feel strong feminine energy flowing through them.
Never forget, inner beauty and confidence ooze through the pores of the skin. A smile always makes a face beautiful.
Salt & Sass is a gallery of female strength and beauty played out here, on my gallery page, and via my Instagram We_Freeride.
So far the project has raised almost £300 for women’s mental health charity WISH. I suggest a voluntary donation of £20 per person at Budleigh Salterton or Exmouth beach for the shoot.
WISH supports women with long-term mental health and other complex needs that may put them in contact with the mental health or criminal justice systems.
I believe in empathy and compassion, always have. When I was working as a news reporter in Exeter, I covered a lot of Magistrates’ Court hearings. In every single case, the defendant had experienced a traumatic or abusive past.
I want to support women who have fallen upon hard times and are in need of some TLC.
Just a few pounds will make a difference, paying for a couple of cups of coffee for a social/support meet up.
You can donate here thank you.
You will receive at least 2+ high res images dropped into your email within 24 hours.
Shoots at alternative beaches can be arranged for a little extra to cover my expenses.
If you would like me to capture you in the waves, email me at fran@freeridemedia.co.uk
Fran x
