Oh man, it’s tiny. Like someone pulled the plug out of the wave machine this week. It looks more like a lake than an ocean down there.
It’s pretty much flat out there, with howling offshore westerlies sweeping across the beach. A beautiful day nonetheless. The skies are crisp and clean, the water sparkling, and there’s a definite chill in the air. It’s only 19 degrees, but it feels much cooler. This weekend we’ll dip into single digits for the first time […]
Eugene Tan (::Uge) started taking photos when he was nine. He’s a self taught tinkerer, a constant experimenter and a relentless documenter who likes to shoot unassisted, mainly at sunrise. If conditions permit you’ll find :: Uge swimming with his camera or dangling out of helicopters, …constantly hunting for new angles on his favourite subjects.
Photography is a way for him to explore his first love, the beach. And since he lives at the beach, that means documenting his home, Bondi. He’s a beach bum. Most of the time he’s either on the beach shooting, digging holes in the sand with his kids or in the line up. And because :: Uge and his family live smack bang in the middle of Bondi, a stone’s throw from his Aquabumps Gallery, you’ll rarely find him further than 300 metres from the shoreline. Close enough to catch those magic Bondi moments when they happen, with his camera, his board or both.
Aquabumps started in 1999 back when the internet was brand new and social media didn’t even have a name. It began as a hobby … a photo a day from the beach emailed to mates. It grew organically. Twenty years later Aquabumps’ photographs are now seen by hundreds of thousands of people, daily.
The best of :: Uge’s work hangs in the Aquabumps Gallery 64 Hall Street Bondi Beach NSW 2026 Telephone 02 9130 7788 Australia. Yes, they can be shipped globally.
Made for mornings. Worn for living.
To celebrate the opening of Akubra’s new Bondi store at 39 Hall Street, we created a portrait series of 11 Bondi morning regulars—swimmers, surfers, runners and beach wanderers who help shape the rhythm of the place.
For nearly three decades I’ve photographed mornings, while Akubra has been making hats for more than 150 years. Different crafts, shared dedication.
Photographed at sunrise near where they spend their mornings, the portraits are now exhibited on the walls of the new Akubra store at 39 Hall Street, Bondi Beach.
Pop in, have a look, and meet some of Bondi’s morning people.
Made for mornings. Worn for living.
:: uge
Special thanks to the morning crew! @soph_sheehan @stormzyinitlad @bigzgotgram @azzu_pur @deanogladstone @bondilifeguards @murray.bondi @beebeedebee @trentknox @the_440 @purl_harbour @akubraofficial
Oh man, it’s tiny. Like someone pulled the plug out of the wave machine this week. It looks more like a lake than an ocean down there.
But Sydney is a wild place. In less than 24 hours, a solid south swell is expected to march into Bondi, exploding onto the banks, closing out sections, and completely transforming the beach. The extremes are remarkable at the moment, from dead flat to seriously chunky in a single day. (8-10ft)
The weekend is shaping up nicely. Plenty of sunshine, a few patchy clouds drifting through, and perhaps the odd light drizzle, but nothing major. A good excuse to get outside.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our 2026 Bondi SurfAid Cup fundraising efforts. Fifty-six people donated more than $100 and went into the draw to win an Aquabumps artwork. We conducted the draw live on video and are delighted to announce that Camille Usher is the winner.
Camille, you’ve won a 125 cm x 91 cm artwork of your choice from the Aquabumps Gallery in Bondi. Congratulations.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone who contributed. Collectively, all teams raised an incredible $70,000 for SurfAid. That’s a serious result and will make a genuine difference to communities in remote Indonesia.
Enjoy the calm.
:: uge
It’s pretty much flat out there, with howling offshore westerlies sweeping across the beach. A beautiful day nonetheless. The skies are crisp and clean, the water sparkling, and there’s a definite chill in the air.
It’s only 19 degrees, but it feels much cooler. This weekend we’ll dip into single digits for the first time this year. Winter isn’t mucking around.
The swell may show a little life tomorrow before erupting into a very solid south swell on Friday afternoon. It’s a dead south, 180-degree swell, which means Bondi will wear the full brunt of it. Expect the biggest surf in the neighbourhood.
One of the great benefits of these strong westerlies is the water clarity. They push all the murk offshore, leaving behind those beautiful blue-green colours that make you want to dive straight in.
Enjoy the sunshine. Go for a swim.
:: uge
Like it always does, winter has arrived in a hurry. One swift flick of the switch — boom — June 1 lands and suddenly it’s down jackets, cold toes and that brisk dash across the sand back to the car park.
