A surfer rides inside a translucent blue wave, surrounded by shimmering light rays that filter through the water, creating a dramatic and dynamic underwater perspective.

French photographer Ben Thouard has built an acclaimed career by capturing water’s power and poetry. His stunning images are a visual love letter to the sea.

For Ben Thouard, the ocean has always been more than a subject, leading to blending his lifelong passion for the sea with a painterly approach to photography. It is home, muse, and lifelong companion. Raised near the sea and spending much of his youth on his father’s sailboat, he developed an early attachment to the water that shaped his life.

Photography entered the picture almost by accident, when, as a teenager, he discovered one of his father’s old cameras tucked away at home. Curious, he bought a few rolls of film and began experimenting, shooting everything around him. Before long, his eye returned to the place he loved most: the shoreline. He photographed seascapes, friends surfing, and the play of light across the water.

“The ocean has always been my first and biggest passion. I have been raised by the sea, spent a lot of time on my dad’s sailboat, and have always had a profound love and admiration for the ocean,” Thouard says.

By combining his love of the ocean with his newfound passion for image-making, Thouard quickly realized photography could be more than a pastime. It became a calling. His dedication led him first to Hawaii, where he immersed himself in the surf community, and eventually to Tahiti, where he has lived for the past 17 years, surrounded by the environment that continues to inspire him.

A surfer rides a translucent blue wave above a rocky ocean floor, with sunlight streaming through the water and a school of small fish swimming below.

A large ocean wave curls dramatically under a moody, overcast sky, with dark clouds looming in the background and soft light highlighting the crest of the wave.

Close-up of curved, clear ice formations with bubbles inside, displaying various shades of blue and white. The texture is smooth and glassy, creating an abstract, chilly appearance.

Finding a Style Beneath the Surface

Over the years, Thouard refined a style that is as much about immersion as it is about documentation. Rather than remaining an observer from the shore, he chose to enter the water itself, using his camera to capture textures, forms, and movements that are invisible from land. This approach defined his trajectory as a water photographer, moving from traditional surf images to deeply personal artistic projects focused on the interaction of light and ocean.

“Being in love with the ocean, I had to get my camera in the water and document the amazing light and texture that can be found below the surface. I started as a surf photographer, and slowly dedicated my entire time to my personal project in which I tried to showcase the beauty of surfing, waves, and water in general,” Thouard explains.

For Thouard, painting has always played a role in shaping his vision. As a child, he sketched and painted waves, and that sensibility remains in his photography today. By using slow shutter speeds, he introduces a fluid, painterly quality that softens the rawness of the sea and transforms it into something abstract and emotional.

“I use a lot of slow shutter speed in order to create that painterly look. My ultimate goal is to be able to transmit the emotion that I feel while taking these photos in the ocean,” he says.

A smooth, abstract image of a blue ocean wave, softly blurred, with gentle curves and flowing lines creating a sense of motion and tranquility. The scene is dominated by various shades of blue.

A powerful, bright blue ocean wave curls and crashes, creating a tunnel with white spray and mist against a soft blue sky.

A surfer is underwater, surrounded by swirling blue waves and bubbles after wiping out, with light filtering through the water above.

The Long Work of Building a Body of Work

Thouard’s process is long, patient, and shaped by the rhythms of the ocean. A project often begins without direction, simply with time spent floating in the water, camera in hand, observing how the light shifts, how the water moves, and how textures emerge from chance interactions of tide, weather, and sunlight. This stage can last months or even years, and only later, after reviewing hundreds of thousands of images, does a clear narrative begin to reveal itself.

“Most of the time I start by floating around with my camera, just observing and paying a lot of attention to light, textures, movement and any beauty I can spot below the surface. I could be shooting for a month by simply being attracted by what I found interesting but without really knowing the sense of it all,” Thouard explains.

