At this time of year it's dark when you head to work

On-shaw

It’s not always glamourous beach days down here in Bondi. Today’s a 20-knot onshore grey day, with few people roaming the beach. A few groms are out in the middle, catching shoulder-high waves stirred up by this fresh southerly. It wasn’t spectacular, but with Bondi Boardriders kicking off this Sunday, they’re all sharpening their skills […]

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Bondi Ben Buckler inversion layer

Inversion

We had another spectacular beach weekend in Sydney. It was quite simply stunning, with light winds and glorious temperatures. Rather than show you grey, onshore images from this morning (The ‘Smotherly’ is here), I’d rather showcase images taken yesterday. Da-nah! We had an odd inversion fog layer roll into town – where cold air meets […]

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Wow, some wild red light last night on sunset and a MASSIVE crowd

Fiery

La Nina is over. Yep, over. Let’s party. Wow, now that the weather has been unlocked, hasn’t it rebounded in a big way? Hot-hot-hot. Mid-to-high thirties for most of yesterday – and it remained thirty degrees overnight.  The beaches have been rammed with humans seeking a reprieve from the heat. At sunrise this morning, there […]

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Around 6:10am, such intense pinks this morning over Ben Buckler

PINK

The sunrise is rising late, and this morning it was dipped in pinks. Super intense colour around 6:10 am; you probably all saw it as the beach was rammed at this time. There’s still plenty of East swell today, with waves breaking around head-high on sets. Bondi is truly lacking decent banks, so other beaches […]

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Shredding the morning glow, Bondi 7:30am

Wrong beach

I muffed it this morning (surf-wise) – sorry! I underestimated the current east swell and shot Bondi when many other beaches lit up this morning. I should’ve been at Bra or Manly. They’ve been cooking. Especially with this idyllic WSW 3 knot offshore – oh man, I am still slapping myself as I write this […]

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Bondi in February with the Ice Bath mania

Review

The beach wasn’t very picturesque this morning, and my artificial intelligence robots are having a day off. So you’ll have to settle for my riveting editorial and some fancy pics taken in February that haven’t been showcased yet. It’s a mixed bag…but that should keep you going until Sydney’s lousy weather clears up! Ok, beach […]

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Turbo clouds, Bondi 7:30am

Gusty Artificial Intelligence

I’m addicted to Chat-gpt. It’s fun and new.Today’s update is written entirely by the artificial intelligence robots: Based on the given information, it seems that the conditions at Bondi Beach are not suitable for surfing today. The onshore winds have made the waves messy and difficult to ride, and the cloudy sunrise may not provide […]

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Bogey Hole, Bronte busy

Active

Geez, what a busy morning – everywhere. In and out of the water. It looks like everyone got on the sunrise swim program. Surfwise, there’s plenty of south swell. It’s straight AZ at Bondi with sets over head high. I shot for 1.5 hours this morning and could barely get a shot of anyone on […]

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Waning Gibbous 98%

Default Bondi

As we progress into Autumnland, the sunrise moves back around Ben Buckler’s point. I love this time, as the light becomes cross shore, and I shoot a tonne of golden light silhouettes. This morning was your typical good-looking Bondi morning—an abundance of sunshine, ice-bathers, exercisers, sand sanders, frothers, groms and swimmers. If you just landed […]

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Brynny, back hand stab, Southern Bondaka, 7:20am

Sunrise dips

Good luck getting a wave of 6 x hungry Bondi groms, especially in 1-2 foot. The sub-30-kilo frothers left no scraps on the table at sunrise. An enjoyable morning with warm conditions and little wind. Waves have dropped but still surfable. Rarely is it UNsurfable around here… it just doesn’t crank often. The small surf […]

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Coogee, cooling off after a very hot night

Peaky Windswell

After a restless, hot night, many were up for the early as the NE wind swell continued to deliver. At exposed East facing beaches, waves broke in the head-high vicinity. South-facing Bondi had fat shoulder high waves amongst a very full morning high tide. It’s cloudy now and reasonably cool compared with yesterday. The sunshine […]

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I had the privilege of shooting the Sydney World Pride March from the Bridge Pylon

Party is over

Phew, there’s been a lot going on in Sydney over the weekend. Sydney World Pride ended its 17-day party yesterday with a 50,000-person march across the Harbour Bridge. We were fortunate enough to have a great angle above, from the Bridge pylons, to capture the action. Ocean Lovers Festival – Bondi 2023The annual Ocean lovers […]

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Shooting through the Lillys, Bondi in the dark at 7am

Calm before the storm

A busy Friday morning down at Bondi, but it’s gonna step up as Sydney World Pride Bondi kicks off tomorrow. The stage is set, and the endless trucks are flowing into the car park. We haven’t had a big event like this in ages. The 6am high tide slowed the waves, but hopefully, more will […]

