Isle of Wight Surf Photography with Soul

Photos from the Isle of Wight's best surf breaks

Surf Blogs and Surfing Gear reviews

SUP, Kitesurfing & Bodyboarding

But mostly surfing!

ISLE OF WIGHT SURF PHOTOGRAPHY WITH SOUL

Welcome to the Isle of Wight Surf Photography blog and website of West Wight photographer Jason Swain. As well as occasional ramblings on all things surf related, the website is designed to be a showcase of my surf photography & promote the beauty of surfing the Isle of Wight and around the English coastline. The Majority of photos are from my local breaks of Freshwater Bay and Compton Bay. It’s also grown over the years to include a few product reviews (surf or photography related), some of my favourite surf related videos and also photos of Kitesurfing and SUP and other water-sports that take place on the IOW when we’re not surfing.

The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun

Phil Edwards

Groundbreaking regularfooter from Dana Point,

If in doubt, paddle out.

Nat Young

Australian surfer and author

There is not one right way to ride a wave

Jamie O'Brien

Professional surfer from North Shore, Hawaii

9 Actionable Tips For Better Surf Photography (A Simple Guide)

9 Actionable Tips For Better Surf Photography (A Simple Guide)

Want to start taking photos of the surf but need help figuring out where to start? I’ve got you covered with ten tips guaranteed to have you taking perfect shots in no time. Let’s jump straight in with some solid advice on getting to grips with the gear you’ll need to...

s0ulsurfing at The Wave Bristol

s0ulsurfing at The Wave Bristol

Few shots and a video clip from an IOW old boys trip to The Wave in Bristol. Thanks to Ali Mew and Bert for the photos, Joel for the video edit, and thanks to Jim for doing the driving. I might come back when I have a bit more time to talk about the wave itself in...

Big Sunday at Freshwater Bay.

Big Sunday at Freshwater Bay.

Big swell at Freshwater bay, Isle of Wight, with only the most committed surfers making it out back in testing conditions, with some super deep take-offs as the sets were breaking outside the rock-boil at times! The Saturday night wave bouy readings (channel...

20/20 vision at Freshwater Bay

20/20 vision at Freshwater Bay

It’s been over a year since the last surfing photo blog, not because i don’t love surfing or taking photos, but there’s just not usually time for both. Great light and great waves persuaded me to get the camera out again. The pics might make it look a bit tame at...

Dawn Patrol Photo Blog from Freshwater Bay.

Dawn Patrol Photo Blog from Freshwater Bay.

It's been a solid week of swell on the Isle of Wight with strong easterlies making for some "interesting" days on the SW facing coastline. Here's a few photos from an early morning session at Freshwater Bay on Friday 14th December. Good test for the camera too,...

The 2018 winter surfing season has begun…

The 2018 winter surfing season has begun…

Because of time constraints (from being busy at work and also surfing every chance i get) these blogs are getting further apart, and i’ve not got too much to say this morning, but i’m back with a bumper batch of photos from the last two days of a solid...

Big Wednesday – Talking a good game.

Big Wednesday – Talking a good game.

(I could have gone with the alternative title = How a dislocated thumb probably saved me from snapping a longboard and/or having a near-death drowning experience 🙂 Photos from the morning of Wednesday the 18th April at Freshwater Bay from Charlie Cripwell...

Mother’s Day Gift

Mother’s Day Gift

A few shots from the early afternoon of March 11th 2018 (Mothers Day), shot from the window of a camper van whilst waiting for the second surf of the day. Not the greatest photos, or the best of the swell that day, but it was the time I was there and able...

A few fun ones – Winter surfing at Freshwater Bay

A few fun ones – Winter surfing at Freshwater Bay

Long time no blog, so I’m back with a few pics from a fun little winter session at Freshwater Bay. The day had started with a challenging surf at Compton fields in the morning, decent head-high waves and a cold / strong 24mph NW wind (cross-offshore) which...

Maldives Surf Photo Blog – Part three: Back to Lohi’s

Maldives Surf Photo Blog – Part three: Back to Lohi’s

Almost a year later and i'm now wrapping up my surf blogs from the Maldives back in October 2016. Part three is just a batch of shots of me on my 7'6" taken on a small-ish day at Lohis, the left hand home reef break of the resort island Hudhuranfushi.  All...

Maldives Surf Photo Blog – Part two: Coke’s

Maldives Surf Photo Blog – Part two: Coke’s

Part two of my Maldives surf blogs is from a little Dhoni trip up to the right hand reef break known as Coke's (named after the coca-cola bottling factory that was on the island). The day started with a fairly humbling beating in big surf at first light on Lohi's, i...

Long Way Round

Long Way Round

An accidental adventure. Summertime on the Isle of Wight and it seems like forever since we've had a decent groundswell (there's been a few days of windswell which can be fun in it's own way, but it's not the same) and so without surfing I need to get my saltwater fix...

Surf’s Up! Isle of Wight County Press.

Surf’s Up! Isle of Wight County Press.

