I was up at 3:30am this morning to participate in a very special sunrise shoot. The Newcastle Sundance Group on Flickr had organised to do a shoot of the wreck of the Sygna off the coast of Stockton.

The Sygna, is located on Stockton Beach and is the largest shipwreck ever to be washed up on the eastern coast of Australia. It was one of the Hunter's biggest storms in living memory. It became known as the 1974 Cyclone or the ‘Sygna storm’. It struck in the early hours of Sunday 26 May 1974, and on the following morning the 53,000 tonne Norwegian bulk carrier, which had been anchored off Newcastle Bight, was found shipwrecked on Stockton Beach. To this day, pilots and signalmen compare bouts of high wind and turbulent seas to the early morning of May 26, 1974. The bow section was salvaged and taken back to Japan and the stern remains as a popular fishing location and landmark.

What a terrific experience. If you get the chance to photograph this wreck I recommend that you take it up - apparently it will be lucky if it lasts another 10 years.

Here's a list of the equipment I had with me this morning.

Canon EOS 450D and kit lens - 18-55mm
Tripod
Shutter Release
Torch
HOYA UV filter
HOYA Circular Polarising Filter
COKIN +1 2/3 Polariser (160)
COKIN Gradual Grey (120)
COKIN Grad-Fluro Red 1 (664)
COKIN Grad-Fluro Blue 1 (666)
COKIN Gradual Tobacco 1 (124)
cleaning cloth

At one stage I had on the 2 polarisers + Grad Blue + Grad Red and I held up the Grad Grey (because I had no room for it in the holder)