Marcel Winatschek

Pale Breeze

Black’s Beach near San Diego is one of the places where nudity is legal. So when photographer Lauren Marie decided to shoot her subject Alexandra Sweiss topless, that’s where they went. A.J., as she goes by, travels constantly and loves being in different places, learning how different cultures work.

The series is called Pale Breeze and it was shot as the season turned toward autumn. Marie described the whole thing as freeing. You can feel it in the work—no self-consciousness, no protective layer. Just the light starting to turn pale and the body and the chill coming in.

There’s something about a photograph where you can tell the subject isn’t performing, isn’t negotiating with the moment. That’s what these are. A specific beach, a specific season, a moment where freedom and coldness are the same thing.