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Humans of the Northern Beaches: We Belong is a podcast amplifying diverse voices from Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Hosted by local community leaders, each episode takes you on a journey through personal stories that delve into identity, culture, migration, disability, food and the profound connections that bind our community together.
Join us as we celebrate the stories that unite us all and discover how these narratives can inspire meaningful change in our own lives. Subscribe now and be part of a movement that embraces diversity and fosters community spirit.
All views and opinions expressed by participants in this podcast belong to the participants and do not reflect the views of Northern Beaches Council.
Hi, and welcome to the Humans
of the Northern Beaches,
We Belong podcast,
the show that gives a voice to a diverse
range of community members here on the
Northern Beaches in Sydney, Australia.
We wish to acknowledge the traditional
custodians on the lands on which we are
recording this podcast and show our
respect to the elders past and present
and any Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people
listening
This podcast is proudly funded
by the New South Wales government through
the New South Wales Social Cohesion Grants
for Local Government.
All views and opinions expressed
by participants in this podcast belong
to the participants and do not reflect
the views of Northern Beaches Council.
In today's episode,
co-host Maria meets Susan,
archaeologist by profession,
ocean photographer by passion.
Susan shares how a spontaneous hobby
during COVID turned into a meditative
ritual of capturing the beauty of the sea.
Let's start with some
quick fire questions.
Okay.
Manly or Palm Beach?
Colour in Arabic.
It's pretty obvious.
Beach or Bush?
Beach.
Nice.
Bayline or the ferry?
Oh, Ferry.
Ferry.
Nice.
Warringah Mall or Wallywood Square?
Oh, neither.
Yeah, yeah.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee.
Early bird or night owl?
Early bird.
Emo or kangoo?
Oh, can I go a while?
Yeah, yeah.
One thing you can't live without?
My kids.
What's your go-to comfort food?
Oh, probably coffee.
I think I know what you mean.
Summer or winter?
I love the long summer days,
but the water is better in winter.
Sweet or savoury?
Oh, savoury.
Do you have a favourite Do you
have a coffee shop on the beaches?
Actually, all the ones at Colouroy,
I love them all so much.
There's three that I just
can't live without.
And do you visit them often?
Often, yes.
City life or countryside?
Beachside.
I don't mind where it is.
Fair enough.
What's your favourite way
to relax after a long day?
Probably editing my photos.
I really...
I just like to zone in on them.
That's really fun.
And last one, favourite spot
on the northern beaches.
Colorado Beach.
Nice.
Yes.
Thank you.
So I I think for...
Let's start with telling me
something about your background.
How did your journey start?
I am actually trained as an archaeologist,
so that's my full-time job, too.
And I've worked
as an archaeologist for 25 years.
I then got into photography I mean,
I've always loved photos,
but I got into photography more during
COVID, as everyone does
with some more spare time.
And I've been taking photos from the beach
and then creeping closer and closer
to the water until I was trying to take
photos, ending up completely wet.
I needed to upgrade my camera
to get a water case, and then
eventually got water housing after that.
So it's just slowly getting more
and further and further into the
So during COVID, that's interesting.
Everybody, I guess,
started with a new hobby.
Absolutely.
That was mine.
Probably some people started to
Sourdo, thingy, hitting,
board games, things like that.
So what inspired you
to get closer to the water?
I am so drawn to it.
I just love watching the The sun come up
over the water.
I absolutely love
the 20 minutes after the sun comes up
and the sun comes through
the back of the wave.
That's my favourite My favourite part,
and the colour and the shape
and the texture of the waves,
I just can't get enough of it.
I just think it's so beautiful.
Oh, my God.
It's so inspiring.
You seem so excited.
The way you talk about it.
You were saying that you started
during COVID.
But were you interested or attracted
to the water before as well?
Or what was your relationship
with the water before that?
I'm a country girl, so it's not like I've
spent my life being by the beach,
but I've always really loved the beach.
I moved to Sydney
in
2000 and lived by the beach over
in the Eastern suburbs
and just fell in love with it.
But I didn't know how to...
I don't know.
It's just been
this fluid It just happened.
It just happened.
Yeah.
I just love being at the beach.
I don't surf,
but I've always just loved being a part of
the ocean, whether it's swimming,
playing, walking along the beach.
I mean, I love a sunrise.
I've always loved a sunrise,
even when I was living in the country.
So to blend those two things
together is just a treat every day.
It is.
And yes, the sunrise in Australia
is pretty special, wherever you are.
Oh, my gosh.
