Photo du Jour: Youth, Waterfalls and Roman Candles

Passing from their twenties to their thirties, Bryan Derballa and his friends treasure moments of liberation in the looming face of responsibility in Before We Land. In a phase of life where marriage, children and adult obligations become everyday realities, Derballa captures those instances where one still feels reckless and unencumbered.

On Labor Day weekend in 2013, he and his companions found “a legendary campsite in the ruins of an old stone building at the base of a waterfall somewhere in Pennsylvania”. Here they danced, sang and swam into the night in an evening that felt it should last forever. The stunning beam of light was created from a roman candle lit in the middle of the pool, Derballa and his friends cheering with each explosion. Though we all age and things do change, Before We Land highlights the fragments of our history that feel larger than life – the fleeting moments that we felt most free.

Image © Bryan Derballa 2014