At this time of year the sun rises perfectly behind the waves at Maroubra. (nice and late as well before the Daylight saving switch). Some people say don’t shoot photos directly into the sun – but I think that’s the best angle. Especially with the big lens where you can fill the frame will burnt hues. Get a decent set and the groms will throw sparks…
The waves weren’t that impressive this morning (again). The swell has come up a smidge, now from the ENE but it lacks power and order…the 7:30am high tide (1.6m) wasn’t doing this weak swell any favours – putting heaps of fat into those already bankless, fat faces. Winds are from the NE as this day shapes up to be another beautiful beach day. The northerly wind will howl tonight though – 20 knots…
10.
So we’ve cracked a decade. Yep kids, Aquabumps has been around for 10 years now. I had visions of a massive party, not too dissimilar to our 8th Birthday (900 people at Hugos lounge) where we gave away bullion, boards and fancy artwork amongst potent cocktails…well…we haven’t planned anything yet! Not sure if it’s the thought of 800 people crawling all over my crispy new Bondi gallery – or I’ve been distracted with choppers, renovations, GFCs and sharks…but something will happen – soon.
Hey thanks for reading this daily ramble. It’s hard to believe that 30,000 follow the Aquabumps updates daily. What started out as a email between a few mates exploded. People come into the gallery all the time saying they’ve been following Aquabumps for 8 years and from all over the globe. There are readers in Italy, Poland, Mainland China, plenty in the US and UK, Mexico, Chile, all throughout South-East Asia and even a 1 bloke who lives on a oil rig off Africa. (add where you’re from here). Thanks readers.
Here is some fast facts for frequently asked questions…Aquabumps is now a real business (with full time staff). We have 1 gallery in Bondi, closed the one in Bali last year, will open another in Singapore in December. I shoot on Canon gear predominantly (EOS 1dsmk3, 1dsmk2, 5d Mk2 with a pile of prime L series lenses – Thanks for your support Canon!). Also in the bag is Fuji gx 617s, Hassleblad Xpan2s and a Holga). The only filter I own is a polarizer which is corroded onto one of my wide lenses – no coloured filters. Only 1 nut takes all these photos (most people think there is a small army of shooters). No we don’t spend the rest of the day on the beach (I wish). I shoot 50 images per day and 5 go on the site. Average day is 1 hour of shooting, 2 hours of writing/uploading. Glad you like our unique framing techniques in the gallery – we like them too.
Million people to thank. Here is the speedy version – Mikala, Gloria, Returnity, Canon, Jands, all the advertisers, Deebee, Richard Vevers, Ness, JV, Mad dog, Zac, Kelvinator, Andi Cliffe, Greg Alderman, Tengirri, all the people that have purchased from the gallery and so many more…adios: ugios
PS – for all questions, comments go here
Congratulations on 10 years of keeping me sane while I froze my arse off in Tokyo and Shanghai, and also kept me enthused about all the great stuff I was missing from Bondi, while I slaved away in Singapore, Bangkok and all the other surfless places I’ve been living. Now I’m back in Sydney, I still get cranky until your daily posting comes up.
I wish you all the best and keep up the good vibes.
Cheers
Well DONE!!!!
Congratulation on the BIG 10.
I have to say that living here in BONDAGE-Ville has its luxuries.
But it is the Aquabumps hub that completes it.
Thanks for being apart of my life-style…
Cheers
ROB
WOW – 10 years sweetpea… You are quite a legend and such a ray of sunshine 😀 Luv, Luv, Luv – you deserve it!! Satisfied Sydneysider Xx
Well done. Love it.
Happy anniversary – You’ve done what so many admire. Guess one of the clues has been to just keep going…
Got my first subscription to Aquabumps primo 2004 and have read it while living in Auckland, Denmark (Cph) and now in Adelaide.
Thanks
A lonely Swiss rider desperately searching for waves in Singapore is one of your biggest fans. Your daily email makes my day – everyday!!!
Enjoy marvellous Sydney.
Cheerio,
Cornelius
Thanks so much and Congratulations! Best part of the day when the aquabumps email comes through!
