This project began with rather a unique and tender  moment on a beach in Goa.

 I saw a young woman in a hijab standing by the shore, she had a small  fluffy ginger  kitten in her arms.

I asked if I could photograph her, and although very shy, she was pleased and said yes.That encounter became the starting point for a series of analogue beach portraits.

The images are made between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m., during the gentle hour when many people come to the sea to walk, breathe, meditate, swim, or simply greet the day.

I photograph only those I meet while walking the length of the beach myself, moving back and forth along the shoreline. An exchange of a smile, something I can feel in body that draws me towards the person and in turn them to me.

Everyone in the images is there for there own unique way of beginning the day and yet the commonality is the sea, the rising sun and  the beach.

The parameters are intentionally minimal and consistent. The portraits are shot on film, with no posing or direction. 2 or 3 frames. Each person stands as they naturally feel to stand in that moment. Every photograph is made with consent, following a brief conversation that begins as two strangers meeting during a shared walk.

These encounters have become one of the most enriching aspects of the project so far. I have met an extraordinary range of people, from a fashion tutor from Saint Martins to a peace activist from Israel and an Indian film producer from Mumbai.

I have become fascinated about  the meeting point between individual identity and shared human rhythm. Each person brings their own culture, history and story, yet the act that brings us together is the same: walking beside the sea at the beginning of the day. There is something universal in this gesture—a quiet relationship between body and place.

While the project began in Goa, its scope is intentionally open-ended. I plan to continue photographing morning  beach lovers  along beaches in Spain, the United Kingdom and other coastal places, building a growing collection of encounters that explore how different cultures meet the sea—and how the simple ritual of the morning shoreline connects us.