Located on the westernmost point of Victoria’s beautiful Mornington Peninsula, Portsea and neighbouring Sorrento are popular holiday destinations for Melbourne’s affluent.  

With the calm waters of Port Philip Bay to the north and the wild seas of Bass Strait to the south, there are a wide variety of picturesque beaches.

Nestled between the townships of Portsea and Sorrento are a series of secluded Port Philip Bay beaches. Scattered along these beaches are private jetties and small boats used to access private moorings.

I discovered this particular beach when first shooting the Mornington Peninsula in 2010 and have been revisiting ever since. With plenty of jetties and boats, there are endless opportunities for stunning photos here.

In April of 2017 I was feeling particularly inspired to capture the boats of the peninsula and decided to make a number of trips to Portsea until I found the shot I was looking for.

After watching the weather carefully over the course of a week or so, I could see some strong potential for a colourful sunrise one particular morning. I awoke at 5AM, grabbed my gear and made the 30 minute drive to Portsea.

As I arrived, the sky was looking promising so I raced along the beach and spent some time experimenting with different compositions using a handful of different boats and taking careful note of how the sunrise was developing.

I eventually settled on this colourful red boat as my subject, waited a few more minutes until the sunrise peaked then captured this simple yet magical photograph.

Satisfied that I had captured the shot I had been chasing, I packed my gear back into the car, took a short drive then went for a run out to Point Nepean and back.

I can’t think of a better way to start the day!