Postcard 018 - The Perfect Camera Roll Photo
I look at this picture and see summer — it has warmth, water, and things that are in my life because of friends.
I used to really struggle in the heat, but I think exposure helped me change that (as it does with most things). This summer I spent time in Palm Springs, Austin, Los Angeles, New York, Joshua Tree, and Paris all during temperatures over 90 degrees. Seattle itself had a week or two like that. I bought some lighter shirts, smiled, and embraced the sun.
This photo was taken in Joshua Tree towards the end of June, at which point I was happy to be in the heat. In between calls and meals with my friends, I'd step out into the near 100 degree weather and dip into the pool. By the time I got out and drank half of the La Croix, I'd be dry (thanks to the desert), and eager to be back inside standing on cool concrete. This ritual of literally rinsing and repeating became a common one, both at home (in Madison Park) and on my travels.
But it isn't just the location that makes me happy when I see this photo. The Bang & Olufsen speaker belongs to a best friend and former roommate, and I have the same one in a different color (you don't need to guess which) because of our time together. When I see it in my house, I think of him and our old place. The Birkenstocks were a Christmas gift from someone who has a knack for finding collabs and knew my appreciation of all things Rick Owens. And the La Croix, perhaps the least "special" of all the items here, has been a part of my grocery store visits with my best friend where we buy nearly a full cart's worth of sparkling water, at some point commenting "we love to hydrate."
For me, this is the perfect camera roll photo. The kind of image that stops your scrolling and makes you smile, time traveling you back to that specific moment — me still learning how to use my new camera and eagerly snapping a photo before diving back into the water.