I love photographing the familiar, but perhaps what I love even more is making the familiar, obscure, a little mysterious than what the eye can perceive.
There is this mythical fog that descends on the beaches across Southern California; Manhattan Beach being one of them. My mind instantly quiets, as I hear the ocean waves coming and going. With each wave, that silence grows louder and more immersive. As if you are part of the ocean yourself.
On this hazy early evening, we ventured onto the pier before dinner. The sun was on its last phase of setting before making its daily disappearance until morning. A particular waft of salt air permeated the atmosphere. It slowly beckoned me onto the pier. The winds moved with my hands, as I swiveled my iPhone camera from one angle to another. As if we were making art together.
This was the result of those brief moments in time on the Manhattan Beach pier. I hope these photographs bring you a wave of calm and immersion, they same way they did for me capturing them.
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Tommy Lei (b. 1988) is a lens-based visual artist and writer in Los Angeles. For nearly a decade his work has moved between the street, the infrared, and the permanent — exhibited internationally and in private and institutional collections. The Quiet Photograph is his letter from the studio, published most Sundays. More at tommylei.com.
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