As a young girl growing up on the Gold Coast in Queensland, much of my childhood was spent at the beach. I started out building sandcastles, then I was old enough to go out in the surf and look after myself. I got dumped badly many times wondering which way was up and my bikini somewhere near my ankles, but like a true beach girl I was back out there the following weekend. I used to feel so envious watching the surfers go out and catch a wave in. It looked effortless. But it was the ritualistic culture that goes with it that appealed too. The early mornings, standing on Burleigh headland with your mates assessing the swell. Suiting up in wetsuits behind open car doors, waxing boards on the grass. It’s probably a bit late in the piece for me to take up surfing, but I can live vicariously through some of the most beautiful surf photography I’ve seen for some time.

Stuart Gibson is a photographer from Tasmania. He fell into photography quite accidently after enduring a car accident which resulted in plenty of time by the shore on crutches. He picked up a pre-loved Canon and started to capture some powerful images that received the big tick of approval from his boardriding friends. It was then he knew he’d found his calling. Today his images are published and recognised around the world, both in print and pixel. His surf photography is beautiful,inspiring and breathtaking.

 For more information or to purchase Stuart’s work, go to www.stugibson.net/index.php?/beneath/ 

Sam ♥

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