Ross Williams
JC: Ventnor is one of my favourite places to shoot water shots and there’s an added bonus that it’s only fifteen minutes in the car from my house, just round the coast in Sandown Bay. Before I headed into the salt I handed my 300mm lens over to Ross’s girlfriend Fatima to unleash some covering shots from the beach. The angle looking out to sea can be challenging at Ventnor. With the milky brown water and nothing distinctive in the background it’s not a patch on the angle from the water. Yet Fatima has done a great job catching this floaty Backloop from hotshot Ross, especially considering I’d forgotten to bring my monopod, so she had to handhold the lens, which is pretty darn heavy. It’s a shame you can’t quite see me in the photo, but I’m there just behind the wave with my Aquatech housing and Canon 50D. The water angle for me is where this venue can really light-up. There’s so much going on in the background with all the old houses and greenery on top of the hill while Ross’s shiny new 2013 Tabou really slices through the image with that vibrant blue bottom deck. Down on the bottom left hand side of the shot you can see the Red Flag flying – which means no swimming – while there’s a guy checking out the scene from the comfort of his balcony just to the right.
Ross Williams
Both photos were taken in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight which is my home beach. I love any chance to get in the water and sail here. It’s always such a pleasure to go back home to where I grew up and go sailing where my career first started.
I’m doing a Backloop here, which is kind of the standard manoevre when John Carter and I are shooting at this spot. Ventnor can be a tricky place to get a variety of different jumps. But there’s always the guarantee to get a couple of good Backloops against the backdrop in-the-bag.
The fact is that this move is not regarded or ever judged to be as difficult as compared to say, a Double Forward or a Pushloop Tabletop. But it’s one of the jumps where I don’t really think about what I’m actually doing. I love the sensation of floating in the air that you get when you do Backloops. Everything slows down and feels peaceful and quiet because your body isn’t moving a lot – just a little flip of the head to spot your landing – as during the rest of the jump your body remains kind of static.
The shot from the beach, which was taken by my girlfriend, Fatima, gives a good indication of the type of conditions on the water. You can see how stormy and rough the English Channel is. It looks almost kind of uninviting. In contrast, the picture looking back at the land shows how nice the seafront looks from the Solent. As well as showing a windsurfer and the sea, you get to see the spot itself. I think it offers a great view of Ventnor town, which is definitely a really nice place. I also like how sharp the Tabou logo pops from the picture for a nice juxtaposition to the rest of the photo.
All in all I think it’s amazing to have two different angles of the same move – it really helps to build a complete picture of the day and mark a moment in your memory!