"Over the years I've learnt that the foreground and background is sometimes just as important as the subject matter in the middle ground. In this photograph Mariquita is sailing close to the wind with her sails pulled in tightly. The wind is getting up and she is nicely powered up as she heals over. She's not only sailing pretty close to the wind but also towards the direction of the sunlight. There is a nice shadow on the bottom of the mainsail. There's not much more I could wish for from the yacht - time to work on the other elements in the composition. Depth is crucially important in marine photography as there is always a danger that the yacht can end up looking one-dimensional. By including all the sea in the foreground and the clouds in the sky the yacht really looks like she's moving through the landscape. What is particularly nice is the strip of blue sky which matches the same tone as the sea."