The Bogey hole

Shot at about 5:55am on the 1st Jan 2010 in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Managed to wake up at 4 and leave at 4:20am. Never actually saw the sun but was lucky enough to get a bit of colour in the clouds before everything went a flat bright colour.My next trip back there will be with a view to achieve something very different.

Edit: July 3 2010.

Click the picture for a bigger version.

For all of you searching for the location click here for the map

Tips: If you go early enough in the morning, ignore the no entry sign and drive right down to the hole. Otherwise it's a real hike. Especially if you are trying to catch the sun. You should be in and out before anyone can catch you. Go during a week day early. The locals like to turn up super early and swim or actually make it the last point of call after a night out. You won't get any pictures then. Be careful. The whole place is really slippery so take your time walking around. The boats on the horizon you can't do anything about. It's a pain but if you don't want them in your shot you're going to have to pick your angles carefully. If you want your picture to have any depth to it like the one above you should use film. Even if you have a pro DSLR (I own a canon 1d mark 3) you won't get the depth and colour. And anyone who says "HDR" as a solution should be shot. If you think you've taken a winner picture post a link to your shot in the comments. I'd love to take a look. Someone should do a great B+W long exposure. But I bet I end up doing this before anyone else (no one likes B+W any more).

4am

The thing's you do for a shot.I've been inspired lately by Mike Stacey, flux and Teiko's photos and while on a trip to Australia I thought I'd have a shot at doing a sunrise. Woke at 4am, which was a bit early but once I was up I thought it best to stay awake. Ended up leaving a bit late and arrived at Monavale beach just in time to see some colour in the sky. I wasn't sure what I'd have to shoot at (ISO) so I brought everything. Hasselblad with the Distagon 50mm, Planar 80mm and Sonar 150mm, a load of Kodak epp, GP and a bit of Provia 400x, my Canon 1D mark 3 with a 35mm prime, the Horizon 35mm panoramic camera and my light meter. My bag was brimming with gear. Worried that I'd meter incorrectly, I used my Canon as a meter, which, in hindsight was a good idea.

The sky was amazing. Basically exactly like it is in the picture. After being away from Australia for so long I couldn't understand why the beach was not full of people. Instead, to my complete joy, there was almost no one there. One swimmer in the pool, a few joggers on the beach...the atmosphere was fantastic. Just the sound of crashing waves and this amazing sky that was changing by the minute.

Going out on the rocks (near where the pole in the photo is) was my biggest worry. I wore my shoes, worried that I'd slip with 2 camera's and a bag full of lenses which was a bit of a mistake. Ended up having to trash the shoes. During the shoot I discovered the tide coming in which made for some seriously wet jeans and a slightly wet camera bag but no real damage done.

Managed to take 11 rolls while I was out before it got too light.

And to finish off the morning I found a great cafe close by serving excellent lattes, muffins and fresh fruit and yogurt.

If you have a chance to go to Sydney I highly recommend shooting a beach sunrise. But do yourself a favor and make sure you know a great cafe near by for after. It's the only way to finish off a morning.

Interesting to note that none of my pictures turned out anything like those who inspired me. Credit though goes to Mike Stacey for the location. I use to live in Monavale for a time and after seeing his picture just thought it made sense to go back since I knew the area.