Salt water, laughter, and the last light of the day at Walpole Bay.
Although I love travelling abroad, there are many places in the UK that can feel just as special if you get lucky. One of those places is Walpole Bay in Margate, home to one of the largest sea pools in the UK. Being west facing, the sunsets there are epic.
With summer fast approaching I thought it was a good time to revisit these pictures. All the images here are new and unreleased (I shot a lot of frames that day!)
Looking back through them made me really excited for summer. Can’t wait to get back in the water and shoot loads more over the next few months.
📍 Walpole Bay, Margate
#margate #walpolebay #summer #swim #goldenhour @tashksmith@crxss_agency
Images from the small village of Punta Mujeres, on the North East coast of Lanzarote.
With natural sea pools all along the rocky coast here, this little fishing village with whitewashed walls made for a great place to swim, explore and observe the locals. Sea pools are always a big favourite of mine, so it was awesome to come to a small place with so many.
#swim #seapool #lanzarote #diving #fujixt4
The moment the sun broke through at Misty Cliffs.
I’ve been trying to make space again for single images, even if they’re not the most algorithm friendly way to post. This was taken at Misty Cliffs towards the end of the day. We’d been a bit unlucky with cloud cover, even after travelling all the way to Cape Town chasing the sun.
But I remember this moment clearly, the light suddenly breaking through and the water warming up again, that brief feeling that the day had finally turned in our favour.
After that, the sun stuck around long enough for us to settle into it, and from then on, we finally had the light we’d been waiting for.
#capetown #mistycliffs #goldenhour #poolside #swim
Lyme Splash waterpolo, where the tide decides when the game begins 🤽♂️
A tidal water polo tournament played on the Cobb in Lyme Regis, where the rhythm of the sea dictates the game.
For a few hours each day, the harbour fills with swimmers, spectators, and familiar faces returning year after year. Friends on the wall, players in the water, and that shared sense of anticipation before the first whistle.
What stays with me isn’t just the action, but the ritual of it, the preparation, the waiting, the gathering of people around the edge of the water.
Another summer ritual, shaped by tide and time.
#waterpolo #lymesplash #lymeregis #documentaryphotography #watersport
Images from my series Afterglow ☀️
Warm summer evenings, salty swims, and the kind of days that feel better when they’re shared, the ones that linger long after the sun’s gone down.
#afterglow #summerstories #goldenhourphotography #goldenhourlight #roadtrip @lucyrachelmusic@billiecrook
Water, sunlight, and time drifting at its own pace ☀️ 🏊♀️
These images were made with Lucy and Jacob at Kingfisher Houseboat in Pembrokeshire, a summer afternoon built around swimming, reading in the hammock, and watching the light move across the water.
It was the small details that stayed with me, laughter drifting across the deck, quiet pauses in the water, and the sounds of moorhens, otters, and dragonflies moving through the reeds. What interests me about places like this isn’t just how they look, but how they’re actually lived in, the rhythm of a stay, and the small moments that make somewhere feel memorable.
That’s the direction I keep returning to: images shaped by light, place, and the connection between people.
#swim #sun #houseboat #summertime #pembrokeshire @lucybrace
Hotels aren’t just rooms. They’re places where life happens.
I made these images during a short stay at The Hoxton, Barcelona, spending time photographing Irene and Albert as they moved through the space, drinking coffee, eating, talking, and just passing the time.
Because it’s never just about the room, it’s about the people you share it with.
#barcelona #thehoxton #hotel @irniborrell
A little collection of beds and the people who inhabit them.
Places of intimacy, connection, or just simple rest. For me, beds are an interesting space to photograph. Even an empty bed can feel full of presence. These are moments of closeness, quiet, and stillness, collected over time.
#dreamy #bed #connection
Cold water. Evening light. Atlantic swell. Surfing at Big Bay, Cape Town 🏄♂️
Here’s a little look back at a project I recently revisited and regraded. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that I don’t always recognise the most meaningful images the first time around. Sometimes it takes a second or third pass, with a bit of distance, to see what was really happening in the frame.
These images are from time spent photographing Alex and Julian surfing at Big Bay. Golden evenings, cold water, boards waxed on the sand, and that incredible Cape Town light drifting in off the Atlantic.
#surfing #capetown #lifestylephotographer @julian_huynh_kitesurfer@mr.alexflacon
Here are a few more images from my day out with Irene and Albert in Barcelona.
Barcelona has this way of amplifying whatever energy you bring to it. With Irene and Albert that meant laughter, colour, good food and a few drinks as the skyline slowly lit up behind them.
They have that rare thing in front of the camera, they’re completely themselves. No performance, no overthinking, just two people enjoying the city they know so well. Barcelona did the rest.
@irniborrell #barcelona #travelphotography #lifestylephotographer
A collection of abstract (and not so abstract) moments of people in water (and some pools) part 2.
There’s something about being in water that strips things back. No phones. No distractions. Just breath, light, movement. Maybe that’s why I keep photographing it. The surface tension. The split second before someone disappears. The quiet after the splash. It never really gets old for me.
Lot’s more projects involving water planned for this year, which I’m really excited about
#swimming #diving #splashing
Golden hour in Port Vell with Maria.
Salt in the air, boats rocking gently, light slipping across skin and glass. The sun settling into the harbour, reflections dancing, the city easing into night. Barcelona, you’re hard to beat.
#barcelona #goldenhour #reflections @mariajoseguacaran
