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
My sincere condolences go out to his wife and family.
I was lucky enough to do alot of work with Paul this summer and became really good freinds with him he is a outgoing person and a truly talented person.
Rest in peace Paul you will be missed by many!
Michael Bell
Funeral is arranged for next Wednesday 19th 11am at Karrakatta.
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
was a legend in all areas of life and had a real zest for kitesurfing and a real talent for photography...... tragic news and i also send my condolences to his family and close friends. he will be sorely missed
Abel
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?
Hey Guys
I don't want to say too much as his wife Jo can give you more datail if she chooses to come on here.
I have given her the web address and encouraged her to come and see all the great things that people will say about Paul who had their lives enriched by him. 
What I can tell you is that he was on some medication and he had an unfortunate reaction to it and it tragically took his life.
Keep the stories coming, they help remember him for the champion that he was.
Another few of my favourite pics of Pauls of Me Sam and Jo
He always took the piss about my tongue being out. 
Leon
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.
sad sad news. condolences to his family at this hard time. great bloke and a super keen and talented photographer also. r.i.p mate . Ryland
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
It was amazing how fast Paul established himself as an international kiting photographer. He was such a nice guy. One of the most supportive and encouraging guys I've ever met. He always went out of his way to promote the kiters, getting great enjoyment out of seeing others doing well. Paul was doing great things for WA and Australian kiting and he will be greatly missed. My thoughts go out to his family. R.I.P Paul.
Andy
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 was shocked to hear this news this afternoon.
I met Paul through the Pinnacrew. Paul caught up with me one time and wanted to give away prime piccies of our riders. He would ring regularly to see if he could offer his work for our website and riders portfolio's. He went out of his way to offer his services and obviously had great passion for his craft as is displayed in his work.
This is a very sad loss for kiteboarding, as there are few to match his skills, and none to match his generosity of time and willingness to give. His enthusiasm for kiting and life will be missed.
So sad to hear of this tragedy. Sincere condolences to his family, our collective thoughts are with you.
Sincerley,
Darren Marshall and the AKS team 
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
Totally shocked to hear this.
A great guy, passionate to his art and huge supporter and promotor of WA Kitesurfing.
He will be truly missed.
Much respect.
Alex
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
I am beyond shocked.... not the news I was expecting to see on the forum this morning 
I met Paul through my activities with WACK!, where he generously offered to take pictures of the girls whenever wind and events happend to co-oincide.
We had a great gossip about life, loves and Kiteboarding while sitting through a teasingly windless event in March at Swanbourne.
We talked about some big plans for the next season, both ref events, kiteboarding and personal goals.
I cannot believe that those plans will now not be fulfilled for him.
I will miss his enthusiasm and friendship.
Condonlences to his family.
Nicolea
(See my fave of his pix of me from November last year.)
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.
hi there friends,
though i never met Paul, I can see by the content/response of the replies, the tremendous input, support and impact he had on so many people's lives.
May we each treasure & value our lives, relationships and the other more important matters of life, more&more everyday.
My condolences to the family, friends & those who shared in Paul's life.
Take care&God bless
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
Unbelievable. What a tragic loss. All those hopes and dreams. All that talent, quiet enthusiasm and inspiration. A sad sad day for all who had the pleasure of crossing paths with this gentle generous soul.
I know Paul would be truly humbled by the words and feelings people are putting out here.
"that" shot we wanted will never be - but I will think of it often.... and smile at the thought and of the planning we shared.
A very sad day.
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".
Its absolutely tragic and incredibly sad.
I'll always remember Paul for his quiet and understated manner, but big on enthusiasm and making his actions louder than words.
He was one of the first to jump in and lend his support and photographic services to our fledgling WA kiting events. And he was always around through the summer months neck deep at various kiting spots, wading around for hours trying to get the perfect action shot.
Australian kiting has suffered a big loss, and we've lost a good friend.
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
My condolences to Paul's family and friends
I only knew Paul through emails sharing our common passion for kiteboarding photography over the last few years, he was an inspiration and a gifted artist.
Paul you were a true original and they broke the mold when they made you.
Ian Osborne
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 I can't believe Paul is no longer with us! He will be badly missed by all of who knew him.
My deepest sympathy to his family and friends.
Ian Young
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
I was absolutely shocked to hear the news a few days ago, having met Paul on several occasions to do some photo shoots, I got to know him quite well. He was very passionate about his photographer and very focused and committed to his cause supporting local WA riders and companies. He was very patient guy and willing to put the time into getting the "shot".
Such sad news to hear that we have lost such a valuable member of our kite surfing community. Condolences to the family I can not even begin to imagine the pain you are feeling.
Paul you truly will be missed,
Tom Condon
From the last shoot I did with Paul at pelican point last January where he waded out almost 600m out to get into position and stayed out there until the sun had almost set.
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
