Andrea Tese is a queen among the kelp. 👑🌿 The 40-year-old photographic artist has been swimming in the kelp forests off the California coast, hoping to capture the swaying ocean greenery juuusst right for her latest underwater series.
"I'm shooting with an 8x10 sheet film camera, which is really difficult to do underwater, but for me, there is nothing quite like a large format negative, so it’s worth it!” @andreatese says.
Her previous work has been featured in DeBuck Gallery in NYC and published by the notable art book publisher Steidl. But, “this project is especially fun for me because I get to combine my love of the ocean and free diving with photography.”
Here, @andreatese comes up for air (and to rest her arms) to answer our first #captioninterview of 2020 before heading back to her throne:
Hometown:
NYC, but I spend more time in seaside towns than I do in the city.
Fave Surf Spot:
Pan Dulce, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. It's a beautifully long and gentle wave set in one of the most biodiverse jungles on the planet. Also, if you're unlucky with swell, the spearfishing is really good.
Feel Like a Beach Babe In:
@loreofthesea surf onesies and @coreyswave baseball hats.
Frothing For après surf:
Usually a lot of (fresh) water!
Fave Song Right Now:
My friend @petepeterpedro is in a great band, Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum @princessgoesofficial, and I really like their song “Ketamine.”
Give Love to the Oceans By:
I try to use as little plastic as possible, not eat seafood that is overfished (like Bluefin Tuna) or aggressively farmed (like Salmon), not eat mammals at all because of the runoff and greenhouse gasses they create, give to organizations like @oceana, educate myself by reading authors like @4fishgreenberg and @susanlcasey, support businesses like @docktodish that bring us truly traceable seafood, and by generally doing my best to respect it in every way that I can.
Good-Vibes-for-Life Motto:
Maybe: “you don't have to out-swim the shark, you just have to out-swim the other guy.” I‘m joking, kind of.
📷: all @andreatese