I wish you all the success for the next 10
Great milestone Uge.
I still recall the telling off you got from the CIO of Deloitte when you crashed the servers company wide with your email blast. “Just don’t do it again…ever.” That was the time you knew managing the list in Excel and sending it via bcc wasn’t gonna scale.
You’ve inspired countless people and sites. Not to mention me. I started http://www.lostateminor.com taking inspiration from you mate.
Well done.
Zac
You have kept me from the depths of depression and surfing withdrawal since I have moved to Tom Price, WA! Your daily emails keen me sane till I can get down to the coast for a fix.
Thank you!
10 years!
Well done Eugene, congratulations!
Great milestone 10 years: I work in the mines in the north west of WA and after living away from the ocean for 4 weeks at a time I look forward to your daily email, keeps me going in the 48 degrees and the red dirt.
Lets me know that im not on Mars and there is a world out there Keep up the good work.
How do I get a job like yours?
So excited to hear you’re opening a gallery in Singapore! Have been following you from around the world for years – always nice to see Bondi every morning from wherever we are.
Cheers
Congratulations!! What a milestone!
I’ve only been a subscriber for a year or so but everyday I look forward to the colours and waves exploding onto my monitor. Especially during those times when the lack of swell in Perth leaves me edgy with the shakes!
Thanks for the sunrises
Thanks for the trivia
Thanks for the female surfer shots
Thanks for sharing!
Got hooked on Aquabumps a year ago, here in the States. Just returned to L.A. from a month in Bondi. Thanking God for you more than ever now! (Withdrawl.)
Congrats. Is that the cover of a potential book I see on your home page today? Would love a collection of all these pix. Would also like to come aout and watch you shoot one day!R
Congratulation, I love it. It puts a smile on my face each day.
10 years congratulations – as they say many places go out of business in the first 10 years few do in the second and third 10 years – your here for life now……
What about posting your favourite shots from the 10 years – big ask but it would be a great look see.
Well done
Sefton
Uge! Congratulations from the Suny Coast! I have been following Aqua Bumps since Miss B 05 (the old school style haha) and have watched Aqua Bumps go from strength to strength in this time! Huge growth, it’s been an inspiration to many people locally, nationally and internationally! Aquabumps is one of it’s kind and keeps so many around the world smiling with your down to earth images of what draws us all to your site!
Cheers and hope I can make the party! Yiew, Sash
Selamat hari ulang tahun! (Happy birthday)
Thanks for supporting and advertising all the not-for-profit gigs.
Not just a fabulous photgrapher.
Hebat dong!
Happy Birthday Aqua Bumps!!! Love Pussy Cat & Big Dog
Crescent Head, NSW x
There is life after New York.
Been traveling the world for the last few years before finally settling down here in sunny Brooklyn.
Been a particularly tough winter with a distinct lack of waves and a rather low temperatures.
Two foot at -1C is a big call.
Thanks for the surf, the sun, and swimmercam.
well done UGE. you are an original. others may do it, but consistency and perseverance grease the wheel. you inspire other shooters, and surfers. thank you. buckle up in the chopper.
Mate – good work on cracking the 10 year mark and showing the world that you don’t have to do the desk job/blackberry/mobile combo to be successful… ps: the singapore gallery will kick.. make sure you have an opening party… ex pats up here have turned drinking after work into an art form…
THE ONE DAY WE DIDN”T RECEIVE AQUABUMPS AND THE E-MAIL WHERE”S UGE ARRIVED:
From: Angela Murphy [mailto:Angela.Murphy@daa.nsw.gov.au]
Sent: Tuesday, 17 March 2009 4:00 PM
To: Maher, Jessica
Subject: RE: where is uge do you think?
two days off I believe…my email writing is really suffering from the burden of work that has been upon me of late…however today has been a rather long, slow day…when I was able to register the disappearance of uge
>>> “Jessica” 17/03/2009 3:53 pm >>>
Good point! Maybe its his birthday and his gf sleep walked him to the car at around 2 am and drove him to a secret location so that upon awakening he was greeted by unfamiliar surrounds…reaching to his bedside table to grb his canon a3000 he realised that there was no bedside table and removed his eye covers to reveal a tepee – yes he was asleep in a teepee.
