If you are visiting Newcastle and are looking for a great place to grab your camera and escape to for a little while, then I can recommend the iconic, Nobbys Lighthouse.

Nobbys Lighthouse is a very interesting and fun lighthouse to photograph that despite being a really busy place, I enjoy visiting. This location has a lot to offer being located that the lighthouse is located close to Newcastle’s CBD, is perched up on top of the headland and has a long causeway leading up to the lighthouse and a long breakwater going past it.

Photo of Nobbys Lighthouse taken on the breakwater

This photo was taken on the breakwater beyond Nobbys Lighthouse and making the most of the textures and leading lines of the concrete path. (HDR Image | Sunrise | 2014)

How to photograph Nobbys Lighthouse

Leading up to the lighthouse

The causeway is quite long and it is easy to find many cool places to stop and compose some nice photos. The long section of the path with its many lights, rocks and plants all help to fill the foreground of your photos with interesting objects that help lead people’s eyes up to Nobbys Lighthouse in the distance.

However, what I thought was super cool in the lead up to the lighthouse, is the 15 meters of old railway tracks just off to one side and largely covered by sand which I wasn’t expecting. These railway tracks are located about 3/4’s of the way up towards the lighthouse and on the righthand side. They are quite close to the path so if you keep an eye out for the exposed railway track, you should locate them without too much trouble.

These tracks were used during the construction of both the causeway and breakwater and were later buried under the sand. The old metal railings and old wooden slats make for brilliant and unique photographs and allows you to capture a bit of the history and intrigue of this location.

The lighthouse itself

Access to the lighthouse is limited and closed off by a gate. This is unfortunate and does mean that you will be photographing the lighthouse from a distance.

Beyond the lighthouse

Past the lighthouse, the breakwater offers photographers further opportunities to capture a nice photo of Nobbys Lighthouse and will probably be the place that most of the photos will be taken from.

In addition to the leading lines of the breakwater and its path, similar to the causeway, the sides of the path are flanked by large rocks and chunks of concrete that provide your foreground with loads of texture and colour in the pinks and oranges of the stones.

At certain points along the path, some of the larger stones have sculptures carved into them which add a little more character to this already amazing location.

At the end of the breakwater, there is also a wooden lookout structure of some description and did I mention that there are also some very big pencils to be found?!

Old railway tracks on Nobbys Beach in Newcastle

In this photo, you can see the old exposed and well rusted railway tracks that I speak of. (HDR Image | Sunrise | 2014)

The best time to photograph Nobbys Lighthouse

This is a tricky one as both sunrise and sunset offer great opportunities to landscape photographers as well as its little challenges…

The main challenge of this location is the fact that it is extremely popular with lots of people enjoying the scenic views of Newcastle Harbour. People also come here to take advantage of the long path for its jogging, walking, sightseeing, catching up with friends capabilities and of course, photography.

This may be lessened by visiting early in the morning but I wouldn’t think by much.

So you will either need to be patient or be fairly handy with cloning people out of your photos using a program like Adobe Photoshop.

Sunrise:

Sunrise is good if you are shooting from the causeway, Nobbys Beach or the railway tracks I mentioned earlier. From these locations, you can capture the sun coming up from behind the lighthouse.

Walking along the beach, you can go around to the front of the headland or onto the breakwater where you will just be shooting with the morning light coming from over your shoulders.

Sunset:

Sunset is probably going to be better from the breakwater as you will have the sun setting off to the right of the lighthouse. This will mean that your composition will consist of Nobbys Lighthouse on the left, separated by the path and then the sun setting on the right. This can be challenging as it will mean that you will benefit from having a wide-angle lens and pray for a break in foot traffic coming up the path.

Getting to Nobbys Lighthouse in Newcastle

Nobbys Lighthouse is located a few minutes from the heart of Newcastle on the NSW North Coast. If you are travelling from Sydney, you are looking at approximately a 2-hour drive, about 160kms.

There is parking at Nobbys Lighthouse and while I have always managed to get a parking spot, it is a very popular location. If you did struggle to find parking in the main car park and didn’t feel like stalking people that you thought might be heading for their cards, there are other options close by.

The location itself is easily accessible and while it is a long walk out past the lighthouse and along the breakwater, it is simply a flat wide path and I don’t see it being much of an issue for the average person to tread.

The history of Nobbys Lighthouse and Causeway

I was really impressed to read that construction of the breakwater started as early as 1813. It then took 45 years for the construction of this wall to be completed (1858) and ensure that Newcastle Habour was safe for ships.

Nobbys Lighthouse was also built-in 1858 and was designed by Alexander Dawson. At the time of its completion, it was only the third lighthouse to be constructed in NSW.

Nobbys Lighthouse in Newcastle at Sunset

Another landscape photo of Nobbys Lighthouse, taken out on the breakwater. We were lucky enough to be rewarded with some nice colours in the sky during sunset. (HRD Image | Sunset | 2016)

Final thoughts about photographing Nobbys Lighthouse

Out of 10, I would rate a Nobbys Lighthouse a 7. It is a little disappointing that you can’t get up close to the lighthouse to take photos. It is also a very popular location because of its beauty and close proximity to Newcastle. So depending on how you compose your photos, you are going to end up with a myriad of people moving through your shots.

However, the positives certainly outway the negatives at this location and I can recommend it to those in the area or visiting. It is picturesque, easily accessible and near the main town of Newcastle.

If you are planning to visit here, hopefully, this article has provided you with an insight on how to best photograph Nobbys Lighthouse.

Certainly worth grabbing your camera and exploring.

Enjoy!

Rob Potter