This project documents the six beaches that form the northern spine of Sydney’s coastline: Mona Vale, Bungan, Newport, Avalon, Whale Beach, and Palm Beach. Each beach is a distinct micro‑culture shaped by geology, weather, and the ways people inhabit the coastline. Rather than portraits, the work focuses on evidence of human presence — structures, objects, marks, and behaviours — and how these interact with the natural environment.
The five ocean pools serve as recurring anchors: engineered rectangles set against the shifting Pacific. Bungan Beach, the lone pool‑less stretch, becomes a counterpoint — raw, steep, and minimally mediated by human infrastructure.
The project aims to create a calm, observational visual essay that reveals the subtle choreography between humans and the coastline across a full year.
Equipment is restricted to a Sony A7CR body with manual lenses: Voightländer 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar; Nikkor 35mm f/2 AI-S and a Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 AI. I've chosen to use manual lens so I slow down and think about the work as I'm photographing.
More images will be added and some removed as the project progresses.