After seven consecutive days of surfing, often very good and sometimes amazing waves (and mostly pretty cold), I’m feeling physically broken but super-stoked. It’s pretty rare to get such a good run of solid clean waves here on the Isle of Wight, and all the hardcore...

Maldives Surf Photo Blog – Part one: Lohi’s

Maldives Surf Photo Blog – Part one: Lohi’s

Spurred on by finally creating another Isle of Wight surf blog, i'm now catching up with a few photo blogs from my trip to the Maldives back in October. Part one is from the first day at Lohis, the left hand home reef break of the resort island Hudhuranfushi. Standout...

Finally another Isle of Wight Surf photo blog.

Finally another Isle of Wight Surf photo blog.

It’s been a while since i’ve blogged anything, and about a year since there’s been a proper Isle of Wight Surf photo blog on the site. Loads of reasons, too busy working, surfing instead of taking pics whenever we had a swell, a bit of SUPing during the summer,...

A secret affair with Stand Up Paddle Boarding

A secret affair with Stand Up Paddle Boarding

The story of a gradual warming to Stand Up Paddle Boarding and a beginners thoughts on sharing waves in these increasingly crowded times. I wasn’t exactly trying very hard to hide it, but I also wasn’t wanting to shout about it too much either, seeing as i’ve had some...

Glassy Peelers

Glassy Peelers

After many months of not taking any surf photos, I'm back shooting for the second day in a row. Work has been so busy lately that I usually manage to get a quick surf and that's it, no time to hang around snapping, but this weekend worked out a bit better with me...

Passing the baton – October Swell

Passing the baton – October Swell

Today felt like family day down at the beach, after the bigger October swell earlier in the week (Tuesday was the standout day with consistent clean overhead waves and occasionally bigger sets) there was a relaxed vibe at Compton Bay as all sorts of wave riding...

Sorensen Surf Watch Review

Sorensen Surf Watch Review

So, I've been asked to do a Sorensen Surf Watch Review, and the first thing to say is that I don’t like wearing a watch, never have done, in or out of the water, same with jewellery, rings, earrings, chains etc, it's all stuff that just gets in the way for me.  The...

Sharing the line-up at Compton Bay

Sharing the line-up at Compton Bay

OK, this is not strictly a surf blog, but i've not written anything on the site for so long that any excuse to write a new blog has to be taken, and it does feature a few surfers and a longboard so that will have to do for now as its the middle of summer and we're not...

The Giant Surfing Dog Photobomb Incident.

The Giant Surfing Dog Photobomb Incident.

Is it a giant dog or are they just tiny surfers? you decide... A few seconds after shooting a recent surfer silhouette shot, I got this great photobomb from a passing canine on Compton Beach, Isle of Wight. Shot with the Sigma 12-24mm wide angle lens on a Canon 6D....

The November Swell (part two)

The November Swell (part two)

Following up the earlier blog celebrating the final days of Autumn 2014, where we had almost a whole week of clean surf on the south-west of the Isle of Wight. Here's the photos i hadn't had the time to really look at first time round. This selection is maybe not as...

Autumn swell (part one) – November goes out with a bang!

Autumn swell (part one) – November goes out with a bang!

The final days of Autumn 2014 delivered almost a week (5 out of 6 days anyway) of clean surf on the south-west facing beaches and reefs of the Isle of Wight. It wasn’t always big, and it wasn’t always classic, but it was a lovely little run of Autumn swell which...

The Hunt for Hipmasama – Ventnor Arts Club

The Hunt for Hipmasama – Ventnor Arts Club

On Friday the 21st November 2014 the Ventnor Arts Club will be showing the 'Best British Surf Film 2014'  The Hunt for Hipmasama by Oli Adams. (It won best British Film at the very recent London Surf Film Festival.) There will also be one other ‘cold water’ surf film...

Summers over, the Autumn swells are here.

Summers over, the Autumn swells are here.

It's been a long time coming but I've finally got around to making a new surfing photo blog to share. The last one was posted back in April, with the final winter swell exploding on our shores, dramatically captured in a series i dubbed the 'big tuesday' blogs....

Streamlining my winter surf changing experience.

Streamlining my winter surf changing experience.

When the people at blackleaf.com got in touch asking if i’d review the Northcore changing mat/bag and beach basha (changing robe) for the soulsurfing blog I was initially a bit reluctant, seeing as i already had a perfectly good moonbag and a Billabong changing robe...

Big Tuesday – The third and final part (three)

Big Tuesday – The third and final part (three)

Right, due to popular demand (which means one person, Lee Webster, asked for it) here's the third and final photo-blog from that big session at Freshwater Bay a few weeks ago that I've since been calling 'Big Tuesday' No more talking, just more photos 🙂 Click on any...

Big Tuesday (part two)

Big Tuesday (part two)

Big Tuesday (part two) by Jason Swain. A few more photos from Tuesday 25th March 2014, another great day of surf at Freshwater Bay in a winter that has delivered so many good waves to the coast of the Isle of Wight. (You can see part one here) Click on any picture to...