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Scaffold rights, Bondi this morning

Doof-Doof-steel

There’s more steel on Bondi Beach than BHP right now. Scaffolding and fences litter the beach in preparation for this weekend’s Sydney World Pride’s big dancing crowd. 60% chance of showers on Saturday – nothing like dancing in the rain! Wear a wettie. The surf was dismal this morning. Onshores have stirred up a pathetic […]

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Morning dance in the light, Bondi 7am

Before the Southerly

Earlier today, it was super clean, warm and inviting. A refreshing swim was ideal. If you had a surf craft of hefty volume, you’d have fun surfing among the waist to belly-high waves. The morning high tide was really porking up most rideable waves. The southerly has arrived now (12:01pm) – it won’t be as […]

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12,000 people will be dancing here this Saturday

Beach Party

12,000 crew will party this Saturday from 3pm to 10pm on Bondi Beach in the name of Sydney Pride Week (tickets sold out). It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a large structure on the beach, perhaps since the Volleyball Stadium for the Olympics in 2000? Or how about Stranger Thing’s massive portal rift […]

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Pink tints on a late sunrise

Rummage

It’s not pretty out there. If you rummage around, you might get lucky with a wedge; otherwise, it was mainly wind-affected, choppy, random 2-foot. The waves on the weekend were much better! I surfed 4 times. Small conditions are expected this week – Thursday probably being your best chance of a wave. Chance of rain […]

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Bondi 7am, finally the sun broke through

Clearing

Some thick horizon clouds delayed the sunrise. I hear it’s been stormy (I was in Perth), and it’s starting to fine up for my return which pleases me. I watched/shot the surf for about 30 minutes and concluded there wasn’t much opportunity. It looks very random, a bit junkie and small. Quite unimpressive. The ice […]

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Indiana Tearooms, Cottesloe Beach, WA

One Day in W.A.

G’day from W.A. I’ve timed my 24-hour jaunt to sunny Perth well, as Bondi is smothered with southerlies and storms. Perth is known for its sunny weather and enjoys an average of 8 hours of sunshine daily throughout the year, one of Australia’s highest. The average temperature in summer is around 30°C! Thankfully the cooling […]

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"Like-a-tiiiiiiiiiger" by Mr. Peter Strain

Onya Molly

A perfect morning for a swim at sunrise – warm, windless, waveless and balmy 24 degrees in the brine. Yes, 24. That’s about as warm as Sydney gets in summer in the water. It’s like a bath. The sunrise is much later as we exit summer – so a late wake-up will still see the […]

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Good morning Bondi!

30*

Minuscule surf today, pretty much a shorey @ 9:04 am high tide. NE winds are blowing, typical of a hot summer’s day. It’s going to get hot (30), and the beach looks busy (11:30 am). Put the boards away for a couple of days until a new south swell arrives late Wednesday (flanked by onshore […]

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Ali Cotton, shorey navigation, Ramp 2, Bondi

Good Friday

This morning, on my way to school drop off (via scooter) a crazy driver in a big Lexus tried to nudge me off the road. They could barely see over the wheel, being a menace swerving across lanes recklessly – probably listening to full-bore Chilli peppers – without a care in the world. Kinda felt […]

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Busy times on Ramp 2

Hectic

The weather has turned on and small, clean fun waves are on offer. The crowds have been hectic though – so many crew! Be careful out there – I saw so many near misses. We’ve got a few more days of good weather and small surf. Enjoy. :: uge

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Race! Bondi 7am today

Settle down

Finally, it’s settled down out front and the waves are looking fun. The Gabs Cyclonic swell is on the decline and surfaces look smoother. Did you get a wave in? As you read this riveting editorial the tide is going low, I prefer the higher tides for a slay. The banks look to have survived […]

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Icebergs being bombarded by the east cyclone swell

Grumpy Gabs

Cyclone Gabs, sitting off our north coast is pushing down some meaty East swell. Whilst that may sound exciting for ocean enthusiasts, it’s actually not lining up that great with plenty of junk in the trunk. Bondi had surfers tucked up in the northern corner, nothing special. Middles occasionally had a left, typical of a […]

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Bondi Icebergs Swim Club

Gabrielle

Today’s not idyllic, not a beach day…do some work. It’s horribly onshore, wild and grey/spitting. Swell from northern cyclone Gabrielle is in town, and waves can be considerable – especially at East facing beaches (unlike Bondi). However, last Saturday was a full-tilt, glamourous Sydney cracker worthy of shooting. Sit tight, and wait for these unsettled […]

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It took a while, but the sun did break thru, Bondi 7:30am

All Clear

After a day of storms, we’ve returned to our glorious summer sunny days. Quite incredible how different today is to yesterday. There are waves around shoulder to head high, it looks to be declining and was bigger at sunrise. With very gentle breezes and 29 degrees forecasted, call it quits and hit the beach. You […]

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Coogee, last Saturday when it was a much better looking day than today!

