TITLE: In water meditation

With this image I wanted to capture what surfing is really about for me and many others. It's definitely not about being the best surfer or competing.. It's about the incredible feelings we get to experience when being out in the natural elements. Sitting just behind the break allows you to experience the contrast of serenity of calm waters whilst still hearing the power of the waves crashing behind you. The contract of those two elements often put me in a meditative state that humbles me and make me thankful to be alive. Surfing is not just a sport, it's a way of being and thinking that is in tune with nature.

AUTHOR: Sophia Manneville (New Zealand)

My life would not be complete without the interactions I am lucky enough to have with the ocean. Like many people, being in the water gives me a sense of serenity and happiness that I find nowhere else. My two favorite activities are Scuba diving, which is my profession and surfing. Both give me very distinct emotions and feelings, when diving I am in awe of what nature can create. I can spend hours admiring the incredible symbiotic relationship the different creatures have and how everything functions perfectly in balance with one another.
Surfing on the other hand reminds me how powerful nature is, it always put me back in place and shows me how small of a creature I am when faced with it's power. It showcases my mortality in such a beautiful way that I always come out feeling more alive then ever before.
And this is why my photography is solely focused on the ocean, I never tire of it and it is a source of constant inspiration that I find nowhere else. I hope that through my images I am able to communicate the same feelings with others.