The British photographer Rachael Talibart tells the online magazine luxurydefined of Christie’s International Real Estate how she came to capture incredible seascapes that evoke mythical creatures and abstract designs.

Today, Rachael Talibart travels the world as an ocean photographer, capturing the arresting seascapes she’s become renowned for—but it was an Italian sunrise that first convinced her to make a living behind the lens. While on a break from a successful law career, she was considering returning to academics but “photography was pulling me in another direction. One morning I was in Venice, standing alone with my camera in a quiet spot before the sun came up, and felt so at peace and content that I decided not to go back to my studies.”

Instead, she returned to her roots on the rugged coastline of West Sussex in the U.K., entranced by the pull of the sea and determined to capture its wild beauty. Here she tells us more about finding the drama in nature.