East Wittering, UK. 5pm, February 2026

I had not set out to specifically capture the surfers and boarders that are here every day of the year - there's plenty of those that already do and it would be hard for me to find a view or perspective that doesn't already exist in water sports photography - but with my smartphone in hand I saw the potential alignment of the kite surfer and his kites across the frame.

It was important for me to have the diagonal alignment of the surfer going into the picture with his top kite diametrically balanced, drawing the view back into the frame again, creating a form of containment and harmony. I later realised that (after looking closely) there are in fact two surfers and two kites, and therefore the alignment was purely down to luck.

The two water break columns give me a sense of balance and anchoring, and, finally, I was pleased that the surfer's outline could be seen without being sliced by a wave. Again, pure luck. I think that the black of the surfers and kites contrast well with the deep blue, which is stronger in tone than a mono form would be.