Friday the 13th — a day wrapped in superstition. Some say it’s cursed. After a wander down the beach, I’d say it is not too cursed — the lineup was empty, and there were some handy three-footers rolling through at Bondi and Bronte. If you’re up for a solo surf, today’s your day. The cold […]

The switch from the tropics to polar Sydney mornings was a slap in the face. My phone reckoned 8°C, but those frosty offshores sliced like it was 4 or 5. Didn’t matter if you had the best down jacket on—still cut deep. Chilly dawns = quiet lineups. Bondi had some decent head-high to overhead sets […]

We’ve filled our annual wave quota in just ten days… time to pack up and head back to the mainland. As far as surf trips go, you couldn’t script better conditions — 4-6 foot more often than not, the odd 2-3 foot lull, and a solid 8-foot finale. Sunshine was abundant, and we scored endless […]

Sometimes, all the elements just click — and you get one of those days. Lucky for us, it landed smack in the middle of our offshore Indo surf charter. Zero wind. Four-to-six-foot waves. Sunshine from the first crack of light (rare up here with all the humidity). A diamond day — a proper cracker — […]

I’m back in the wave-rich archipelago of the Mentawais (MEN-TAH-WHY) — that dreamy chain of islands dangling off Sumatra’s coast. It’s a place I return to year after year, living aboard a boat, drifting between reefs, chasing empty waves, and unplugging from city life. Honestly, it’s one of my favourite places on Earth — I […]

When you see me pointing the camera at buildings and doors around Bondi, it’s usually a sign the beach ain’t doing much. Well… correction—there is a lot happening out there, just not the good kind. It’s wild, rogue, and downright moody. Not a single surfer in sight this morning. Not one. Just a few brave […]

Bondi had a fleeting moment of brilliance this morning—a narrow window where it was properly cooking. Before the fresh south groundswell muscled in, two shallow banks served up hollow little drainers, spitting tubes out, with only a handful of honkies. The new swell is now flowing in, steamrolling the banks and shutting it all down. […]

Tiny waves, dark-dark morning, wind coming…tricky to get a decent shot of anything in the dark! I’m selling some of my Mavic 3 drone kit with the mega RC Pro controller. I paid $6,300 a few years ago, current bid is only $1999! Grab a good deal and have a bid. (Will ship) P A […]

The swell’s backed off a gear — waist to chest high on the sets — after yesterday’s dreamy conditions. You didn’t miss that, did you? Because that was as clean and fun as it gets around here. Could it be? Has the long-standing curse of terrible conditions for the Bondi Boardriders Club finally lifted? Miracles […]

The stubborn low just won’t shove off. It’s still loitering off the coast, like that last punter at a party who won’t take the hint. Winds are onshore again today — a bit lighter than yesterday, but enough to keep things junkie and wild out there. Surf’s overhead, occasionally double, but all over the shop… […]

We’re in the grip of a stubborn low-pressure system parked off the coast, refusing to budge. It’s like that one friend who overstays their welcome… three days in, and they’re still on your couch eating all your snacks. These coastal lows are notorious for lashing the East Coast with relentless onshore winds, stormy seas, and […]

Woke to a moody old Bondi this morning—wind whipping, horizontal rain, and a soupy grey sky swallowing the coastline whole. No golden glow, no glassy waves, not even a lone jogger doing laps of the promenade. Just inside-out brollies and a frothy ocean throwing a full-blown tantrum. Bondi’s a ghost town today… and let’s be […]

Fridays around here are usually full throttle — but not this one. It was mellow, almost sleepy. Maybe that 6am drizzle had everyone reaching for the snooze button instead of the swimmers. The beach was quiet, the lineup even quieter. The south corner’s still got some energy, with waist-high sets and the occasional bigger pulse. […]

It’s a bit of a cliché, but Bondi was fully hydrated this morning—rain, rain, and yep, more rain. And it’s not easing up anytime soon. The current weather pattern looks set to linger, with showers and cool temps hanging around for the next few days. On the bright side? Rain usually means swell. Silver linings, […]

After a grey start, Bondi has flipped into a stunning, sunny Autumn day. It’s sitting around 21 degrees at lunchtime—pretty ideal. Heads up, though: there’s a chance of a shower around 4 p.m., so maybe bring the washing in early. The wave machine has eased off. Just the occasional shoulder-high runner pushing through, but mostly […]

The decent run of swell continues, and Bondi was looking the goods at sunrise—clean lines, waist to head high, with the odd freak set throwing a little more grunt. But while the waves were playing nice, the crowd? Not so much. It was absolute carnage out there this morning. A weird mix of beginners going […]

Yep, still raining. The skies have forgotten how to do anything else. This week’s forecast? It’s more of the same – wet, grey, and moody. But with these unstable systems comes an upside: swell. And plenty of it. The ocean’s been generous, and we’ve had a decent run of waves. Stormy? Sure. But there’s gold […]

Looking out the window now, you’d never guess how magic the morning was. Gloomy, onshore, and junky this arvo—but at 6:30am? Glorious sunshine, silky offshore winds, and two-foot peelers folding neatly into the corner on high tide. Warm water, too. Proper autumn gold. The southerly’s kicked in hard. It’s 3–4 foot and pretty wild now. […]

It’s smaller than yesterday. Actually, it’s way smaller. We’re teetering on lake-like conditions down here at Bondi this morning. But don’t pack away your board just yet—change is coming. A fresh south swell is on the way and should start pulsing around lunchtime tomorrow. We’re talking a leap from ankle-biters to overhead sets by the […]

I’ve not taken photos in the brine for a while, as the conditions haven’t been right. Shooting in the water is my favourite type of photography, even better than dangling out the side of a helicopter. Especially on sublime Autumn mornings, when the water is crystal clear and warm, the sunlight crispy and golden. The […]

