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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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). […]

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Thunderbumps from the outer banks

Thumping Sets

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 […]

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Couple of riders amongst the rogue at Ben Buckler

Neptune’s Fury

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. […]

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Ben Buckler Stormrider, 7am today.

Truly Unruly

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. […]

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March 21 - cracker sunrise

March in Review

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 […]

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Plunging into Bronte Pool

Salty Bathtub

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 […]

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The sunrise army is here.

Sunrise Stampede

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? […]

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Jacob Sheehan, channeling Yago Dora in the Portugal finals

Pulse Returns

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 […]

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Hints of a new day showing on the toilet block

Light vs. Dark

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 […]

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When all the elements align, Bondi 6:30am

Golden Hour Glory

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 […]

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Golden lights of a good start. Bondeye

Immersed

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 […]

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Sky painting at 6:20am, Bondi Beach

Drenched in Pink

This morning, Bondi Beach put on a show—one of those sunrises that stops you in your tracks. The kind that makes early alarms worth it, where the sky doesn’t just wake up—it explodes. Before the sun even peeked over the horizon, magenta and fiery pink streaks bled across the sky, reflecting off the ocean like […]

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Coffee on the grass with a decent sunrise

Flame up

A nice little glow of colour sprouted from a late sunrise this morning at Bondi. It was short-lived before being covered back over with dark clouds. It’s the season of change as the sun tucks back around Ben Buckler, signalling winter is approaching. I prefer the light side to Bondi; it does some fantastic tones […]

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The old post office on Hall

Cooling

After a weekend that had us all feeling like we were living inside an oven, with temperatures rocketing to a sizzling 39.3°C, today we’ve got a cooling smotherly giving us a break from the bake. This morning at Bondi, we’re greeted with partly sunny skies and a much more civilized 17°C. It’s rare to see […]

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Party waves all day long, Bondi 7:30am

Sunrise Bustle

It’s Friday, and the sunrise beach party vibes are here. It’s a cracker, sunny, hot morning, and thousands of early risers have flocked to our little beach for a good finish to the week. One-foot waves rolled in lazily, barely enough to stir the foam, but no one seemed to care. Surfers paddled for anything […]

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The sun is back, smothering the Bondi lineup

Sublime brine

After what seems like weeks of junky, limp, undersized surf – we’ve been gifted some decent surfing conditions this morning. Waves are breaking clean in the waist to shoulder-high vicinity and operating on multiple peaks. Groomed by a light NW offshore breeze and dowsed in the sunshine – the morning crew was out in significant […]

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Surfing in the trees at South Bondi

Post-Rain Glow

There’s something magical about the air after a rain shower. The dust settles, the horizon sharpens, and the light is crisp. The ocean reflects the sky like a polished mirror, and even the sand looks cleaner, washed smooth by the downpour. Around 7am the Alfred’s heavy clouds roll back, revealing a blanket of sunshine, illuminating […]

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Typical Monday's are not busy, was quite crammed this morning

Ah, Mondays

Ah, Monday. The start of a new week. Alfie’s remnants are making for dark skies, Northerly breezes, and a small limping 2-footer at Bondi. It will be much more significant at beaches oriented to Alfred’s swell machine – anything facing east or north (Bondi faces south). Today and tomorrow should be cloudy with patchy, odd […]

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North Curly Ocean Pool from a different angle

Alfred Who?

Tropical Cyclone Alfred remains stalled 195 km off the coast of Brisbane, increasing the suspense of this significant weather event. It should hit landfall tomorrow morning. Alfredo, now a Category 2 storm, is causing significant disruptions to our northern neighbours: over 1,000 schools in southeast Queensland are closed, public transport services in Brisbane have been […]

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Took a ride down to Bronte this morning, for something different

Bondi+Bronte

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is now 200 km off Brisbane, but its effects can be felt down here in Sydney. This morning, we had volatile weather, a few sprinkles, onshore winds from Alfred’s tail, and mushy, uninviting waves (no one out). These days are always a little tricky for me to shoot, trying to polish up […]

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Occasionally a nice set up on the right

Envy

Hello? Is anyone on here? I know, I know, with Tropical cyclone Alfredo spitting out the tubes of a lifetime on the Gold Coast, the last thing you probably want to see is shots of 3-4 foot onshore Bondi. Those points up there are so suited to the current conditions whilst we grind it out […]

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Empty, stormy beach. Bondi 7am

F.O.M.O

Have you seen what’s happening with the surf at the Gold Coast? It’s pumping. The first phase of Tropical Cyclone Alfred is delivering an endless array of waves hitting the beloved points, and the footage on social media is driving me wild. I’m experiencing extreme FOMO whilst rolling down to Bondi this morning, where the […]

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Boat Ramps : Yesterday, before Alfredo clouds came in

Hey Alfred.

