Dunedin Landscape Photography: St Clair Beach

Getting There

St Clair Beach is easily one of the most popular destinations for locals and visitors alike to enjoy a swim, stroll or a coffee in one of the lovely seaside esplanade cafes. It is less than 10 minutes drive from the centre of Dunedin city, Access to the St Clair Esplanade and the beach is via Victoria road. There is plenty of free parking along the waterfront.

A cafe and surf shop on the corner of the St Clair Esplanade.

The main reason many landscape photographers flock to St Clair beach is to photograph the old set of piles that were originally designed to help stop erosion on the beach. In 2015 a huge set of king tides pulverised the poles which had numbered beyond twenty, now only a few remain.

St Clair Poles 2015 New Years Day.

St Clair Poles July 2015. King tides decimate the poles and suck the sand from the beach exposing rocks and pebbles.

St Clair Poles as they look today.

Pink hues from the sunset match the flowers in the foreground of this image, I placed the famous poles in the background to give context to the location.

A moody start to the day on St Clair beach.

Summary

It would be a shame to visit Dunedin and not visit St Clair beach, even if it were only to stroll along the Esplanade. However the spot tends to get lovely sunrises and sunsets so is well worth a trip out with your camera.

Trev Hill is a professional photographer based in Dunedin.

Dunedin Landscape Photography: Tunnel Beach

Getting There

Access to Tunnel beach is located at the end of Tunnel beach road about 10 minutes drive from the city centre. The track to the beach is well constructed but it drops down onto the beach at a steep gradient. I have seen people go down easy enough but some do struggle to ascend again. There is a park bench or 2 to rest on if required. The walk down to the beach is no more than 10 minutes, however photographers might want to stop and take an image on the way down.

Elevated view of Tunnel beach in spring with gorse flowering

Plenty of Compositions

Tunnel beach offers up various viewpoints to take interesting images.

The steep pathway down to the beach creates a nice leading line into the composition.

These small fences have only been erected in the past year or so to help stop tourists from falling over cliff edges. I have used the grass and the fence to create a leading line into the image.

Tunnel beach at sunrise. The foreground clump of land helps balance the image.

Sunrise on Tunnel beach.

Here I am photographing from the most dominant cliff edge to the coastline beyond.

Here I just focused on the grass and the flowers in the foreground letting the cliff fall out of focus.

The arch is a great subject to shoot, but be careful of rouge waves and the slippery rock.

Summary

These are just a few examples of possible compositions at Tunnel beach. I know there are plenty more images to be had from this great location. You will be pleased to know there is tunnel access down onto the beach.

If you are visiting Dunedin a trip to tunnel beach is a must, but I suggest either going early or late to avoid the tourists.

Trev Hill is a professional photographer based in Dunedin.