Rockpool Photography – Part 1

No matter if it be running laps at your local pool, lazing in the sun on a private beach or jumping into Sydney Harbour for a swim, water has an intrinsic soothing quality that draws us all in. Many of us feel at ease in our local swimming holes – whether its ocean pools or natural rockpools with all their unique beauty!

Sydney beaches boast rockpools – natural swimming holes nestled into the base of cliffs and headlands along its coastline and harbour – that provide swimmers with shelter from wild ocean waves and rip currents. Each rockpool has its own special history or anecdote; but none can rival Bondi Icebergs: an idyllic natural rockpool nestled beneath its cliffs at the northern end of Bondi beach.

These natural ocean pools offer more than a refreshing dip and respite; they make great photographic subjects as well. By employing proper techniques and angles, natural rockpools can become breathtaking images. Ignacio Palacios of Pro Landscape Photography fame has an affinity for photographing natural rockpools; in our two-part series on them he shares his clever tips for taking stunning rockpool photos.

“Sydney Rockpools may just be the world’s most serene swimming pools,” states Ignacio Palacios of his new book Sydney Rockpools. Palacios has a particular fondness for these historic pools built during the 1800s to provide recreational and competitive swimmers alike a safe haven to swim in.

Design of this pool was driven by user input and feedback. A series of community meetings was hosted, along with extensive programming and feasibility studies for site selection, evaluation, and preliminary design. WTI collaborated closely with the Mayor’s Swimming Pool Committee to ensure this project met their goals.

Sydney’s coastline is known for being full of drama and complexity. A $25 million pool was constructed, though redevelopment efforts have experienced budget overruns and logistical difficulties since being initiated back in 2015.