Some beautiful beach weather for most of the weekend before Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s effects clouded our skies and the winds picked up. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is currently a Category 2 system located approximately 465 km northeast of Brisbane. Forecasts indicate it may make landfall between Bundaberg and the Gold Coast by Thursday, potentially impacting a […]

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Dawn delights, sunrise this morning at Icebergs

Dawn Party

The Friday dawn party arrived in Bondi, and the bay was full. The vibes were high, and the sunrise was picturesque. The waves were non-existent, but the crew were optimistic—lots of crew. The weatherman says a maximum of 32 degrees and glorious, but a light southerly change is brewing much later in the day. Bondi […]

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Sunshine in abundance, Bondi 6:30am

Solis

A warm summery morning with sunshine in abundance. Tiny one-footers broke at Bondi, clusters of humans tumbling on each set. The banks are very well defined and separated…you won’t miss them. 27 bangin’ degrees today. It’s a cracker beach day. It’s tourist season, and they love our famous summer weather. You can hear so many […]

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Launch off the Ross Jones Pool, Coogee

NO WAVES.

There were no waves today. Nuttin’. Zip. Zero. So I left the postcode and went all the way to Coogee and back through Bronte. After surveying the local beaches, I can definitely say Coogee was the busiest at 6:30 a.m. – wow – even busier than Bondi, but not a ‘Friday’ Bondi—our Friday’s are just […]

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Flattie, North Bondi

Utopian Daze

It wasn’t the most picturesque morning down at Bondi. There was a strong onshore wind, a very dark sky, and small, dribbly wind-blown surf. I’ll ‘fess up; I skipped shooting this morning…just didn’t see gold in the mundane! This storm will pass, and the rest of the week looks beach-worthy and hot. Pro-tip: get the […]

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Silky Mondays 7:00am

Sublime

What a nice morning to start the week—it was just beautiful down there earlier today. The waves are tiny, and the longboarders are in heaven. The surfaces are glass due to the lack of breeze. The water was exquisite, still warm and inviting (boardies and bikinis are fine for surfing). The sunrise was subtle, pinks […]

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It wouldn't be a Friday without the crew

Fry-day

It was a textbook Friday with an incredible number of people enjoying the comfortable conditions at Bondi. The music was blaring, and the sunrise parties kicked off like an arvo on Mykonos. The vibe is high, and everyone is in for a swim. The waves weren’t great, onshore head high and mushy, but the groms […]

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Bronte last week - walking the edge

Reminiscing

I’m late today, mainly because I didn’t take photos this morning. It was drizzling slightly around 7 a.m., so I took that as a sign to put the cameras down and sip another coffee whilst the skies remained dark. It was onshore from the get-go; Bondi is a mush pile, so this was also another […]

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Bondi 7am, bit wild out there

Big Stuff

Yesterday arvo the swell came up big. Some waves broke extremely far out, bang in the middle of the Bondi bay. We could have cuddled the shark buoy; we were that far out. How big? 6 foot with the odd more significant set. Good? Hmm, debatable; some mates snagged a few, but it wasn’t that […]

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Oh my, how's the nugget on that thing!

Bondi Capers

It was a pretty stock standard Bondi morning… The sunrise was shrouded with morning clouds, typical for this time of year. The Aquabumps Skydeck at South Bondeye was full of crew, phones out, ready to capture the marvellous start to this day. Icebergs is choccas, laps galore whilst the sand was a hive of activity, […]

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North Bondi SLSC

Very quiet…

It’s Monday, and a cold one, the water seemed deserted of swimmers and surfers. It’s pretty incredible what a few degrees make. Scroll back a few posts, and the bay was littered with human frothers. (see post) At sunrise, it was 17-18 degrees, the first time I’d put on a jumper in a while. The […]

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Below Deck - Only in Bondi - a giant spa that can hold 50 people on the beach

Friday’s Mayhem

It was a beautiful sunny Friday morning with the masses, a great way to end the week. Oh boy, there are so many crew on Fridays. Bondi just feels like it’s gonna pop at the seams (lycra seams, of course). Fortunately, there’s a giant spa being installed in the middle to calm it all down. […]

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Bronnnnnie

Around here…

Whilst the ENE swell has enlarged overnight, it isn’t better. There is a howling 20-knot NE wind in town, knocking things around. This morning I visited local beaches and places I rarely frequent, hunting new angles or shots for your viewing pleasure. I can’t say I saw anyone scoring good waves on my morning wanderings. […]

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The Dozer still rearranging the beach at Bondi.

Protected

The wind has been up since pretty early, and you’ll need to seek corners with protection from the ESE 10-knot breeze. Bondi looked fun (surf-wise) at sunrise, with ruffled surfaces, but there were definitely some peaky options. Not many crew were out. It is definitely staying darker longer as we drift into transitional seasons. Patchy […]

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Hell yeah little Spikey

Surprise Rise

Last night, I thought this morning would be a sleep-in, forecasted dark grey skies and a rain dump. These La Nina patterns are unpredictable – I was surprised to see it shape into a cracker day with full sunshine. Waves were decent, and a pack of hyperactive groms were in turbo-mode. Shoulder high, semi-clean, peaky […]

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