Morning light illuminating the imposing rock formations of Bombo Quarry
Kiama on the South Coast of NSW is a dream location to explore and capture seascape photography—plus it’s less than 2 hours south of Sydney!
Home to iconic locations such as Cathedral Rocks and Bombo Quarry, the coastline hosts a number of picturesque seascape locations just waiting to be photographed. Having photographed the region since 2012, I want to share my top 5 seascape locations and offer a number of tips on composition and conditions—such as tides, swell and timing—on how to capture these seascape scenes in the best light.
First up is one of the region’s best-known photography locations.
Bombo Headland Quarry
The striking Bombo Quarry is situated to the north of Kiama township, and can be accessed via train from Sydney to Bombo Station or via the carpark at the north end of Bombo Beach. The old quarry is now long-abandoned, with easy walking access down into the main amphitheatre.
With the summer sun well-aligned down the channel, we set up close to the crashing waves and simply waited. The sky exploded with the rising sun lighting the clouds above in the most glorious glowing colours I’ve seen in some time.
The key features of the quarry are the ancient basalt columns towering out of the sea, like castle walls. When looking for compositions, wide-angle lenses work great here, allowing you to get in close to foreground boulders and rocks, helping to emphasise the rugged coastline. Bring a tripod for long exposures, and consider ‘short’ long-exposures from ⅓ to ⅛ of a second to help retain some detail in the crashing waves and water through the channels. Experiment with a range of shutter speeds and then review the water movement for your preferred effect.
Moonrise over the north channel Bombo Quarry
Like most of the coastal locations in this guide, it’s important to pay attention to the swell as large waves often crash up over the basalt walls. The southern channel offers great sunrise views from March through to October, while the narrow channel at the north end is best aligned for sunrise from November to February.
Lastly, Bombo Quarry is also a prime location for seascape astrophotography with low levels of light pollution. The Milky Way rises to the south-east over the basalt wall, and is best viewed from April through to August. Consider taking a longer exposure (i.e. 30+ seconds) for the foreground rocks and a quicker exposure of about 13 seconds to freeze the moving stars in place.
Cathedral Rocks
Just north of Bombo Quarry are the stunning Cathedral Rocks—two seastacks rising out of the ocean. Best accessed from the southern end of Jones Beach, I’d recommend visiting during daytime to first scope out the location. There’s a number of rock channels which can be easily crossed at low tide, but quickly fill in high tide.
Long exposure of the incoming wave rushing over the boulders at the base of Cathedral Rocks
Sea cave at Cathedral Rocks
Like at Bombo Quarry, pay attention to the swell and tides before venturing out—larger swells will create more impressive motion in the water, but may make it difficult to explore across the channels. There’s an iconic seacave nestled into the cliffs that offers a framed view of one of the sea stacks. The channel out of the cave runs south-east offering great sunrise views from November through to January.
And rather than hanging back with a wide-angle lens to capture the entire scene, look to position yourself close to the rushing water to help emphasise the motion and movement (if you’re not afraid to get a little wet, consider planting your tripod in the path of incoming waves). Just keep an eye on rising tides as rogue waves can rush up to splash onto your gear—I know this all too well!
Pheasant Point
Less well-known than the two seascape icons of the South Coast, Pheasant Point offers a series of jagged rockshelves and channels just off Kiama Harbour. Park near Black Beach Reserve, walk down to the Continental Rockpool (more on that shortly) and then hug the coastline north around the headland.
Morning swell rushing up a channel at Pheasant Point
Like Cathedral Rocks, avoid Pheasant Point on rising tides or during large swells as the rockselves can fill with water and leave you trapped out on the headland. My preferred time to visit is on a receding mid-tide, which will only fall in height, but is still large enough to interact with the rocks and rush down the many channels.
Before taking a shot, make time to observe how the waves are spilling over rockshelves, shooting down a channel or snaking through boulders. Consider how all the elements in the scene are interacting (including the direction of sunrise/light) before planting your tripod down to capture the image.
The Continental Pool & Kiama Rock Pool
Just south of Pheasant Point is the first of Kiama’s two scenic rockpools—The Continental Pool. I personally get a kick out of photographing this pool as, on the right conditions, you can get the illusion of perfectly smooth ripples receding out forever to the horizon. The pool is located about 1m above sea level, and when the waves are just crashing over they send smooth ripples out across the pool. Position yourself low to the water and consider if you prefer the entire scene in focus (f/11-14) or just the foreground ripples (f/2.8-5.6) and then shoot out to infinity.
The other (arguably more scenic) rockpool is found near the iconic Blowhole—Kiama Rock Pool. Early in the day there’s often morning swimmers, so rather than avoiding them, consider how you might incorporate them to enhance the context of the image. Perhaps working with the ripples from their strokes or freezing the scene as they dive into the pool. Afterwards, take time to wander around the imposing Blow Hole Point to discover unique coves and rock textures to photograph on your next outing.
Minnamurra Headland
Sunrise over the rugged coast looking towards Minnamurra’s Rangoon Island
Only a 10 minute drive north of Kiama is the idyllic township of Minnamurra, home to the understated Minnamurra Headland. Out on the headland you have two main angles options to consider—wide rugged cliffs (that look more at home on an Icelandic travel brochure) or getting close to the rocks as waves cut through the scene (or both if you can make the early morning dash up the headland).
Looking out across the cliffs of Minnamurra Headland
Towards the north-east of the headland (search ‘Minnamurra Point’ on Google Maps) the jagged rocks jut out like teeth from the ocean floor, but can be treacherous on high tide. In winter with sunrise to the north there are good opportunities to also line your frame up with Rangoon Island (aka ‘Stack Island’), located just off Mystic’s Beach, Killalea.
When the swell is more treacherous, perch yourself atop the headland and shoot down across the cliffs, leading out to Rangoon Island—just be mindful of the sheer drop down below. While you’re up there, consider varying your shutter speed and framing. Perhaps use an ND filter for a silky smooth 2 minute exposure, or try a telephoto lens to isolate waves crashing against the coastline.
That’s my top 5 locations to photograph around Kiama on the South Coast of NSW—but there’s much more along the greater South Coast too. From the sheer rockshelves paving the North Wollongong coast, to the pristine beaches of the Shoalhaven, to Bermagui’s iconic Horsehead Rock further down, the South Coast of NSW is a seascape photographer’s paradise. Time to go shooting!
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