When a direction finally emerges, it becomes the guiding principle for the next several years of work. Thouard then devotes himself to exploring the theme from every possible angle, using different lenses and techniques to expand the body of work. The wait for the right conditions can be long, sometimes months before a single image is made, but this patience is what allows him to capture moments of singular beauty.

The editing process is equally rigorous. Sorting through vast archives, Thouard gradually narrows his selections to a handful of images that work together in sequence. For him, building a book is as much an act of art as taking the photographs themselves.

“Making a book is another thing but it is probably my favorite aspect of photography. I love working on selections, finding photos that work together, laying out a photo book all the way to design and printing. Holding that book in your hand after a couple years of work is a huge relief and a huge reward,” Thouard says.

A surfer rides inside a powerful wave, illuminated by sunlight streaming through the water, creating a dramatic and dynamic underwater scene with blue tones and motion blur.

Underwater view looking up toward the ocean surface, with sunlight filtering through the water, creating blue rays and a peaceful, serene atmosphere.

Underwater view of a surfer riding a wave with sunlight streaming through the water. The wave curls above, creating dramatic patterns, and another person is visible swimming nearby. The ocean floor is visible below.

A Persistent Obsession with Water

Across his career, water remains the constant subject. Each of his three art books explores the subject in a distinct way. Surface revealed the world inside barreling waves. Turbulences turned its lens below the impact zone, capturing chaotic vortexes created by collapsing surf. His newest work, Aqua Obscura, focuses on bubbles photographed with slow shutter speeds that transform them into forms resembling jellyfish or celestial bodies.

“Yes, water. I think I am obsessed with water and waves, or the ocean in general. I have done three personal art books about water photography and I would not see myself doing anything else,” Thouard says.

Rather than moving away from the subject to explore something new, Thouard finds endless variation within it. What might seem repetitive to others remains for him a boundless source of curiosity and beauty, each project uncovering a fresh perspective on an environment he has spent a lifetime studying.

A surfer is underwater, partially visible through the surface as powerful, foamy waves churn beneath them, creating a dramatic and blurred blue and white scene.

A powerful ocean wave curls and crashes, forming a dramatic barrel with white foam at the crest and deep blue water below.

The Role of Gear and the Demands of the Ocean

While Thouard acknowledges the importance of equipment, he is quick to point out that technology is only one piece of the equation. Shooting in the water introduces challenges that go beyond cameras and lenses. Physical endurance, comfort in heavy surf, and experience in anticipating ocean movement are as critical as the technical aspects of photography.

“It is something to take a photo, it is something else to take it in the water. Moving in the water takes great physical conditions and knowledge. Holding your camera through a water housing, making sure you have the right set up, the right lens, without water drop on your front port is the big challenge of water,” Thouard explains.

Anticipation is perhaps the most essential skill. The speed of ocean movement makes reaction impossible. To succeed, a photographer must predict moments before they occur, adjusting instinctively to capture fleeting patterns of light and water that vanish in an instant.

“In the water everything is slower and longer. When you see the photo happening it is too late. You have to predict the moment to be able to capture it,” he says.

A book titled "Ben Thouard Aqua Obscura" with a cover featuring abstract underwater photography in shades of blue, depicting swirls and bubbles.

Aqua Obscura

At present, Thouard’s focus is on his forthcoming book, Aqua Obscura, set for release in early October. The project, the culmination of several years of work, will be promoted through exhibitions in Europe and the United States. A presale campaign runs until September 24, giving collectors and ocean enthusiasts the opportunity to secure a copy ahead of publication.

“Sharing my love for the ocean through these works is my favorite thing in life,” Thouard says.

For Ben Thouard, each new body of work is more than years of patient exploration, it is a way to translate the ocean’s living poetry into images that speak to the soul. Through his photography, he beckons viewers to enter the water with him, to witness the dance of light and wave, to feel the rhythm, power, and serenity of the sea, and to share in the awe and wonder that fuels his lifelong devotion to capturing its essence frame by frame.

Image credits: Ben Thouard