This time of year is really odd around Bondi. It is summer, sunny and epic down the beach but it’s also empty. See…everyone is starting to take off for their Christmas bashes and the streets are really quite empty. I saw 5 vacant car spaces on Gould Street in a row! Whoa. The beach this […]

The southerly was ripping shreds off Sydney this morning. Bondi was an onshore mess and the lack of human activity was quite surprising for this time of year. The sun is out but the temps are much cooler. It is going to be onshore until Sunday – but – by then the swell would have […]

There’s swell and very little wind, usually a great combo…but it wasn’t exactly cranking this morning down the beach. Bondi was pretty grey and uncrowded. Think the Christmas parties are taking their toll on the early risers. I saw waves around 2-3 foot today. Hopefully as the day progresses the wonk will settle. Here’s a […]

The southerly was roaring through Sydney tossing tumbleweed down the streets. Perfect conditions for a select group of French windsurfers (OK and one Spaniard) to hit Bondi with the windsurfing contraptions. Surfing is out of the question – that board will blow right out of your little hands before you even get to the shoreline. […]

The NNE winds were up very early this morning. It was about 15 knots worth. The wind also knocked up a little bit of wind swell overnight…it’s very weak and irregular, but surfable at NE magnets (i.e. not Bondi). Tomorrows conditions better suit Bondi with a switch to south swell and south winds. Weather is […]

Let’s not muck around. The waves are so good at the moment. In fact…the surf in Sydney has been really good for the past 48 hours. Lucky aren’t we? I love these strong East swells – it just feeds into everywhere. Great for spreading the crowd. I saw some sets around 3-4 foot this morning […]

The ocean is pretty wild this morning. Bondi was 6-8 feet and pounding. I really hope these rogue currents rearrange our sand bank situation. I am pretty sure it’s big enough for the harbour to be breaking. It would probably be waist high around there. Bondi wasn’t surfable. Not unless you like paddling. Lots of […]

After thousands of mornings of shooting Bondi Beach I crave new angles. I think about it all the time. I want to show you something new. I’ve been working on new contraptions that enable me to get to places previously not achievable. It’s still early days. Patent pending. The surf is tiny and the water […]

Bokeh pronounced BOH-kay is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens. I’m a big fan of Bokeh and have been shooting wide open for years now in the water. Can’t do that on a fisheye. Leave that to Clarkie baby. Waves are tiny and […]

The onshore winds chewed up the remnants of the NE swell this morning. It looked real messy but fun all at the same time. If you find a gap in your day, paddle out before it fades. Our Christmas madness gallery artwork deadlines are looming. Get in before this Sunday 6pm or you’ll miss the […]

Today’s update comes from 500 feet above Sydney Harbour. I had a little early morning job flying around in the bird. We live in an incredible city surrounded by water in every direction. The 331 metre Voyager of the Seas slid into Circular Quay at 6:30am. This mobile city even has a stationary wave machine […]

G’day. From humble, grey beginnings today has transformed into a magic day. Currently 27 and sunny I’d suggest heading to the beach – now – before it morphs again into thunderstorms…like the past few days. Quite unpredictable weather at the moment. The surf is a flop. NE micro swell backing out knee high waves. I […]

Today we have a guest photographer, my grom Jet. He’s only 3 years old but has probably spent more time around photography than most fully grown humans. He’s traveled the world…Hawaii, Indo, Cook Islands, Manly. Jet’s a wild man behind the lens…adopting the commonly used “SPRAY AND PRAY” technique. This unique technique involves holding down […]

I’m getting into this body surf thing. Hours of fun. Especially when the water and weather are this good. Waves are small. Swell is from the NE and not doing much. Today I visited my old home, Tamarama. I lived there for 8 years right on the beach and love the joint. Shame it doesn’t […]

With all that NE wind last night it’s no surprise that these two things have happened: We have NE swell in town, not suited to south facing Bondi The water temperature has dropped There was a fun shorey at Bondi. Love it when it’s angry and unloading in 6 inches of sand. Good for a […]

1st day of summer today. Look outside, it’s a cracker. Waves too. South swell now, NE swell for the rest of the week. Perhaps some thunderstorms later today. All in all – a very good day to be outside. Those fishing boats are coming in really close. Plenty of fish in the bay. Large pods […]

Suns out and it is turning into a cracker beach day. The surf is dismal, knee to waist high, onshore. The wind will kick around to the NE later which should clean it up a little. The forecast shows some promise for tomorrow. It will be short-lived though. Some things you should know: Stephanie Gilmore […]

Not a beach day today. In fact I’d say Bondi hosts some of the worst mush I’ve seen in ages. 1 foot mush. Backing up my theory was a deserted line up. For those who don’t live in Bondi – it’s never, ever empty. People around here will surf half a foot and onshore. These […]

The south swell has come up in all that wind – but it’s of poor quality. Wind swells normally are. Good to see something surfable after a dead flat day, but it’s only 2/10. It’s summer…time to get healthy. Our buddies from Bronte will deliver fresh fruit and veg to your door, direct from the […]

Some days are really small…some days it’s totally flat. Today it’s a lake (rare). Put the boards away and drop in for a swim, before the southerly hits. Once the southerly arrives it may stir up the swell…it will be junkie. Much cooler today. bassike + aquabumps – soon my friends, soon. :: uge