It was a very picturesque Monday to kick off the week. Colourful hues ignited above Ben Buckler whilst 1-2 footers peeled into the bay from the East. Yesterday was an incredible Sunday – everywhere was pumping with no wind, plenty of swell and sunshine. Bondi was fantastic, with enormous crowds feasting on 4-5 foot piping […]

I spent the morning seeking sanctuary from the rain under bus stops, Icebergs overhangs and giant Norfolk Pines. It was not the most photogenic morning down at Bondi! I believe there’s a direct correlation between my cameras being out and rain squalls – the rain dance! Need rain? I’ll pop over with my cameras, I’m […]

Did someone forget to turn off the tap? Oh boy, it’s been wet in New South Wales lately. Trying to polish up these grey, stormy mornings is quite the challenge. Chilly as well, 25 knots of southerly will do that. Max 18 and low of 14, you’ll feel the coldest you’ve been in quite some […]

The sun is out, let’s party! Oh, don’t worry – the rain will return by 2 p.m., but at least you had a dry half-day. The waves were clean as the onshore flow finally dropped. It’s decent, 3-4 foot and well worth a paddle. Over the years, Aquabumps has helped lots of people. You’d be […]

Geez, we sure do live in a rainy city. We’ve had weeks of on-and-off rain, hellish onshores, and rogue swell. The Easter Bunny delivered the most spectacular swells, exceeding our expectations and closing many beaches. I’m back at it, shooting and posting after two weeks off during the school holidays. The forecast looks bleak, with […]

We didn’t exactly nail the timing on a north coast road trip to visit the coastal town of Yamba. Whilst the weather has been tricky and the surf unworkable, it was nice to see Byron’s quieter cousin, a town based on the Clarence River. Yamba’s got that unpolished charm, a pub with a view, a […]

Half-asleep and half-hoping for a few little peelers, I rolled down to South Bondaka for a swim in the bathlike conditions. The tide was high, and the waves were fat – but it was a fruitful hour of shooting in golden light. The shorey was chest high and really the only surfable option, kinda unrideable […]

The conditions aligned for Australia’s most hectic beach. Bowls in the south turned on with the right tidal and rip mix. It’s head high+, busy and clean at sunrise. It seems we’ve got a new south swell feeding directly into the bay. The new bank set up seems fickle on the tide, too high and […]

Daylight saving has officially ended, and we’ll have more light in the mornings. Combine this with some fantastic head-high waves and clean grooming offshores, and you get most of the 2.5 million Australian surfers paddling out at Bondi! $10 bucks says you can’t get a wave on your own today! Between 6am to 7am Bondi […]

By 7 AM, the work crowd hit Bondi Beach, squeezing in a quick dip before trading saltwater for spreadsheets. The coffee queues at Glory and Prom were already at critical mass by the time I got there. A DJ was spinning tunes in the middle, typical of a Bondi Friday (yes, that’s becoming the norm). […]

It’s been exciting around here lately, with enormous swells lashing our coast. Everybody loves a big swell story—and this one was surprisingly big – kinda caught us all off guard. I mean, that wave that Lifeguard Chase Hardaker paddled into on Tuesday was a monster, quite possibly the largest paddled in wave for the Eastern […]

It’s no secret that our coastline is being battered by an enormous rogue swell. Although it’s smaller than the peak last night, it remains seriously chunky. I’m calling 5.5-metre waves from this South Easterly swell. Remarkably, it’s clean offshore, so somewhere other than Bondi would be completely cranking. Bondi is tidak bagus in giant swell. […]

We’re experiencing huge, unruly, unmanageable surf and winds in Sydney right now. After days of stormy weather, the ocean roars to life and pushes water high onto our beaches. North Bondi resembled a semi-surfable wave, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Ben Buckler has some legends on Rhino Chasers, but that’s always a nice novelty wave. […]

To be honest, my shots from this morning were pretty boring. The rain, dark skies, and onshore breezes do not make for beautiful photography. There’s still a 2 foot crumble on offer, but it’s not perfect. And so… I won’t show you imagery from today; here’s a little March in review as we’ve had some […]

I ventured south to Bronte Pool—AKA Icebergs-Lite—to mix things up. There’s always a lot going on down there, as well. The pool was full, and lots of people were up early chasing those elusive sunrise spectacles that have graced our horizons lately—unfortunately, it was a bit of a fizzer. We’ve still got a massive period […]

I am not quite sure what was going on down at Bondi this morning at sunrise—it was next-level crowded. Being Wednesday (a not-so-busy time of the week), I was trying to determine what event was happening. What brought so many people down today? Was it that so-called viral post from Molly-Mae showing sunrise at Bondi? […]

Lately we’ve had a plethora of small wave days, so it was nice to wake up to 3-4 foot drainers in the south. The changing seasons always bring better surf to Bondi… Today’s waves are from a long range, decent period, south swell, that will build during the day. The tricky bit will be the […]

This morning was a battle between light and dark. Since we’re heading into autumn in Australia, the sun rises later each morning. The days are getting shorter, and soon, daylight saving time will end (the first Sunday in April), making mornings even darker for a bit until the clocks shift back. I spent most of […]

When I was a young sigma, going out late was all the rage—and sleep ’til lunchtime kind of thing. Today, it’s all happening between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., in particular at Bondi Beach. It’s bizarre how it’s flipped. These Friday beach run, swim, and ice bath clubs are popular with the young and single […]

There is no better start than a swim with my camera, even if the surf was average. The clear skies and golden light made up for any shortcomings with the lower tides. (high tide around 1pm) It’s a spectacular day ahead. The temperature will hit 29 degrees with light northeasterly winds. The ocean temperature is […]