At that precise moment his gf walked in juggling a tray of what looked like breakfast and a bundle of fresh wattle – happy birthday babe she hollers as she places down the tray on the bed and hands him the wattle. Uge feels a sensation that he has never quite felt before////perhaps this was the same sensation he had heard his colleagues brag about…yes that was it…the feeling of a man with the day off!
—–Original Message—–
From: Angela
Sent: Tuesday, 17 March 2009 3:41 PM
To: Jessica
Subject: where is uge do you think?
Hey! love this newsletter..
Let me know when you open up in SG – so when i visit my home town I can pay visit.
xox
Congrats on 10 years. I haven’t been following that long but love getting your inspirational shots in the email each day. Would love to see you come north of the border sometime and shoot some Queenlsand scenes.
Happy Birthday and Thanks for all those Aqua Bumps!
Way to go Uge!!
Been great to watch your success with Aquabumps. It’s a mix of admiration and envy, you have created a great lifestyle career for yourself and one I wish i could emulate.
I’ve been dialing in since 2002 and always stoked with the pics.
Living in surfless Singapore right now and the daily ‘bumps helps scratch that itch between surf trips. Also as a sometime volunteer for SurfAid also wanted to say thanks for the support for the cause.
Keep it coming!
Brett
congrats on the big 1 0 and thanks for the emails which always prove an informative entertaining read. Despite living opposite the super banks – i love to see the pic’s and what’s happening in Bondi! Cheers
Started peeping it in Montreal Canada and rode the wave through stints in downtown Sydney, Kuala Lumpur and the northern beaches. Love your work Uge,
I’m keen for the next 10 years of escapism.
h
Congrats on 10 years of doing what you love. We’re all jealous.
Congrats !
Thanks for all the fish !
(Venezuela)
Consistently fantatic photos – you’re an alchemist Uge!
I’m sure you’ve lots of followers here but I’ve converted some new ones.
Here’s to 20 years.
Thanks for capturing beautiful reality out there. Another ten.
Thanks for my daily reminder of home. One of your wave images holds pride of place on my living room wall here in Dubai – a nice contrast to the desert! and mostly waveless coast. Congratulations
I open your email when I need a beach break from my desk…mini-mediation =)
I have forwarded this link to many people back home (imagine seeing these pics on a harsh Toronto winter’s day?)
Well done on your impressive global cult following.
Uge,
Congratulations on 10 years of Aquabumps, and keeping your original idea, fresh and interesting ….hard in any industry.
Hamish.
Congratulations on a successful business that brings a ray of Bondi sunshine to our working lives.
Uge, big congrats. your email keeps me going everyday. I always use my fave pics as the background to my boring work computer.
keep up the good work
(sydney- north side!)
well done Uge, next time you’re over come and check out the new studio.
Matt / Bali
I look forward to my daily dose of Aquabumps as I sit in cold and wintery Toronto, Canada. Hey, but spring is slowing improving things and it wont be long before I’m playing golf and enjoying the summer. But no surf in Ontario. I have to wait for my semi-annual trip to Sydney.
I can’t believe it’s been 10 years!
Jeez, we are getting old…
Congratulations Aquabumps!
