Guys

It pains me to give you this tragic news.

Paul Burton who has recently become quite the photographer of brilliance and has gained enormous support from both national and international kite surfing magazines has passed away this Friday just gone.

He was one of the nicest guys that I have met since coming to Perth. Passionate in everything that life had to offer and as keen as a testosterone filled teenager about learning to kite after having achieved everything that windsurfing had to offer him.

My condolences go out to Jo his wife and the rest of his family.

There is going to be a funeral ceremony for everyone that knew Paul next Wed at Karakatta Cemetery. I encourage as many of you that knew paul to please attend.

I will put up the specific details when I get them from Jo.

Paul, you will be truly missed.

Leon

Again my my sincere condolences go out to his wife and family.

I met Paul in September last year at Safety bay where he was just beginning his foray into kite surfing photography.



He is one of the most down to earth and generous people I have had pleasure to meet in this sport. He has touched a lot of us with his enthusiasm and sheer determination to capture the best photos possible.

I am so proud of the fact that his determination paid off with his work being showcased in the worlds finest on and offline kite surfing publications. He was a true testament to the the sport with the right attitude and a true passion.

The photo below was shot by Paul on one of our many sessions together. On this particular day Paul invited me and a few friends down to the point for a water session where he suited up and sat in the water for over 4 hours trying to get the best frames. He would instruct us to "GET CLOSER!" to within inchs of his fish eye lense.

We had many awesome sessions together and I will never forget the guy he is a legend in these parts!







R.I.P Paul

Terrible news

I remember Paul from a long time ago- 2006 i think !! when WAKSA did one of the first downwinders.
He was strategically placed at Swanbourne snapping away whilst getting sandblasted and being propositioned.

My condolences to the family and friends.

Does anyone know what happend?

Condolences from Sweden, rest in peace

Thats devasting news. I was only reading the US kiteboarding mag at the newsagent yesterday and Paul had a few pics in it. I couldn't believe how many shots he was getting run already. The local free kite mag was pretty much all Paul in the captions.
What a loss.
Condolences to the Burton family.

I got to know paul well and he was one of the nicest people i have ever met, he couldn't give away his pictures fast enough! He was a very talented photographer.
My thoughts are with his family this is a tragic loss. rip

What a tragic waste of a great human being. I met Paul through sponsoring WAKSA events, he was a very very nice guy and one hell of a photographer.
SO SAD to hear of this. Condolences to his family.
We should hold a special summer event in memory of Paul Burton and make it an annuual event as well.
R.I.P Paul, may you continue to take those pictures that we all grew to know.
Duncan

I am speechless, I honestly don't know what to say except that Paul was one of the most passionate and determined people I've met in the kiting community. The rate at which his skills progressed behind the lense was amazing. Looking at his first few batches of photos you could see he had a way to go, then looking at the next batch you'd be astounded at his improvements! Each set just coming out 10 times better!

Not only this, Paul was also a very genuine and helpful bloke, never hesitated for a second to give you a hand with anything.

Such great qualities are unfortunately becoming more scarse in the world so let us hope his kind heartedness, passion and determination will be passed on to others.


May you rest in peace Paul Burton and my condolences go out to your family.

Charl de Villiers

he took one of the best kitesurfing photos of me that i own, in the big air comp 2 years ago. My girlfriend bought the photos from him and blew that one up on a canvas for my birthday im sitting here looking at it right now.

when i asked him if he would mind giving me a few tips on photography he was more than happy to oblidge unfortunaly i couldnt remember what he looked like but he was happy to offer

trully genuine nice guy rip in peace mate

ben

Paul Burton was an incredible photographer and a fantastic friend to me.
He was selfless and cared only to promote the talent from WA.
I will miss chatting to him about kiting, photography and am forever grateful for the enourmous contribution he has made to kiting media and kiting in general.
RIP mate and you will live on forever with us through the beautiful work you left behind.
My thoughts and prayers are with you Jo and your family.

i agree with holding an event in honor of paul maybe have an entry fee donate the procedes to his family to help in these difficult times? more than happy to donate my time to help if anyone has any ideas

One of the many ideas that has been floated for Kitestock every year (only to never make the cut due to lack of human resources) has been a photoboard comp.
Perhaps this year a few photo minded volunteers could get it on the program as the Paul Burton memorial event people are suggesting.
Im sure this years Kitestock crew would be more than happy to accomodate it.
I reckon theres one 'Kitemag' that would gladly feature the winning entry on its cover.
And I know Paul would be absolutely stoked to have a kitesurfing photo comp in his honour.


ps check out Pauls gallery - you might find a pic you would like to buy
www.pbase.com:443/pbphotoswa
Paul had this wonderful system of posting his pics then negotiating on anything you found that you wanted - almost always "oh that one would be free".

Before Paul moved to Aus, he grew up in Cyprus, as a member of the infamous Rat Pack of windsurfing (before God gave us kites!). I've attached some photos from back in the day, showing his commitment to having fun, being excellent at everything he tried and winning most, supporting his mates (from falling over), and living live to the full. There's a Facebook group 'The Episkopi Rat Pack' featuring many shots of Paul's earlier days (and a lot of other drunken dickheads, myself included!), and I've attached a brief selection of those pics. The sentiments expressed in that group reflect what you guys already know, that Paul was a genuine top bloke allround, and immensely popular with anyone who knew him. His loss is felt around the world.







re

I concur with mjaykay, I never met Paul but I have spoken with him and have one of his photo's of me kiting proudly on my wall.

It will now hold extra sentiment.

My condolences to his family and friends.

OMG such terrible news
I will miss his friendly and kind natured personality down at the beach. My condolences go out to his family.

Chrissy

What a shame to lose such a friendly and helpful member of the kiting scene. I'm sure his presence on the beach will be missed by all who met him.

RIP Paul