Sydney Beaches

Sydney is the home to the most famous and beautiful beaches. With around 100 astonishing beaches, the city of Sydney is among the most visited tourist destinations, offering some of the finest surfing spots, seascapes, and harbour coves. Despite their popularity, the water and sand among the most visited beaches are exceptionally clean. Also most of the beaches have life guards patrols, amenities and plenty of parking.

Sunrises at the Sydney beaches

Depending on the time of the day you visit these beaches, you can experience different colours of unbothered nature. One of the most exclusive and calming experiences beaches offer is the sunrise. The warm glow of the sun, when the golden ball hovers below the horizon, making everything visible and kissing the waves cannot be described through words. The most effective way to give a glimpse to the audience that what the experience is like is through photographing it.

Tips to get the best sunrise photo at the Sydney Beaches

Photographing sunrises is all about the timing, camera settings and the weather. If not photographed right, it may result in a wasted early start of the day – you won’t get your missing sleeping hours back that day. Here are some tips for capturing the essence of the scene to the most extent.

Planning

Plan ahead! Do some research on deciding the location, see if it provides an easy access and/or interesting cliff or a rock formation. Time is the most vital point, reach the location almost 30 minutes earlier, so there is no chance of missing the sunrise. Keep an eye on the weather conditions. You can use websites like WillyWeather and SkyppySky to know what the conditions will be at the location at the time of sunrise. From our experience the forecast is most accurate for the next 24 hours only.

Gear

While deciding what gear to take with you, do not bulk up your bag. Just take the camera body, a couple of lenses and never forget the tripod. Tripod is one of the most vital equipment used in landscape photography. Without it, it would be difficult to get clear shots at slower shutter speeds.
Use a wide-angle lens like 15mm to capture the most in one frame, also carry a zoom lens for the detailed shots. We recommend using an aperture in the middle of the range since it results in the sharpest possible image. Just adjusting the shutter speed to get a good exposure and you will be able to snatch a great shot. Also, carrying accessories like ND filter or remote control is a wise decision. Remote control will allow you to avoid camera shakes while pressing the shutter release.

Camera Settings

The camera settings will decide how your photo comes out. Set the shutter speed according to the desired outcome. Using slower shutter speeds can help you get photos with smooth magical looking water and clouds. For the clear wide landscapes aperture between f/6 – f/11 is the go to option. ISO sensitivity can vary from ISO 400 to ISO 100 of further depending on the time and position of the sun.

Composition

The composition is THE MOST curial factor. Take time and observe the scene. Look for the best possible frame. You can look from lines, patterns or streams to make your photo look interesting.
One of the most used techniques in landscape photography is panorama shooting. It allows covering most of the area in a single frame. With the help of a tripod, you can take a well-synced panorama shot. These photographs amazingly present the landscapes.

Wait for the right shot

Shooting sunrises can be frustrating as the camera settings have to be very particular. A little mistake can ruin the shot. Besides, during the session, time is a vital factor. Be patient, wait and keep trying until you get your best shot.

The most famous Sydney beaches:

Some of the best beach locations in Sydney to perfectly photograph the magical sunrises include:

Bondi Beach – The Most Famous Sydney Beach

Bondi Beach is one of the world’s most famous as well as the most visited beaches. It’s 8 km away from the city centre, almost 7 km east to the Sydney Central business district. Its warm temperature, parked sand, the rocks the best surfing waves together make this beach one of the best places to visit. This beach has over 2.5 million visitors every year. The southern end beach is exposed to the Pacific Ocean, which makes it quite dangerous. It is one of the few beaches filled with visitors for almost all times of the year.

Manly Beach – Second Most Famous Sydney Beach

Manly beach, which is Australia’s second most famous beach, is situated among the northern beaches of Sydney. It gives an unbeatable view with its golden shore that stretches over three kilometres. Manly Beach is one of the most visited beaches in the city. It is also the most renowned beaches for surfing. This beach has 3 major sections that are Queenscliff, North Steyne, and South Steyne. The best way to get to the beach is through leisurely 30 min ferry ride. You can get on the ferry at Circular Quay, it then glides across the beautiful natural harbours to the Manly beach.

Freshwater Beach – Family Friendly Sydney Beach

This is a beach located in Freshwater, New South Wales is part of the Manly-Freshwater National and World Surfing Reserve. This place recognises the many cultural, historical and environmental values of famous surfing beaches. Freshwater beach is also a very famous family beach. It is flanked by headlands on both sides, thus it produces exceptional surf conditions. The beach gets its name from a small creek running out the northern end, which provided fresh water to the campers who camped here back in the 1900s. Freshwater beach also has its surf lifesaving club.

Curl Curl Beach – Most Dangerous Rips of all the Sydney Beaches

The Curl Curl beach is mainly visited by the locals. Thus it is not so busy as the other beaches. It is located between the Dee Why Beach and Freshwater Beach. This beautiful beach is about 1.2 km long and is divided into north and south Curl Curl. The north part of the beach has a lagoon, which provides excellent swimming and board boarding conditions. The south end is famous for the beautiful child-friendly ocean. Curl Curl is also known as one of the best surfing spots on the Northern Beaches. You can get there by various bus routes from almost all parts of the city.

Dee Why Beach

Dee Why is the heart of northern beaches located 18 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district. It has great swimming conditions. It is also a popular family-friendly beach due to its easy accessibility. Dee Why Beach famous as the host of the Australia Day event as well as an annual New Year’s Eve fireworks event. It also is the site of several first-class sporting events such as the Sun Run and Ocean Thunder. Dunes in the north separate the beach from the Dee Why Lagoon.

At City Vista Photography we have an extended array of Sydney Beaches Sunrises wall art prints available through our Print Shop. Make a perfect gift to your family or friend, order a sunrise print today.

This article is Part 1 of a two part article. Continue reading to Part 2 – Perfect Sydney Beach to Photograph Sunrise