Kite Surfing Photography: A Female Kite Surfer's Ocean Dance
Where strength meets surrender on the Atlantic
Kite surfing photography is where two of my long-running interests meet: women in sport, and the sea. This series was shot in Sidi Kaouki, on Morocco's Atlantic coast, with kite surfer Leah Aafke and the team at Sidi Kaouki Surf Station.
The wild seas mirror our emotions, calm one moment, raging the next. The ocean is untamed, unpredictable, and deeply connected to the soul. I see that same energy in the fearless female kite surfers who carve through wind and waves, harnessing the raw power of nature while moving with a fluid grace. Watching Leah ride, I was reminded of why I am drawn to these stories: moments where strength meets serenity, where skill meets surrender.
Shooting on water asks for a different kind of patience to the sports photography I do in London. You cannot direct the wind. You wait, you read the swell, and you trust the frame will arrive. It is the same instinct that took me into the sea for surf culture in Bermuda photographing water sport from inside it rather than from the shore.
There is something magnetic about the ocean and the women who challenge it, dance with it, and ultimately become part of its rhythm. If you are a watersports brand, a surf or kite school, or a governing body looking for imagery that treats women athletes as athletes rather than as scenery, this is the work I most want to be making.