Sri Lankan Special Boat Squadron

On the first day of January this year I travelled to Sri Lanka to shoot a travel story. One day I decided to go for a walk without my camera as it just seemed too dull and cloudy to photograph anything. Suddenly a group of about sixty men all dressed in black came charging up the beach looking rather terrified and exhausted. It was the Sri Lankan elite special boat squadron being trained on the beach and in the sea. Cursing myself for leaving my cameras behind, I flagged down a local guy on a moped and asked him to take me back to my beach hut to pick up my gear. Returning to the beach, I asked the commander of the the Squadron if it would be OK to photograph the recruits as they trained and he cheerfully agreed. Over the next two days I shot the action on the beach and the dull grey clouds accentuated the drama of the young men being stretched to their limits.