“Editing one’s own work is one of the most difficult skills a photographer can possess. Have you heard the expression ‘You must learn to kill your darlings’? It means you must let go of all the efforts and mental and physical exertion that was required to obtain an image when judging its worth. I still struggle with this when looking at my own work,” smiles Byron McLoughlin who, at the young age of 17, focuses on water-based surf and wave imagery.

Originally from Sydney’s Dee Why suburb, surf photographer Byron only started taking photographs in 2021 when he turned 16. He explains: “I used to surf all the time and when I paddled in the line-up, I sat and watched surfers catching waves. I just couldn’t help blinking my eyes and pretending I was taking photos of what surrounded me. I then picked up my first camera and I have never looked back. I have been hooked ever since.”

“I started shooting from land. It was fun but I found that my work was the same as everyone else’s. It was really hard to diversify and separate myself from most photographers,” he adds. That’s when he picked up an underwater housing to start taking in-water images.