This is a portrait of my friend Dave, who Craig and I met when we joined our friends Tom and Adam for their wedding cruise in January. There were seven of us in total—an unexpected little chosen family—and I took photos of each of us along the way. This is the first of those to make it onto canvas.

Dave has the most beautiful eyes. Their blue glistens and is just so darn hard to capture. There’s something about his gaze here, too... quiet, grounded, kind... that I wanted to hold on to. I wasn’t just trying to capture what he looks like, but how it felt to be in his company.

It’s the first in a new series that means a lot to me—portraits of friendship, made at sea.