Leo
I Live in Earlwood, the inner south west of sydney . It takes a good half hour if im lucky (damn m5) for me and my board to get wet and enjoy a surf. Ive lived here all my life (25 years) and practically have surfed for most of it too. As kids ,my friends and i would smirk with envy at the “locals” who had the privlidge to simply wake up out of bed (with that ever so uplifting salt in the air, refreshing those pipes), put on their shorts, grab a board and stroll down to the beach with them still scratching their sleep from their eyes as if to say “hello shower waves” . where is for us “westies” we were usually there on the sand, unpacking our backpacks and boardbags after a long and hauling trekk, yawning for reasons other than “hi man , just woke up dude”. Let me explain. 20 min walk from home to the station (in pitch black darkness for the early sess) “where, walking with surfboards under your arm is like well, seeing a “fish out of water “. An hour on the train (give or take) and another 10min from the station to the beach, and thats “IF” we went to the city beaches. The south coast trekks (which we did most weekends) well , they were more like a day gone than a day out haha …. But thats what it was for us , an adventure. It did take up the whole day ! From dusk till dawn. My group of mates and i reached to a point of stokeness that im sure no westie has ever been before, let alone heard of , period. “hell, we probably rivaled the locals with that one “. Now it has been 12 years since those days and out of the 8 of us that surfed, only 2 remain, mohwa and jai (who now lives in so cal) . These days i usually surf along the eastern city stretch. It amazes the locals when i tell them where im from , because to them i appear as a local , surfing amonst them most days, but really im still just a westie “undercover” who can actually surf now. My point is , Aquabumps , usually you guys save me a hell of a lot on petty. cheers and keep it up . Jim .
I’ll live on the beach one day !!!!!
We are now living in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and didn’t realise how much I would look forward to seeing the beautiful images on your emails everyday – makes me not a little bit homesick. A New Zealander girl at work also subscribes. I have started forwarding the link to your site to colleagues and friends here so hopefully you may have a few more subscribers from the Middle East before long.
Thanks.
Happy Birthday Aquabumps!
I subscribed a few Australians and non-Australians in our Dubai office since coming here. We all love the daily report. For me, it takes me straight back home and makes me want to return.
Congratulations
Elle
Congratulations on ten years, Uge – your photography is great – every day a superb new angle.
If there is a better example than you of “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” I don’t know the guy. Well done and here’s to the next 10. Now get back to work!
GITSUM Aquabumps!
Contrats on 10 years. I’ve been reading your dailly updates for a few of those years and it’s been a bright point of each day to see the great images you send through. Keep up the good work.
After 28 years in Perth, Aquabumps daily reminds me why I’m still a Sydney boy. Happy Birthday guys !
Uge 10 years and a lot of hard work.
No one appreciates the hard yards.
Who doesn’t love a mind break from tapping away on our computers all day.
Wishing we were down there with you.
Mal Jago
great to get a daily fix of surf shots, saw your exhibition at Melbourne art show last year, thought your photograhic exposay was inspiring, good luck with future exploits and mate what a top job you have got
The standard of photography over 10 years is consistently high…. hard to do. I enjoy it.
Just a new subscriber but there has to be new ones every day to make the big 30000. Big Congrats…
Great stuff – love the connection it gives me to the vibe of Bondi and Sydney-
busy changing the world one person at a time here in Auckland NZ
great that you’re out there too and doing it for 30000 a day
like we say over this way kia kaha bro! Keep on shootin’ and sendin’ !!
martin
Congrats mate. Double Digits
Missing Bondi heaps. Your pics keep it alive
Gavin
Blankenberge, Belgium
PS. We got waves today. 4 foot storm surf (cant be picky in Belgium)
Congrats! Your work is sensational!
Ever thought of producing a book covering your last 10 years work….I’ll buy a copy.
Another reader…here in Amsterdam. Love it.
Congratulations Uge.
I miss the Bondi life so much and it’s great to get the daily update every morning before I start work.
From the land of sand,
Damien
DUBAI
Herzlichen Glueckwunsch! All the expat Aussies of the Australia Club Rhein Main living in Frankfurt, Germany, and surrounds love your site. Keep it going – it keeps us going!
Congrats on the 10 years! The daily photos brings colors to every day in a city without the wonders of the ocean!
-Eugene
Johannesburg, South-Africa
What a cruisey little beach town… always a fun present to open up an aquabumps email. thanks for sharing.
– vancouver, canada.
Its the first thing I do every day when I get to work in sunny Scotland!! keeps me focused on coming back to sydney next year and help us get through the Scottish winter…thanks!
congratulations
paul
Happy birthday Aquabumps and thanks for creating this community of Ocean surf lovers!
