Post Surf

Last June, I spent a few weeks in California, and was fortunate to surf from Bolinas up north to San Onofre down south, stopping to get in the water at my favorite spots in between. After each surf, I’d change out of my wetsuit, grab my camera, go for a walk, and shoot some pictures. Spring in the Golden State had been exceptionally rainy, and the “superbloom” was exceptionally beautiful.

Pre-surf, the focus is almost entirely on the ocean and the waves — where and when to paddle out, where to sit, which way to go. Post-surf, after sliding across a few waves, that intense focus is replaced by a feeling of calm contentment and heightened clarity. For a short time after getting out of the water, things look and feel different.

These are photographs made in an altered state — that short, blissful window that happens right after getting out of the water. They exist a layer beneath the surface of daily reality, a place that can be accessed only temporarily, until the visual filters of distraction and daily life slowly return — along with a desire to get back in the water.