Similar to yesterday…it’s baking up to be a hot one. It’s currently 29.3 degrees and should top out at 30. Maybe even a bolt of lightning later. I’d like to say the surf is also cooking…but it is not. I’ll even throw out that word “UNSURFABLE”. Go for a swim instead. Small swell increase tomorrow […]

Oh boy it’s damn hot… It’s gunna hit 38 degrees today which is the hottest day in a couple of years. Tools down…hit the beach kids. It’s just perfect. The hot weather will continue until Sunday. Surf was dismal at Bondi, NE swell so you need to go somewhere that loves the north summer swells […]

Damn those sand banks at Bondi are straight. Some of the finest close outs on offer this morning. Every now and then a close out would hold open long enough for a ramp. Mostly 2 footers. Suns out. Tomorrow is going to be a steamy 35 degrees! Did you hear that they pulled a Great […]

Sometimes these emails run late. Sometimes they run late and include typos. Sometimes, but not often, they don’t run at all. Sometimes it runs late because of the work experience kid, but there is not school kid to blame today. Sometimes the surf is so good that it would be a sin to sit indoors […]

Always good people down at Bondi in the mornings. So many regulars…doing their morning thing. Some locals I have seen every single day for the past 15 years! The surf has dropped a few gears…it’s now merely a grovel on the shorey with fat fluff out the back. Surfers will know what that means. After […]

Nothing like a bit of swell to kick off a week. Even better when it’s a south swell and feeds directly into Bondi. Waves were in the 3-4 foot mark…the banks are funky but at least you can paddle into something. Not a cloud in the sky – need I say any more? I went […]

What a good looking day outside. It’s going to be a hot one. 33 degrees forecasted. Few waves too! Bondi was 2-3 foot but that banks have been destroyed by the ‘dozer. You can catch fluffy fat things out the back or try your luck on a closing out shorey. The reef has some…but it’s […]

This is how my morning unfolded: 6:00am…first beach inspection – Junky and grey, looked onshore when it was meant to be offshore at Bondi (NE). Winds seem to be coming from the East. What tha? I was ready to shoot in the brine, all wettied up and all. Looked bad so headed home to rethink […]

Boom…we have waves! After quite a few ordinary surf days this morning shaped up kinda well. The swell kicked and the winds were temporarily offshore. Bondi was 3-4 foot but looked kinda burgerish. Maroubra was smaller but had better shape. Lots of people out for the early…I know the surf is good when I can’t […]

Greetings. The surf is terrible…I’m talking 1 out of 10. The redeeming quality of the morning was the baking summer sunshine. Nice wasn’t it? I’m sorry to say the rain is coming though, so if you missed it…you missed it. With the rain swell will follow. It will start to trickle in later today and […]

Seeing it is overcast, 1 foot and onshore I decided to deviate from Bondi to shoot something different. Change is good. I ended up at Nielsen Park in Vaucluse which is also known as Shark Bay. Nielsen’s got the well known shark net (there isn’t that much to worry about in the harbour). It’s hard to […]

It was one of those crazy Bondi mornings where everyone was out. Surfers, runners, sculpture lovers, yogies, fluros and of course they were filming a movie down there at dawn too! Good old Bondi. The waves were OK. 4/10 2 footers broke close to shore. Trying to snag a wave on your own was virtually […]

Not much happening down the beach this morning. The swell has backed right off and is now coming from the NE (neglecting South facing Bondi). The winds were up early and from the SE (18 knots). Choppy conditions on most beaches. The sun was hiding behind thick cloud occasionally throwing out a ray or two, […]

All the recent bulldozing seems to have changed our sand bank setup at Bondi. No surprises there. So far I would say the recent renovations have been a improvement. Agree? The waves seem to be breaking close to shore. I prefer that. Then you don’t have that gaping hole in the middle where you flap […]

Surfing conditions have improved overnight but it’s still not cranking. The south swell is rogue and some sets broke in the 4 foot range. Bondi looked fun but I found a few at Maroubra near the stormie. Only 1 guy out – Blake. If you donated to our Aquabumps SurfAid Cup team – THANK YOU. […]

Hit the highway…it’s perfectly offshore, sunny and 4-6 foot…what are you waiting for? The above set of conditions just don’t suit Bondi (it closes out with waves this size). I was kicking myself when shooting today, knowing it was pumping on the reefs far from Bondi. Shoulda got up for the dawnie and found some […]

Greetings from the beach. What a pleasant morning. The south swell seems to be coming in nicely. Huge morning crowd enjoying the fruits of 2-3 footers. Even with the 6:15am low tide the waves are breaking really fat. I guess the sand banks just don’t suit super high or mega low tides. As I write […]

Bondi is a unique place. Why? It was 5:45am when I rolled down the beach. That’s pretty early for most humans. As I came over the hill I could see thousands of people doing something. Surfing, jogging, bootie campin’, sun baking and even a few leftovers from the pub rolling around in the sand trying […]

Well our little Pacific paradise fling has come to an end…times for us to leave the Cook Islands. If you want a low key beach holiday and not hooked to shopping malls, the Cooks are for you. Water is incredible, weather is amazing and the people are super friendly. Today is the last day that […]

Kia Orana. We’re back on the main island of the Cooks, Rarotonga. It’s very different to Aitutaki – it’s where all the government and commerce is done. It’s busier yet still very relaxed and quiet. The centre of the island rises up into huge volcanic mountains that resemble Jurassic Park. Incredible back drop to the […]