Confessions

I’ll ‘fess up, I didn’t shoot this morning. Instead, I was on the sofa with the monsters watching The Pipeline Masters finals. Go Robbo! Looking at the beach now, I haven’t missed much – a very dreary unphotogenic morning with dark skies, rain, thunderstorms and lightning. We have had a dream run of weather lately, […]

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Christian Louboutin's pop up on Bondi Beach today

Loubi’s on Bondi

The French designer Christian Louboutin needs no introduction – famous for his red sole shoes. He’s landed in Bondi, in the way of a pop up – to celebrate what Australia is famous for – our long hot Summer with ‘Loubi’s on the beach’. From today until the 19th of February. My take on Loubi’s – […]

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Ibiza beach dance party? Nah, just Bondi at 6am

Dawning

There are many benefits to waking early; research from the University of Toronto found that people who wake up earlier are generally happier and have a better outlook on life. Mix that wake-up with a morning swim, surf, or run on a warm summer’s morning – and you’re set for the day! Today we have […]

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Gordon's Bay, Saturday, looking more like Mallorca than Sydney

Impeccable

As far as the weekend’s go, the past two days have been epic. Not too hot, not too cool, and not too muggy, with no wind, NO WIND, fun waves and no gridlock (but still fairly busy). What a treat! On Saturday, the all-day westerlies revealed unbelievable watercolours – you rarely see that deep turquoise in […]

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6am this morning, the goods

Outstanding

The sunrise was colourful, warm, and decent little waves running – but the enormous, dangerous crowds weren’t my cuppa. It’s hectic out there – I witnessed a full-blown head-on where either party wouldn’t give way (even got a photo – scroll down). Three banks had waves, and the shoreys were fully operational as the tide […]

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Wilbur Ryall tucking inside, South Bondi 7am

High Tide Nugs

The 7 am high tide was pushing up on the shores, occasionally spitting out a little hollow section for the groms. If you’re circa 30 k-gees, you’d be stoked. Out the back, the longboarders were partying, with crumbly, fat, lengthy rides. A big crew on ramp 2, creating a bit of chaos at sunrise. Be […]

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A colony of Penguins, Bondi 7am

Solaris

The sunshine is in abundance, and it’s a semi-decent beach day! I hope you caught a swim or surf before work when it was briefly offshore. The southerly is blowing, warm, and less humid than earlier in the week. (25) If I weren’t working today, I’d head to Manly – where it would be super […]

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Sleeping? Nah, breath holding with the Swat team - Bronte Pool 6am

Phew!

2 x Phews. PHEW 1) Finally, the ultra-humid muggy weather has blown away with a fresh, crisp, new southerly today. It’s now much cooler and less Singapore-like. It’s also stirred up some swell, onshore mush (shoulder high), but it’s bigger than yesterday’s dribblers. Semi-surfable (even though Will found a tubey which was a freak). PHEW […]

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Bondi, little dribbles under cloudy skies

Return to Rituals

G’day, how’s your 2023 been so far? This week many will return to their regular routines (like me); some tykes will even be back at school!  Bondi has returned to quieter times this morning, contrasting with recent busy beach days.  We have small 1-2 footers limping in on a mid-south bank. Plenty of large mals enjoy […]

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Silk, Bondi

Mad Bondi

Bondi is a crazy place. We forget just how mental after two years of Covid/La Nina – watering the madness down. This summer, we have an enormous array of tourists returning AND the kick-ass weather to match. It’s back to full crank…it’s hilarious, there’s no place like it. I shimmied down the beach at 5:40 am; […]

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Swims before work - the place to be this morning

TWENTY-4

TWENTY-FOUR – no, not 20-24, not 24 degrees on land – but a sublime 24 degrees in the water at sunrise today. That’s warmer than the 23-degree air temperature at 6 am. Needless to say, ava swim to kick off the week. First day back at the office? Wasn’t it a superb Xmas of surf […]

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Our new Bondi Aquabumps HQ. 64 Hall Street

We’ve moved…

Big big news, after 14 years of working out of an old mechanics yard on Curlewis in Bondi we’ve skipped a couple of streets to the bustling pavements of Hall Street – Bondi’s main drag. It’s awesome! I’ve ALWAYS wanted to be on Hall, and being booted out seemed like the optimal time to take […]

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