Peter ‘Joli’ Wilson is a pillar of Surf Media, known to most people by only one name: Joli.

 

At 12, his eccentric Godfather gave him a Kodak Instamatic camera for his Confirmation; his grandfather was a polished photographer and cinematographer in the 1920s and 1930s, helped process his first roll of film containing an image of his first surfboard, a 9’2” Gordon Woods. The original 1964 receipt, signed by surfing legend Vic Tantau, and the B&W print showing him holding the surfboard still exist. So began a passion combining photography and surfing.

 

Joli’s first published surfing image is Narrabeen’s Col Smith from the 1972 Bells Beach Easter Surfing Contest in the now-defunct Breakout Surfing Magazine.

 

Joli’s first ‘real’ photographic job was with the Australian Defence Department in the mid-1970s as an Assistant Photographer to a German Photographer. It involved stringent ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organization) screenings due to the classified research projects regarding the development of guns, tanks, and bomb disposal devices. As an assistant, Joli set up cameras and lights but, for 2 years, didn’t shoot a single frame while learning studio work, lighting, B&W processing, and printing. His German Mentor assured him that to be a photographer, it must be for ‘love,’ not ‘money.’

 

Joli pursued his photography career working as a fix-it guy for the burgeoning Backdoor Surf Magazine in Torquay with Rip Curl Founders Doug Warbrick & Brian Singer, Journalist Michael Gordon, Film-makers Dick Hoole, and Jack McCoy.

 

Next job as Head of the Photography Department at Deakin University Victoria allowed me to photograph Prime Ministers, the Dalai Lama, and Rock' n' Roll royalty, including INXS and Midnight Oil. At the same time, I also studied for a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Photography.

 

In the early ‘80s, Joli brought photographic skills to product shoots, advertising, and sponsored trips when surf-wear giant Quiksilver headhunted him as their Australasian Marketing Promotions Manager.

 

In 1989, Joli Productions was created with wife Jan, the spelling a French twist on his mother’s maiden name, Jolly. As a freelance photographer, they hit the road following the ASP Professional Surfing Tour, filing stories and images from remote corners of the Globe way before digital cameras, email, and websites. The ‘Joli’ travels created one of the most comprehensive photo libraries supplying editorial and advertising markets throughout the Surfing Industry. Joli became one of the most prolific surf photographers with a staggering archival collection.