Joel Pilgrim on the other side of the curtain, Bondi

Into the Deep End

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. Tomorrow’s Surfaid Bondi Cup will likely run in similar onshore conditions—fingers crossed for a few ripable rights.

Massive thanks to everyone who backed our Surfaid team (The groms including Willie & I). We’re sitting at $16K raised—unreal effort. Final hour to donate is now (2pm deadline). If you’ve got a spare $20 or more, chuck it [here]. That’s the last you’ll hear about fundraising from me for a whole year. Promise.

RCVRI
This Friday’s looking good: ice baths, saunas, and $2 brekkie burritos. Bondi’s warming up thanks to RCVRI + Through Strangers’ Eyes at @GloryDays, 6–9am. Every dollar goes to mental health support in Sydney, powered by LSKD.

Seeya! :: uge

See full post & more photographs
Surfing is popular at Bondi! 7am

Midweek Micro

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
Lucky shorey frame, right place, right shutter speed, right light

Waves & Shutters

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
Water sculptures, South Bondi

Glow & Go

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
All electric on the beach, EV9 Kia our newest partner

Rain Dance

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
Thursdays, with some new paint

Never-Ending Shower

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
Little Viking dropping into a hollow one, Bondi 7:30am

Clearing Skies

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
Easter, this wave was enormous

Back At It

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
Yamba, sunrise

Il Delfino

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
Tommy, stabbing with stitches. South Bondi

Dip, Click, Repeat

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
Felix Ettelson, double drag for the bowl

Bondi Bowlo

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
Pile on! Bondi 6:30am today

Clocked out

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 […]
See full post & more photographs
With manageable surf conditions the crowds are back

Friday Shindigs

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). […]
See full post & more photographs