The shots are awesome, the read is fun, and the sea as blue as ever.
Huge, you have definitely one of the best jobs in the world…
Keep riding the wave for those who can’t.
Aloha
5 years, every morning opening the Bumps email, it had to happen.
I’m emigrating to my new place in Sydney next month and swapping the freezing cold 2 foot English mush for some warm water and cold beers!!
Thanks for the inspiration.
Ben
Congratulations to the BIG 10! I love your daily mail!! Reminds me of good times I had over there and might have again one day…by the way, it is snowing today here in Munich so enjoy your day down under!
Love from Germany!
Tanja
I started reading the bumps when i was living in Sydney a couple of years ago. That was to check out what the waves are like for an evening ride.
Now back in Hamburg it is the first thing in the morning, when i get into the office, to open up your email. It always make me smile and sometimes laugh to read your comments. Makes me feel like i haven’t lost contact with Bondi and all you guys back there.
thanks uge
Congrats Uge,
u really helped with my 3 years living abroad. Soon I will be back at bondi.
Thank You.
Aquabumps…………..you make me smile everyday when I open your daily report, just brilliant! Especially when it is damp, cloudy and grey here in the UK, so Happy Birthday, don’t stop, think how many smiles you are making every day around the world!
Congrats on the massive 10 year milestone. AB brings my Bondi home closer when over here in the London cold. A real inspiration to see a creative web startup from Sydney too. noice.
Have been reading/looking at your website for years. Left Bondi in Oct 2008 to move to Italia and am now living in Florence. Missing the ocean SO much. Thanks for giving me a daily dose of paradise!
:)M
Congrats Uge,
Aquabumps – the best part of turning on the computer in the wet, cold miserable flat winter mornings 🙂
Ferg – Wexford, Ireland
Hey!
Really great page and congratulations to your 10th!!!!
There is nothing better in a cold office in Germany than to take a short break and recall the wonderful time in Bondi in 2006. Thanks a lot!!!
Nils
Uge, congrats! That’s quite a number! If this will carry on – cant even imagine how big it will be in a few years!! Good luck mate and catch ya down in bondi,
cheers Mike
Congratulations and thanks for keeping me sane while I live in waveless northern Michigan
Hello from Toronto Canada, I have been following AquaBumps for over 7 years. Keep up the good work, it keeps getting better and better!!!
Reader in Ireland!! Used to live in Bondi u never included me in any shots!! 🙂
Keep up the good work, come over to Ireland and shoot some waves with teeth on them!!
Been living in the US for 6 years – this is my daily dose of Australia.
Its like a life line for me…….
Random east coast US person, now living in Sydney, working in Canberra during the week. Have to say thanks. During the week I look forward to the daily email and dread the decent days I should be there, but am stuck here. Again, thanks for the awesome narratives and photographs (more daily please).
Tom
Congrats on 10 years. That is a big deal. You make this landlocked surfer from Austin, Texas start everyday in the right way…
Fell out of bed feeling down. This has brghetenid my day!
cheers from gran canaria!
Living through a Boston winter- your images warm the place up! Looking forward to coming home to see the new gallery!
Nina
Congrats Uge
While living in Perth last year I subscribed to the surf break of your website.
Back home now and still riding the waves on your fantastic web-site
while skiing the Rocky Mountain High.
You’re truly an inspiration.
Denver,Colorado
S
I lived in Bondi back in 2005, and haven’t been back since. The daily emails keep me in touch with what i refer to as a second home, especially when its snowy and cold as here in Chicago! Thanks for the shots and forcing me to search hard for a way to go back….
Hello from TORONTO CANADA!!!!
Currently living/working in Russia (about 900kms east of Moscow in a city called Kazan – Republic of Tatarstan in the Federation of Russia) were you can walk on the Volga River as it’s frozen 2 metres deep (and got down to minus 30 a few weeks ago) so there is not a wave (nor boardies or bikini) in sight.
A few nice sunsets yet nothing comes close to my hometown – Sydney. Your photos are a point of pleasure and pain:
– pleasure in the enjoyment I get to see my home whilst I’m so far away; and
– pain at the daily reminder that I am so far away!
