When Covid-19 lockdowns hit our little bubble in Adelaide I for one was both scared and relieved. On the one hand, I found 90% of my work disappear overnight, on the other, my eight-month old daughter.

As each week of lockdown stretched on our little family grew tighter in ways I had only dreamed of. As a single guy you watch your friends start families and hear stories of their kids playing hide-and-seek to jump out and scare them sounds super cute and only really seen in movies, lockdown brought a sense of presence I realised had been missing in my career chase over the past year.

2021 brought a fresh breath of ‘getting back to normal’, the work was returning and a few interstate trips got underway, then Delta hit Sydney which rapidly trickled over the border and once again we went into lockdown, and the cycle seemed to repeat. It has to be said that our population density is a blip in the ocean compared to the other cities, which is how we’ve avoided the month long lockdowns for a week here and there, and once again I thank my lucky stars we bought a house two streets from our somewhat private beach.

Moana Beach is the remaining stretch of five kilometres of walkable sand, of which a two lane esplanade follows the curves and hills. This road gets pretty busy at times, and I must admit as a teenager spent many Friday and Saturday nights going from one end to the other with either punk rock or broadway showtimes blaring from open windows depending on the mood. Moana beach is also permitted to drive a vehicle on, and mid-summer 40+ degree days it’s easy to count 200 cars stacked three deep with people looking to enjoy the beach with the comforts of their car close by.

While my introverted self cringes at the thought of crowded beaches - it was fun to shoot crowds for The Underwater Project series in Sydney but were also a major reason why I left - but the redeeming factor for the last 600 meters of beach is a fence of wooden pylons punched into the beach to stop the cars. Add in a conservation reserve between the busy esplanade and our section of development which means going back to the main road and through suburbs to get back to the beach means it results in a secluded beach that only locals really visit. Add in the latest 5 kilometre exercise restrictions and most nights I’m a solo figure freezing amongst the shore break, so so thankful for these wooden pylons.

Limited Edition prints available from Otomys Gallery.