I agree with that.
Yeah.
And we're so lucky, really,
that we have such incredible access
to such a stunning landscape,
and it's free for everyone.
Exactly.
That's incredible.
It is.
It is.
So how is your day?
So if you go to the beach, do you always
take a picture or take photos of it?
Or do you have a routine, for instance,
or Do you know, Okay, now,
every Friday, I have my day off and I
go to the beach and I take photos.
Or it just comes?
I'm going to do everything
all at once person.
So when I started, I just
became completely obsessed.
So every single day for about four years,
I would get up and trot across
the road and watch the sun come up.
And then I just want to share it.
I just think that there's so much
sadness and uncertainty in the world.
And if I can
insert a little bit of beauty and pleasure
into the world that might make someone's
day a little bit brighter,
then I'm going to do that.
That's really what I am all about.
So I would go down to the beach and share.
And of course, I do that.
Social media is wonderful
for being able to do that.
During the summer, it
was a 4: 00 AM alarm.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, because the sun comes up so early,
so you got to get your equipment ready,
and then you go down to the beach
for that 4: 00 30 sunrise.
Luckily, it's a bit better now.
It's winter.
And then I would do that as
often as I could.
Yes.
It's very inspiring
and motivating and beautiful.
And yes, I'm amazed, and I probably
should learn some medication from you.
And are there any themes that you are
looking for when you're taking photos?
Yeah, really, really.
I am really interested in
the healing power of the ocean.
I find taking photos of the waves
an active meditation.
So I'm able to...
The ocean demands or requests
that you pay attention.
And in a world where there's so many
things trying to grab our attention, it's
so wonderful for your body, for your
mind to be so focused in an instant.
And at no point can you not pay
attention when you're in the ocean.
So to be able to have a place where you
can just forget everything and be
in the moment, I think that's incredible.
And then I get to share
that with my family and my friends because
I've managed to relax a little bit,
even though sometimes taking photos
in the ocean is not relaxing at all.
But it's great to be in the water.
It's great to, especially in winter,
to feel cold in the water.
But I also really love that
those waves are gone in an instant.
They will never be repeated.
Those patterns, those colours,
those textures will never be repeated.
And it's the art of paying attention and
really rejoicing in that moment.
And I think that that then philtres
out into the rest of my life.
And like I said, with my family, with my
friends, at work, it's just being joyful.
And it's Yeah, that's what I do it for,
and that's what I'm trying to show
and share in my photography.
Not just a pretty place, but a beautiful,
exquisite, unique moment in time.
So beautiful.
And as you were saying,
the art of being present and the art of
the moment,
I guess it's also a lesson to be present
and to notice all those things around us.
And yes, beautiful, beautiful.
When you go out and you take pictures
and you meditate and you are
with the water, are you by yourself or you
like to take the family with you as well?
My kids do not want to get up early,
but I I have two great mates who I found
through taking photos in the water.
Early morning photos.
Early morning water photo nuts.
One of them is Jen Williams
and the other one is Steve Anderson.
They are both brilliant,
brilliant photographers.
And And so we all met up through our love
of the Kholwao Narrabeen Strip, and we
all love to get together and take photos.
And we all have really different styles,
even though we're all in the Same space,
experiencing the same space experiencing
the same way,
we see it all very differently,
which is also really beautiful, too.
So you're also part of a community?
Yeah.
Photographs.
And I love the Kholwao early morning
people down by the pool They're just...
They're great.
Oh, they're so great.
There's so many people to just say hi,
a bunch of people
appreciating the morning.
Even if you don't know their names,
you recognise their faces.
And I think that the early morning crew
is really a very special bunch of people.
Do you think this is special or is
a Northern Beaches or Kularoi thing?
Or do you think that generally the
Northern Beaches community is Like that?
I would love to think that the
Northern Beaches community is like that.
And I really believe that morning people
are like that because we're all nuts
going, yeah, we're all worshipping
the sun as it comes out.
Dedicated.
Yeah.
You're like, Yeah, we all have something
in common, and we all
just love the beauty.
So that's quite special.
It is.
And I imagine that that would be the same
all right the way through the beaches,
north, south, wherever.
Amazing.
And what was your hobby before?
Did you had any passion before
you started taking photographs?
Was there anything else
that's being replaced now?
Yes.
I was a long distance runner.
So I used to spend a lot of time
running marathons, ultra marathons.
And so, again, spending a lot of time out
in nature, noticing things, appreciating
nature, everything that I wanted to do.
