For over 100 years the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse has been a guiding beacon for vessels navigating the treacherous entrance to Port Phillip Bay. Commonly known as the rip, the entrance is listed in the 10 most dangerous navigable passages in the world.

It was early 2021 when I found myself doing a last-minute stopover in Melbourne after running our exciting Merimbula photography tour. I needed to assist my team with moving and installing some large framed pieces from storage into our Mornington Gallery so decided to stay overnight and shoot the sunset and sunrise down at beautiful Point Lonsdale.

As I drove towards Point Lonsdale from Melbourne Airport I could see some strong potential for a stunning sunset. Sadly, when I finally arrived the clouds were all in the wrong part of the sky. I spent a good couple of hours exploring the rockpools anyway and experimented with different compositions before heading back to settle into my cheap motel room for the night.

My alarm went off at 5:30am the following morning and I rolled out of bed, had a shower then packed my bags. As I began the drive to the lighthouse I could see faint pink and red hues in the sky, it was looking very promising.

I had a huge smile on my face when I arrived, it had been a while since I had been out shooting and hadn't seen a colourful sunrise like this for quite some time!

I spent a short time underneath the pier but wasn't happy with the tide level so headed back to the rockpools under the lighthouse. A few minutes later the sunrise peaked and I captured this beautiful scene, what a glorious morning!