Freshwater Beach, NSW | Sunrise | Landscape Photography

Although I normally post up my wedding photography (plus some other portrait photography I do), I actually really enjoy taking landscape photography! It doesn’t “pay the bills” as it were, but it’s still great fun.
I think it’s always good to keep the brain ticking over, trying different things and in the end I think it improves my photography as a whole. Win-Win!

So I drove out to Freshwater Beach one morning in March 2014. I’d been to the beach before but never really looked at spots to photograph or what I really wanted to come home with. I thought, let’s see where the morning takes me and if I’m lucky, I’ll come home with a half-decent photo!
The thing about landscape photography (and sunrise shots in particular) is that you very rarely know if it’s going to be a good sunrise or not! I don’t live near the beach, so I needed to leave home well before the sun had even started to rise. It may have been a non-event. No colours, no cloud, too much cloud, rain starts falling, get lost while going to the location etc etc.

I guess I was lucky on this occasion!
I drove to a carpark above Freshwater Beach and after walking around for a few minutes decided to go down to the rocks and get the sun rising directly above the horizon. The rocks were also a great spot since there were these amazing natural rock pools! Filled with water from high tide, the mini pools weren’t being hit by the waves crashing into shore so they were perfectly still. Perfect for landscape photography!
As the sun rose, the sky turned on a show! Some wonderful purple and orange colours starting showing against some low-lying clouds towards the horizon. These purple colours only lasted 5 minutes or so, then it was back to the bright, saturated orange of sunrise.

After the sun had well and truly risen, I took a walk around and above Freshwater Beach. Finding a great little lookout/opening behind the beach allowed me to get out my Canon 70-200mm f/2.7 IS L lens and get some shots of the surfers and beach as the sun cast some pretty awesome shadows all over..!

Below are some of my personal picks from the morning’s shoot.

P.S. If anybody would like these images printed either as a high quality print or canvas, please contact me.

Taken before the sun rose above the horizon, the sky just begins to glow.

If it wasn’t a cloudy morning, I’m sure this sunrise wouldn’t have been as colourful!

With the sun just rising and it’s glow hitting the bottom of the clouds, it casts a great range of colours. And with the natural rock pool making a perfect reflection.

Orange glow causes the sky to light up.

After the purple colours had finished, the entire sky starting turning the more traditional golden colour as the sun got higher.

The natural rock pool’s around Freshwater Beach can help create such a unique image.

After the sun had well and truly risen above the horizon, a woman walked to the edge of the rocks, sat down and took it all in.

A ski border rides back into shore to Freshwater Beach

A few skiers paddle along the back of Freshwater with the rising sun.

Surfers make their way out towards the waves at Freshwater Beach

After walking around to the top of Freshwater, I found a great little lookout with this lone tree reaching out.

As the sun rose from the left, it cast some great shadows all over the beach. And with the uneven surface of the sand caused this rather abstract image.

Surfers catch a wave on their way into Freshwater Beach