My black and white image of pier jumpers at the Oyster Festival in picturesque Whitstable was named as a finalist alongside eight other photographs in the Daily Telegraph’s weekly travel competition The Big Picture in August 2016.

This was one of those lucky shots where everything played out perfectly.

I remember seeing people jumping off the pier during the first day of the festival. It was an unusually hot Summer’s day in England and the crowds were taking  full advantage of the weather drinking beer, paddling in the shallows and diving into the sea.

The next day I returned with my camera gear,  clambered through the throngs of burnt sun seekers who were unsuccessfully trying to get comfortable on the hard pebble beach and positioned myself tight up against the wall so I could catch the action.

Using my 300mm lens I was able to capture this guy jumping just as a seagull flew overhead and the old sailboat on the right came into view giving it a real Britain in the ’50s feel.  I especially love the guy in the water looking up and smiling as his friend makes the leap.

The Whitstable Oyster Festival was magical in more ways than one –  to read my full story and see more of my images from the weekend, click here