The Permanent Summer

Some shoots become weather. Kate Upton on a beach isn’t really a photo series at this point—it’s a climate condition, something you expect to persist regardless of what month it is outside your window. The Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot from earlier this year had that quality: sun, sand, a bikini doing its structural best, and Upton looking like the concept of summer made briefly physical.

The SI YouTube channel has been running video after video from it, which is the correct editorial decision. There’s a whole art to this kind of footage—the slow pan, the light off water, the moment where the camera lingers just long enough before cutting. It’s not subtle. It doesn’t need to be. Get a cold drink, find somewhere to sit, and watch the view.