The ocean looks spent. Flat batteries. Tiny 1–2 foot waves this morning, and somehow they seem even smaller as I write this riveting report. The next few days are shaping up to be equally underwhelming before things swing wildly the other way. Friday and Saturday are forecast to be really, really big — in the 8–10 foot range. A little too much of a good thing for most.
Yep, this weekend is the King’s Birthday long weekend. Our Bondi gallery will be closed on Monday while His Majesty enjoys another year around the sun. Perhaps the mountains will deliver some fresh snow for the occasion and get the ski runs firing.
As for the weather: sunshine tomorrow, a possible shower on Thursday, and partly cloudy skies on Friday.
:: uge
Today marks the first day of winter, and there are definitely pros and cons to the seasonal shift.
The pros? Winter generally delivers better waves. You can surf most days, the crowds thin out considerably, and not many people are keen to brave those icy westerlies before sunrise. The light is incredible too – clean, crisp and warm- haze-free. Under the surface, conditions become even better for my swimming photography, with water clarity often reaching its best all year.
The cons? The sun takes forever to rise. I spend a lot of winter mornings perched on a cliff somewhere, waiting for daylight to arrive. I’d obviously much rather be sitting around in boardies than rugged up in a down puffer and beanie while taking photos. Who wouldn’t?
Bondi also slips into a kind of hibernation. Hall Street becomes a ghost town and local businesses feel it. It’s heartbreaking to see quality retailers like Orlebar Brown, Lucy Folk and Artists Only close their Bondi doors over the past few weeks. These places make Bondi interesting. We don’t need more 24-hour convenience stores selling darts, vapes and soft drinks.
So, support your local businesses (we’re one of them). And support the restaurants too. We’ve got close to 100 eateries in the neighbourhood — we’re absolutely spoilt for choice. Get out there and keep them ticking over during the quieter months.
Anyway, I digress…
The fun east swell from the weekend has evaporated. Tama and a few other spots have switched off, but it’s offshore this morning with waist-to-chest-high waves and very few people around.
On Friday, we finished 5th in a highly competitive field at the SurfAid Bondi Cup — our tenth Cup. More importantly, all teams combined raised over $70,000 for our beloved charity. That’s the real victory.
A huge thank you to everyone who donated. I’ll draw the winner of the artwork prize (for donations over a hundy) within the next 24 hours.
Have a great day. Enjoy the sunshine and beautiful winter light.
We’ve certainly not seen much of it lately.
:: uge
The plague of sub-par conditions continues at Bondi… rainy onshores, shoulder-high wobblers and generally very little to get excited about. With this east swell around, I’d much rather be at Manly or Maroubra where it’s a little more protected.
Feels like I’ve had damp shoes for about three weeks straight now.
No fresh photos today (rare) — just revisiting sunnier, happier times from the archives.
Tomorrow is the @surfaid SurfAid Cup at Bondi and the Aquabumps crew is gearing up. Together we’ve raised over $8k for our beloved villagers in Indonesia and we’re super grateful for every contribution.
Today is the LAST DAY to donate over $100 and go into the draw to win a $1500 Aquabumps artwork of your choice. And between us… the odds are very much in your favour.
COMMENT DONATE and I’ll DM you the link. Last day legends.
:: uge
Been a little quiet on here lately… mostly because Sydney’s weather has been serving up endless drizzle, gloom, fog, mug and generally zero photographic inspiration. ☁️🌧️
BUT… the sun finally showed up today.
And better still — there were waves.
Head high and a bit, clean as a whistle, and for once it wasn’t raining while I was down there. Managed to sneak in a few snaps before dashing home.
Elsewhere in surf-world, Dirk Ziff’s WSL is apparently pulling 80 million global viewers and sniffing around for investment. So if you’re after a tax write-off for all those surfboards… maybe just buy the WSL?
More importantly — the Bondi @surfaid Cup is THIS FRIDAY and our family Aquabumps team (with Patty!) is gearing up for the big one.
We’ve raised $6,200 of our $20,000 target already — huge thanks to everyone who’s chipped in. Legends.
If you donate over a hungie ($100), you’ll go into the draw to win one of my $1,500 artworks — a big 125 x 91cm print of your choice from the gallery. At the moment, there’s only a handful of people in that draw… so your odds are looking pretty good!
Want in?
Comment DONATE below and I’ll DM you the link to our family fundraising page.
Let’s do some good.
