My Perspective by Raphi Perez

Growing up in a rural town south from Barcelona’s coast line, yet upholding a Dutch nationality. Family spread around the globe; from Israel to Switzerland, France to Miami - name it. We are all nomads at the end of the day.

 

Home is the ocean. A magnetic field attracting all those I love. A melting pot of pure tranquillity, adrenaline and joy. A place where I feel so connected yet completely disconnected. A gift from nature and from my father for making me appreciate it.

As a Mediterranean surfer you learn patience, and pure gratitude as waves are never constant and swells unpredictable.

 

Though, it is beautiful to see such a determined community arising; surfing whatever you imagine to be surfeable and never really complaining about a greater, cleaner, longer or stronger wave. It is believed that once you get to read and understand such swells, anywhere other than the Mediterranean will thus be heaven.

I myself grew up footsteps away from the beach. Becoming conscious about plastic pollution came very early, around the age of 11. Soon enough, we teamed up together with my local community and started holding weekly beach clean ups. Being aware of the ideology “what comes around goes around-what we give we receive” made me realise how many of us use the ocean as our play grounds, getting most joy out of it, yet are not so much aware of what we put into it, or more, how to show a sign of respect in change.

In effect to this, as I finished high school, two years ago, I had the urge to see something other than my local beach. I set off with my backpack and analog camera, to meet tribes I had never really heard off, both by the ocean and 3000km away from it, too. I learned much along this journey that I am still in.

My name is Raphi, short for Raphaëlle. I am not sure where it is all going to, but I am following this dream.

Photography is part of this journey enabling to capture my perspective on life. I like to evoke pure, raw non edited or retouched images of today and now. All of which are shot on film.

For more stories on my journey: