If you are looking for a great Sydney sunset photography location steeped in history, then Mrs Macquarie’s Chair is the place for you!

You get an uninterrupted view of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge from this location. In fact, when viewing the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge from Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, the two iconic structures appear to be connected.

Mrs Macquarie’s Chair gives you that postcard view of Sydney and is a must-visit for all landscape photographers.

A quick little disclaimer before we keep going…

Mrs Macquarie’s Chair is a stone bench with great views of Sydney Harbour. I will go into the history of this location towards the end of this article. However, you don’t go to this hot spot to take photos of the bench itself; you go to photograph the views! 🙂

Well, some people might go to photograph the stone bench… But most photographers are there hoping to walk away with some stunning photos of Sydney.

So while I have and will refer to this location as Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, I am really referring to both Mrs Macquarie’s Point and Mrs Macquarie’s Chair interchangeably.

A photo of Mrs Macquarie's Chair with rocks in the foreground

While not the best example, this photo of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair was taken out on Mrs Macquarie’s Point. It has been more than ten years since I took this photo, and I have seen many other images with much more of the rocks exposed. Potentially had I moved back a little, I could have included more rocks in this composition to better fill up the foreground. However, it may have been high tide, and few were visible. Either way, hopefully, this image will give you an indication of what is possible when you visit. (HDR Image, Nikon D300S, 17mm | Sunset | October 2012)

How to take photos from Mrs Macquarie’s Chair

While there is only one real subject to photograph from Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, the Sydney Skyline, you might decide to do so from many different areas within Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.

Each of the following areas will add something different to your resulting image, depending on how you would like to depict this location best.

Along the edge of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair

There is a stone fence (if you can call it that) that runs along the perimeter of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair and separates the park from the waters of Sydney Habour. This fence is arguably one of the best spots to photograph Sydney from, as there is nothing to get in your way other than perhaps a stray ferry.

Most of the photos that you see in this article, two of the three, were taken from this position.

From the tip of Mrs Macquarie’s Point

If you go to the very end of Mrs Macquarie’s Point, you will find a series of large rocks protruding from the water. While they should be more visible during low tide, these rocks add a lot of intrigue and interest to the foreground of your photos.

From within The Domain

If you move back from the water’s edge and into the park, you will find many trees, paths and other significant natural objects that can be used in the images you capture.

I have seen many clever photos taken by others where they found a gap in the trees that nicely frames the Sydney Opera House or other creative compositions.

Finding these types of photos not only gives you a unique image to the generic ones that most people will capture (like me to date), but, in some ways, it is one of the main goals of practising photography.

Finding those hidden compositions that most have missed and are difficult to replicate. 🙂

Down closer to the Royal Botanic Gardens

If you head towards the start of the Royal Botanic Gardens, you can snap an excellent composition where the Sydney Opera House is framed within the Sydney Habour Bridge.

I have yet to capture this composition, having only recently spired it on Social Media. That said, this will be the next angle I attempt to find when I revisit Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.

The best time to visit Mrs Macquarie’s Chair with your camera

If you head to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair on any afternoon, you will see a line of photographers all hoping to grab that magical postcard photo of Sydney. That is because sunset is the best time to photograph Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.

During this time, the sun will be going down behind the Sydney Opera House and Habour Bride. If you are lucky and there is a colourful sunset, it will contrast beautifully behind these two structures.

I also encourage you to hang around into blue hour and beyond, as the city will start to sparkle as the lights come on. This transforms the location into a fantastic nightscape and creates additional stunning landscape photo opportunities.

The other consideration you might like to think about when determining the best day or time to visit Mrs Macquarie’s Chair is the height of the tide. As discussed above, out on the point of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, there is a rock platform that looks great in photos. I can only imagine this will look a little bit better when the low tide exposes more of the rocks.

Travelling to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair

Mrs Macquarie’s Chair can be found in the heart of Sydney and is approximately a 20-minute walk from Circular Quay. If you are heading to this location from the Sydney CBD, you will walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. It goes without saying, but the Royal Botanic Gardens make for a great landscape photography location in its own right.

At Circular Quay, you will also find many public transport options if this is your way of getting to this spot. If you are travelling by car, you also have several options. There is metered parking close to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, which will provide you with a simple walk over to this location. Otherwise, there are numerous paid car parking lots that would be a bit more of a trek but would allow you to stay in Sydney longer.

A brief history of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair

Mrs Macquarie’s Chair was hand-carved from sandstone for Elizabeth Macquarie back in the year 1810 by convicts. Elizabeth Macquarie was the wife of the Governor of New South Wales at the time, Major-General Lachlan Macquarie.

Also known as Lady Macquarie’s Chair, it is said that Elizabeth liked to sit and watch for boats entering Sydney Habour from Great Britain and taking in the scene. A scene that would look very different today from what she would have known back then.

I wonder what she would think if she could see it now? 🤔

Mrs Macquarie's Chair as the sun goes down

This image, and the main feature image, was taken in front of the stone barrier that runs along the permitter of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. From here, you can zoom in tight to capture an image of the two iconic structures side by side or zoom out to incorporate more of the surrounding scene into your photo. (HDR Image, Nikon D300S, 32mm | Sunset | September 2013)

My final thoughts

Out of 10, I would give Mrs Macquarie’s Chair a 9 as a landscape photography location!

This is one of the best Sydney photography locations to capture stunning landscape photos. Especially, if you are looking for a great sunset photography location close to Circular Quay and the restaurants and public transport, it offers.

When I began writing this landscape photography location review for Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, I felt that I had been to this place enough times and was satisfied with the photos I took. However, as I finish this review, I am pretty eager to grab my camera and return.

Writing about this location and its potential, looking over my own photos but more so the images of others, there is so much more that I am yet to capture.

This spot is an ever-changing photography location and challenges you to find new ways of snapping interesting photos of Sydney.

So what are you waiting for?! Grab your camera and a friend and head over to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.

You won’t be disappointed!

Happy snapping!
Rob Potter