Have shown your photos/site to a some Tatars and Russians who can’t believe they are real photos – ooohing and aaaaahing over how beautiful and clean things are.
Congratulations on your anniversary.
R
Hey Uge,
I have to congratulate you. I’m from Brazil and i lived in Bondi for 1 year in 2005. I have to thanks my mates Joe Biondino that introduced me the website and Mick Greenweel and Gavan Baker my surfmates. Joe once asked me when i already retuned to Brazil to watch the waves in Bondi from Aquabumps… Mate, it’s just turned me on. It just made me feel as i felt on the mornings at 7am in Bondi mate… The breezes, the smeel, the vibe, the colours, the girls… the temperature! AWESOME!! After that i signed in and it’s the first email that i open everyday. Love Brazil… but had such a memorable moments in Oz.
Tks mate to translate the vibe of this place everyday.
Roddy.
From the east end of London this Manly boy send his thanks.
Just to imagine the sets rolling in keeps me happy
To see them when I’m a stress bucket at some unnamed corporation
Allows me the pleasure of sitting out the back
Watching for that bump
That will one day take me home
Congrats on a decade well spent.
from the Hackney Surf team
Congratulations on your milestone Eugene. How about setting up a people choice for best photo over the ten years? Maybe in three divisions, Bondi, OS and art?
Luv your work. I travel from Austinmer on the south coast to work in down town Cabramatta. Your daily keeps the coast close. Congratulations.
Cheers from a very wave-less Phnom Penh, Cambodia (5 hours to some of the flattest seas around…). Your emails arrive about 8am here, which is just in time to inspire me to get through the day. Keep it up – hope there’s many more years to come!
Uge, hi from shawry and alex up here in hong kong . didnt see any other hk names so thought someone should fly the flag up here. hows about a couple of shots from gusto’s or paris cafe to perk up a morning breakky for the expats. cheers and good luck
G’Day Uge,
I got my first corporate office job in April 1999 and quickly realised I needed to tap into something online that gave me an idea of what was happening at the beach while stuck in the office.
After finding RealSurf I noticed pictures of Bondi/Bronte/Tama cropping up on their site and decided to take a look…
Almost 10 years on and I’m still hooked on these digital windows on to where I’d rather be..!
Awesome milestone mate, keep up the good work =)
Cheers, James
Happy Birthday Aquabumps!
Been getting your awe-inspiring emails and photos for 5 years now and since our move to London it adds a much-needed slice of lovely Sydney to our day. Love the sunrise pics this morning Uge, keep on snapping! x
Thanks for reminding me daily of what i’m missing out on being in the office… got hooked on the ‘Bumps site whilst living the easy life above the Express Realty in Hall St back in early 2003. Left Bondi since then but your images of its waves have stayed with my inbox ever since. It has become my comparison or benchmark while living living and surfing on the coasts of Denmark, France, Morocco and the UK. Landlocked in London for the fourth consecutive year interspersed (with tri-weekly weekends in Devon & Cornwall year-round) i finally did the return journey last year to once again surf at Bondi. What a cracker! Here’s to the next 10. niko
Your picture of 10 years celebration is now firmly sparkling down from my screen. Awesome wallpaper!! Keep it comin’.
Cheerio bye bye from Singapore,
Cornelius
Euge, as long as Aquabumps is here…….I will be too. You make me admire and appreciate the place I live in. We all need to be reminded that we live in awesomeness and you capture it everyday.
Cheers mate to another decade.
Nessie
Reading your news and looking at your fantastic photos reminds me why I have to move back to Bondi:)
Congrats on 10 years, and I hope you’ll keep on the good work for a long time:)
L.C from Norway
Sitting here in New York and seeing these reports always reminds me of the great sessions I had and great people I met during my time in Bondi. Thanks for my daily trip back to paradise and may you enjoy another 10+ !
fitzy, here in ireland lovin my daily day dream of livin the dream. you have the life buddy. cheers for the blast of escapism on dreary irish mornings