It was one of the driest winters on record in Sydney, also one of the slowest for ocean swell. While the surfer in me was disappointed, the photographer in me was ecstatic. The lack of rain and small seas, combined with the cooler currents that flow up the east coast in winter, produce some of the cleanest water this coastline is likely to see. This is a simple photograph, just the gentle curve of a wave at Freshwater Beach, the clear water and sandy bottom, but that’s what makes it work.