On the 1st day of a new year I aim to take a photograph of the year’s first sunrise. I’ve been doing this little tradition for over a decade now, and every time I do I always feel locked in for the rest of the year. It’s a motivational tone setter. But getting up super early is a little bit harder during summer in the southern hemisphere, since the sun rises at a God awful time, but the effort to do it is always so satisfying.

The location I was at this morning was Norries Headland beach, New South Wales. During the day this is a bustling place full of surfers, swimmers and families, but in the early morning, especially on the first day of the year, it is a different story.

Overnight a storm had rolled through and, unfortunately, meant that the tail end of it would be lingering off the coast and blocking any chance to actually see the sun peaking out over the horizon. On top of that, strong swells were producing some incredibly big waves that were battering these rocks. So that was the scene. No sunrise light, and a powerful swell. These were the things I had to work with this morning.

I went about looking for any foreground subjects that I could focus on, and the only thing that really caught my eye was this pyramid shaped rock. Probably the sexiest rock on the beach at that moment.

*The foxiest rock in the whole beach | Nikon Z5ii + Nikon 24-200*

As the strong tide started to rush in, I often had to move out of the way at the last second. This shot was a result of me moving my tripod to avoid any catastrophe. The magic of a panicked gear grab.

*A panicked grab that accidently brought in some nice motion and movement. Capped off with early morning light.*

I decided to start focusing on the jagged rocks along the shore, hoping that they might help me this morning. The waves were interesting, but it just wasn’t clicking for me here.

*A big swell created lots of terrific opportunities for some long exposure waves | Nikon Z5ii + Nikon 24-200*

Moving from spot to spot, and keeping an eye on the time as well as the incoming sunrise light, I was getting a tad worried that I wouldn't be able to get something I'd be happy with. But these are the breaks when shooting a challenge like this, some years are easier than others, and this year, so far, was kind of difficult.

I was taking some OK shots, but nothing that really made me say “that's the one”.

*Early morning sun, trying to peek out of a storm cloud | Nikon Z5ii + Nikon 24-200*

And of course, whenever you’re ready to leave or pack up the light always aligns and you get that small window to make something with. Today was no different, just as I was going to pack it all down the high tide started to rush in, producing some interesting streams as it zipped across the exposed beach. As the sunrise light had passed, and the distant cloud bank locked in on the horizon, I finally got the shot of the day - even with a lacklustre sunrise. This unique looking rock silently handled the fast moving high tide, as it faced out to the distant storm. It was such a short but beautiful moment, and also not the result I was even expecting, which honestly makes it that much more satisfying.

Standing Strong

I love the ghostly whirlpool swirling around the base of the rock.

And that was that. First light, January 1st 2026 seen and captured. For me, this tradition is a really great way to set the tone for the year. And it’s an awesome way to jump head first into a location, a location that you may or may not really know that well, and see what you can capture, while on the clock before the sun rises. I really recommend trying this out too, if you can do this on the 1st sunrise of the year, what’s stopping you from doing it the rest of the year? Just think of all the amazing January 1st sunrises you could be capturing, but only if you get up early!

Watch the video of my experience from that morning, above.

First Sunrise Of The Year

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