HOME EVERYWHERE
At the age of three, my bare feet were exposed to the big, blue puddle called the ocean. Right from that age, I was thrilled, inspired, and extremely excited about the sea. As I grew up near some of the most pristine beaches in the United States, including Ocean Beach located in San Francisco, my Dad took me to the beach almost every weekend. I began to grow a deep love for how frigid the water was when it washed up on my toes. Most importantly, my favorite part about our weekend escapades was arriving at the beach. That first glace of the sand and a feeling of tranquilness and peace that overloads all your senses overtook me. In my Dad’s 2001 navy Jeep SUV, I was always enamored by seeing the glittery reflection of the water from the horizon, which refracted from the glaring, white sun.
Not only did I enjoy the feeling of the ocean, but I also enjoyed the smell of the saltiness and how it perfumed everything we brought to the beach; the umbrella, the tarp, the cooler. As I became older, and as my passion for the ocean blossomed, my passion for photography grew with it. My Dad started to bring his 1988 SonyX video camera to record me surfing. At times, I would grab a hold of the camera and record him as well. After these invigorating beach days, my Dad and I drove home and eagerly watched the videos we took.
On my seventh birthday, my Dad and I returned home wet and soggy from several hours spent surfing at Bolinas Beach. While watching the videos with my dad, I realized you could take the beauty of the beach to your home. Right in your lap! Right in front of your very eyes on the TV screen in your red, brick living room. At that moment, I wanted to take the beauty of the beach and bring it to the homes of others.
Not only did I want to capture all the beauty of the beach, but I also wanted to take all of the magical things in the outdoors to the very comfort of my home in San Rafael. This began to include my spring break trips to Kona, Hawaii, and our snowy Thanksgiving trips to Banff, Canada. I grabbed my camera, which my mom had purchased for my fourteenth birthday, and brought it everywhere. I found essence and true meaning by bringing the wonders of nature back home. The fascinating color and movement of the ocean was the one thing that stayed embedded in me and has inspired me to continue photographing.
Shot over consecutive mornings during the long, recent run of North Coast autumn swell, In the Family of Things is Dave Rastovich in his element, doing his thing.