Any relaxation requires
some physical element.
For me, that's better for me.
So, yeah, I've just taken it to the water.
And I love it.
Yeah.
Outdoors.
The outdoors.
Yeah.
Great.
And where can we find your artwork?
Most of my work is on Instagram
@susanwhitbephotos.
But I also have a website,
susanwhitbephotos.
Com.
That's not all of my work,
but it has my favourite pieces
on my website, and you can always
contact me directly through that.
If there's anything that inspires you or
you'd like to see,
I'm always open to exploring
the beautiful place that we live.
That's for sure.
Yes.
Have you encountered any
special creature in the water?
I love seeing the fish in the water.
I find that's always really exciting.
I love to go to Cabbage tree Bay,
Shelle Beach, and see
the incredible marine life there.
Colouroy has their rock shelf as well,
which has actually beautiful fish,
sting rays.
That's actually really beautiful.
But for me, nothing beats
that a barrelling wave.
Just the inside of that wave,
that's true beauty to me.
Yes.
And now I think we are in season.
Oh, yeah.
It's so good.
I guess the other thing That I would say
about water photography,
I would just recommend
anybody chase their dream.
I'm 50 years old,
and I've only been taking...
To start
launching yourself into the waves
with a camera seems quite silly sometimes,
but I don't think that you're ever
too old to try.
There's always ways around getting
The equipment looks expensive,
and it can be expensive,
but I started with my iPhone with a case,
literally a water case that I bought from
just a place at a shopping centre.
You can hire equipment to try it out.
So there's always different ways
to enter into taking water photos
or photos in the water, if you wish.
The cost doesn't have to be a barrier.
And I think that if you really want to,
then there are definitely avenues
and finding a way to be able to
experience something something
that is so beautiful is worth it.
Yes.
It sounds like you're talking to me,
which is great.
Go and chase your dreams.
There's life to be lived.
And I really feel like lighting,
especially for middle-aged women, lighting
yourself up is a gift to everyone.
It
sounds like you weren't out there chasing
and trying to find
a passion or a hobby for yourself.
It just happened.
It just happened.
Yeah.
I was like, I'm just chasing this joy.
I just want more of that joy, more of it.
And that's where it led me.
I would never in my wildest dreams have
thought that I would have
ended up with a camera on my face
in freezing cold water chasing a barrel.
But that's where we are.
That's great.
I'm just checking,
trying to find your website.
I found it.
And there are some beautiful,
beautiful pictures.
Well, thank you very much.
We live in such a pretty place.
And I know that everybody knows that.
I just want to bring
a different aspect to it.
Yes.
And probably we should
appreciate it every day.
I'd be grateful.
And find, I think, what What I'm hearing
from you and trying to tell myself
from this discussion is to go out there
and make the most of it.
It's free, as we were saying earlier.
It's free.
It's here.
And it doesn't have to be
throwing yourself in a wave.
It can simply be just feeling the sand or
the water on your toes just to take
a moment to watch the sunrise or when
the moon comes up over the ocean.
That's incredibly special, too.
Even just to check how the sun changes its
position during the year when it comes up.
All these little things that we have this
incredible access to, should we choose?
Yeah.
I'm just thinking now about different,
as you were saying, different parts
of the day, like the sun, the moon.
I bet there is weather events.
There's It's something for everyone.
I do appreciate that people get busy,
and we do take it for granted because
we could have it there all the time.
But I think that social media has,
and loading photos into Instagram pretty
regularly, is like an accountability.
It's like, not only am I sharing it,
but it's making me
actually go and pay attention.
True.
And be present Yeah.
I haven't taken a photo
of something beautiful for a while.
Go and find something beautiful.
It's motivating you as well.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And there's something so healing
and nourishing about being in the ocean.
We are so lucky to be able
to have access to that.
I'm looking forward to it coming down.
It's pretty wild out there at the moment.
Yes.
But as soon as it's flat,
I'll be back in there.
And you can feel it.
It's been raining now for- Ever.
This week was raining a lot.
So I'm so glad that you
shared your story with us.
Thank you for having me.
It's been great.
Yes.
As I was saying, it was inspiring,
motivating, and it felt like you were
talking to me, and so
now I have to go out.
Find something for myself.
Absolutely.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Everyone has a story to share.
The next time you see someone you don't
know in your neighbourhood, be curious,
say hello, and you may be surprised
to hear the story they have to tell.
We hope you've enjoyed this episode.
Leave a review, listen to another episode,
or contact us to share your story.