Penny

I love the femmes I swim with day in, day out. You can’t hear the chit-chat and laughing on this day but you can feel the level of trust between us, and see their strength and grace. For me, water is a deeply feminine force. I’m super happy to say I’m now accepting bookings for environmental portraits like this - or however you like to be, in flow. These photo sessions will be limited, firstly because time is a commodity (as a working primary carer, I get it!), and secondly because from planning to finish, incredible effort is made to create images you’ll love and want on your walls. DM me to snap up a slot - just you or maybe with your bestie/s. It’s almost International Women’s Day, which seems appropriate in posting this. If you know a gal who you think would love this opportunity, please share or tag them 🧜‍♀️🙏 #underwaterphotography #women #womensupportingwomen #pvmondaywaterday

Hi folks, it’s Penny @snappylapper continuing a mini takeover of the @womeninstreet page. Today a dive into the glorious pursuit of daily ocean swimming. I swim with the Seahorses and in good conditions we get out beyond the waves and surfers and spy dolphins, on crazy swell days we swim in the shallows (or ocean baths). Birthdays are celebrated with cake (at sea), winter solstice with bracing shots (on land). There’s a lot of laughs and nonsense which is tops because adults need more play 🤡 Post swim we sit and gibber with coffee, gazes seaward, high on endorphins. Day in, day out, there’s comfort in this shared joy and routine. A few of us are primary carers and the Seahorses are an important part of our extended family 🩵 There are so many awesome ocean swimming groups to follow (Australia has a stack), and join when travelling, each with their own quirks and traditions. I take my hat off (or cap, as it were) to those in the deep depths of a Euro winter who gather and use ice picks to cut their own swimming holes in winter. There’s power in community 💪🏼 #wis_reflection

Congratulations to PENELOPE GREEN, who was announced tonight as the winner of the inaugural National Emerging Art Prize for Photography for her work ‘Gil and the Moon’. Penelope receives a $10,000 acquisitive cash prize with the generous support of NEAP’s major sponsor, Morgans Financial Limited, as well as a solo exhibition at The Garden Gallery (presented by Michael Reid Northern Beaches), professional mentoring and a suite of other prizes. “This image captures my friend Gill, an artist and fellow swimmer, on a walk at Newcastle Ocean Baths,” says Penelope, whose prize-winning work will enter the Morgans Financial Art Collection. “The image has the historic and elegant feel of black-and-white film portraits taken at places like Bondi Beach in years past, but in this case, the subject is not in swimmers, and the sea is obscured. The viewer is invited to decipher what the subject’s mood is – to some, it may appear she’s in a moment of anguish, hands raised in a sign of struggle with the universe.” Thank you to everyone who joined us for tonight’s NEAP celebration at The Garden Gallery in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden, where the 2025 finalists exhibition is continuing until next Thursday, 6 November. Founded in 2021 with the support of Morgans Financial and curated by Amber Creswell Bell, the National Emerging Art Prize provides a highly visible national platform to identify, promote and support Australia’s most promising emerging artists. Thank you to Morgans Financial, Belle magazine, The Garden Gallery, our panel of expert judges and all of the incredibly talented entrants, finalists and winners who have made this year’s program our most expansive to date. All works from the exhibition can be explored and acquired online via the link in our bio. For enquiries, please [email protected] Congratulations, Penelope, from Morgans Financial and the entire NEAP team! @snappylapper @morgans.australia | @bellemagazineau | @botanicsydney | @amber_creswell_bell #neap2025 #neap #nationalemergingartprize #nationalemergingartprize2025 #artprize #emergingart #penelopegreen #penelopegreenart #penelopegreenartist #thegardengallery

The Rising. An ongoing project exploring the complexities of mid-womanhood and the role of the ocean and the sisterhood as life buoys. Stress, unbidden fury and weariness is doused as we absorb joy, hope, and intense gratitude for the ability to immerse daily. Amid so much overwhelm … here, the rising. February 14, 2026 #portraitphotography #portrait #womanhood #woman #rising

Had the most glorious swim this morning. Unusually late, extraordinarily great. Water so translucent and clean I reckon it made me swim faster. Ran into old friends post laps and managed fleeting hellos despite the rush to get to the office. Still marvelling almost 13 hours later at how every swim here feels better than the last. Bring on winter temperatures for peak brain freeze enjoyment 🩵 #swimmer #newcastleoceanbaths #documentaryphotography #tg7

Ray hunting with the daily crew. It appears we’re all on different wavelengths but still talking the same sea language. #underwaterphotography #underwater #swim #ocean #joy April 30, 2026

My beautiful, pesky eldest turned 16 recently and the wistfulness I feel about our swimming days together being fewer is tempered by the gazillion captures I have of swims with him and his younger brother when they were both in primary school. Precious and strange times, in and out of lockdown but always at the pool when it wasn’t locked. At times, assigned a lane and a short window to swim and shake off all the weirdness. Overexposure seems to suit those surreal times - and his pale skin 🤍 Favourite, anyone? #son #boyhood #underwaterphotography #reflection #water

It’s the little things. Life imitating art. This sight brought a smile on a very gusty Sunday. After the fact, I showed this lovely swimmer the pic and we had a laugh (about the photo, then random stuff) and a conversation I won’t forget that delivered a reminder to not sweat the (often very, very, very grating) small stuff. May 3, 2026 #mermaid #buoy #solitude #swimming #ocean

Collect 2026 ✨✨✨ Super thrilled to be in such good company @thelockupartspace annual Collect exhibition, opening May 15. Jump online and grab a ticket for the 7-9pm sesh, the earlier slot is already sold out ❤️‍🔥 My work The Binding Sea is part of an ongoing underwater project exploring the sea and sisterhood and how they interconnect 🧜‍♀️ With thanks to the stellar salty folk who somehow keep finding time to dunk and/or broadly help me, @thelockupartspace team and curator @sketchy____kid 🙏 #collect2026 #thelockupartspace #art #newcastle #australia

The Rising. An ongoing project exploring the complexities of mid-womanhood and the role of the ocean and the sisterhood as life buoys. Stress, unbidden fury and weariness is doused in the ocean as we absorb joy, hope, and intense gratitude for the ability to immerse daily. Amid so much overwhelm … here, the rising. April 24, 2026 #ocean #abstract #woman #underwater #underwaterphotography

Swimming at sparrows in the Baths today, missing the crew (too much swell to swim together in the open sea), it dawned on me that 🧜‍♀️ April is almost gone 🧜‍♀️ Mothers Day is days away 🧜‍♀️ I’ve only got one spot left for a Submerge creative shoot this month 🫶 It’s a beautiful experience and gift to give to a mermaid mum (and who knows, perhaps you might want to join her). The air temp has dipped but the water is still gorgeous. Feel free to share this with someone you know who would love to create some memories in flow. With or without robes, always with fun in mind. With love and deep thanks to these gorgeous women for swimming with me. #portraitphotography #underwaterphotography #women #mothersday #motherhood

Never turn your back to the sea. Or what the heck, maybe just run hell for leather into it. The big swell continues. April 19, 2026 #newcastleoceanbaths #documentary #ocean #surf #unexp_defiance