Bryan Derballa: Before We Land

Artist’s Statement:

For many of us, there’s a liminal state between youth and adulthood. It’s a period of uncertainty that occurs sometime after college but before homeownership, when friends become family and time becomes finite. It’s when responsibility and recklessness collide. Stakes get high. Amid the growth and regrets, there are moments of transcendence that challenge who we were and define who we’ll become. Those nights, bathed in water and moonlight, are the ones we wish would never end. But invariably they do. This is a collection of those memories the fleeting grasps at eternal youth.

Artist’s Bio:

Brooklyn, NY

Bryan Derballa was raised in Carolina, educated in California, and lives in Brooklyn. He works as a freelance photographer for a number of clients including the Wall Street Journal, The FADER, Vice, Wired, and J. Crew. Last fall, he shattered his ankle on a ropeswing during one of these swimming trips depicted. Undaunted, he continued to shoot using his crutches like a tripod, and will undoubtedly be jumping off cliffs and ropeswings again this summer. Bryan was also selected as one of the PDN’s 30 emerging photographers for 2014.