It’s rare to work w a surfer who is unapologetically themselves. Usually when I exit the water after a session, camera hanging from my blissfully tired arm I think wow, I can’t believe I get to do this. . This time tho something was new. It was good but it was new and I didn’t know what it was that was different. . And it was when I got to a restaurant around 1pm to enjoy my first food of the day w my sister that I figured it out. . I was two days unshowered except for the rinses from the sea n the baby wipes to clean sunscreen off my face. Road warrior bliss. I looked in the mirror of my car n decided that wiping the crusted salt from my eyebrows would have to do. I was being unapologetically myself as I entered to dine. . Shooting w @thembihanify was the first time in a long time that I hadn’t received constant apologies for the way a surfer thought they weren’t surfing while we shared the sea... or complaining about the waves. She just was enjoying the last bits of the south swell that pumped the west coast. Truly in the moment -at least as far as I could perceive while I was grateful that the currenty looking water was quite easy to swim in after all. Her presence allowed me to be present. . Be you. I’ll be me. And then we can just be.