#SurfAid #BondiSurfAidCup #Aquabumps #BondiBeach #SurfingForGood Fundraiser Bondi
17 knots of constant southerly is properly mucking up the Friday. Bondi’s deserted, the onshore flow seeing to that, while protected south Bronte has a few technically surfable chunks if you’re desperate enough — plus a rock pool to hide in when the breeze starts slapping you about.
Patchy skies, on-and-off sprinkles, though it should stay mostly dry through the arvo. Feels cold, dunnit? Says 18 degrees, but more like 15 with that wind.
All weekend we’ve got a big onshore swell looming. Bit of rain tomorrow, then likely dry, cloudy and grey Sunday.
The Bondi SurfAid Cup is exactly one week away. Huge thanks to everyone who’s chipped in so far — the kids, Patty and I have raised $5,700 for @surfaid and our beloved Indonesian island communities.
What I love most? It’s not one giant corporate rolling in with a big novelty cheque. It’s been built on a stack of $10s, $20s and small donations from this brilliant community. That’s the good stuff. Teamwork makes the dream work.
If you’d like to support Spikey and help our Bondi Cup team raise a few more dollars...
Comment DONATE below and I’ll DM you the link.
He’ll be forever in your debt.
Adios, ugios ✌🏼
I’ve been a bit quiet on the posts lately, following the procession of speeding P-plater-tradie-utes north on the A1 to Coffs Harbour.
Truth be told, I’ve never really hung or shot much around Coffs. For us, it’s typically the mandatory Guzman pit stop, refuel, stretch the legs, then keep charging north to the Northern Rivers. (The A1 basically ploughs straight through the middle of town, so you don’t exactly get a choice.)
But wow — Coffs has waves. And beaches. And then more beaches with waves at completely different angles. It’s kinda incredible how many options there are for a bustling regional town of 50-odd thousand.
Places that consistently produce surfers like Lee Winkler, Mitch Crews, Cooper Chapman, and nearby Evans Head’s Callum Robson usually tell you all you need to know — they get proper surf up here.
This week, the NSW State Surfing Titles rolled into town. Juniors, SUP frothers, old pharts, longboarders — the whole glorious travelling surf circus.
It’s been chunky all week too. And biblical rain. Like tropical typhoon stuff. But when it finally cleared, Coffs absolutely lit up.
I spent the week trailing the groms/juniors from beach to beach, all chasing qualification for the Aussie Titles in Margaret River this November. They’re on Day 4 now.
And crikey… the level of surfing talent is insane.
Australia’s surfing talent pipeline is just ridiculous. Some of these kids are surfing at genuine world-class levels before they’ve even finished primary school.
:: uge @surfing_nsw
It was nice to see a bit of sunshine this morning, even if the surf remains junky and onshore. These short-period, random swell mixtures aren’t exactly easy on the eye, but that little rip bowl down south had the odd whackable chunk… and strangely, hardly anyone on it.
Forecast says rain’s on the way — yet to show its face — but I’m sure it’s lurking. Mild one today: 21 degrees, dipping to 16 overnight.
Tomorrow, the World Surf League Championship Tour event at Raglan kicks off on that fabled left point break — one of the rare lefts on tour. Haven’t been back to Raglan since 2012, but I’ve got a real soft spot for the joint. Chilled little town, and some of those back beaches can absolutely turn on smoking waves too.
:: uge
It was nice to see a bit of sunshine this morning, even if the surf remains junky and onshore. These short-period, random swell mixtures aren’t exactly easy on the eye, but that little rip bowl down south had the odd whackable chunk… and strangely, hardly anyone on it.
Forecast says rain’s on the way — yet to show its face — but I’m sure it’s lurking. Mild one today: 21 degrees, dipping to 16 overnight.
Tomorrow, the World Surf League Championship Tour event at Raglan kicks off on that fabled left point break — one of the rare lefts on tour. Haven’t been back to Raglan since 2012, but I’ve got a real soft spot for the joint. Chilled little town, and some of those back beaches can absolutely turn on smoking waves too.
:: uge
I’d be lying if I said these onshore 2-3 foot days don’t bore me, photographically. Add passing showers into the mix, and well… that’s a whole other layer of complexity to work with.
But I always tell myself — making something from the mundane is the challenge. It’s what keeps you sharp. Twenty-seven years in, and that hasn’t changed.
BUT.
TODAY is an archive day.
This summer I shot so much that hasn’t even been looked at since the moment of capture. So here we are – a classic grey onshore Bondi day – and I’m diving deep into crowded, sun-drenched, summery beaches. The stuff that makes you ache a little for that next cracker day.
: : — Uge
