BY LARA FREIBURGER
A thought crosses my mind: “Freedom”. I am in Bali, standing knee-deep in the refreshing water of the ocean. My camera is within reach like always for the last couple of weeks, since I don’t wanna miss a single epic moment.
“…a peace of mind.”
I have to admit, this really sounds corny and old fashioned. It seems almost cocky to call yourself close to a peace of mind in the 21st century, surrounded by meetings and social stress. I gaze to the silhouettes in the water which have become so spookily familiar in the last few days to me.
“But yeah…,” I decide with approval, “if this state really does exist, those people are really damn close to it.”
Through my camera I am able to relocate the silhouettes of the guys that have kind of adopted me into their inner circle during this short amount of time. Red board shorts, white lycra, blond hair. Check. It’s been about two months now since I’ve hung out with surfers—people who have dedicated themselves to this sport. Small, tall, fat, thin, pros, beginners…none of it matters. They are all united by one fact. They are united by the call of the water, for the surf. Maybe you can only understand this if you’ve also sat on a board in the ocean by yourself, surrounded by the meditative rhythm of the waves.
I splash my toes in the water. Sure, surfing is cool—but it’s not just that. To really dedicate oneself to surfing also means to live a really rustic life. It means to leave family and friends behind, to go to foreign countries. Surfers in principle don’t really own much. Not much money, not much property, not many serious relationships. But they have the surf.
I have talked to a lot of people. Warm-hearted people who oddly emanated a settling ease. Epicures. Fighters. People with beliefs. Besides the stereotypical cliché surfer-boy, most of them are really calm people, who are not posers at all. I asked them what their drive was, and they spoke about the ocean, nature, and the sport that balanced them—that made them become better people. They told me they were able to dive into a different world—one which gives them so much strength and happiness and distraction.
Through my camera I can see one of my boys. He’s on his board and he’s being lifted by the gigantic mass of an approaching wave. I lift my lens. This wave is royal. It is monstrous and frightening, and it is crashing. It swallows the small human dot without mercy, sending it down into its depths. My breath is caught, but then I smile.
I am sure.
He will stand up again.
我在巴厘島，站在齊膝深的海水裏。一個想法從頭腦裏冒出：“自由”。 在過去幾周，自從我不想錯過任何一個史詩般的時刻開始， 我的相機就一直在我觸手可及的範圍裏。
“…內心的寧靜。”
我不得不承認，這聽上去確實有些過時和老土。在21世紀，被各種人際關系和社交壓力所包圍，能聲稱自己接近內心安寧的狀態，聽上去幾乎都是狂妄自大的。站在海水中，看著這些近日來和我變得很熟悉的人們的身影。
“但是是的…”，我決定接受這個說法，“如果內心寧靜的狀態真地存在的話，那些人就真的是接近這個狀態。”
透過我的相機鏡頭，我可以重新定位這些人的身影，他們在很短的時間內也算是在內心接納了我。紅色短褲，白色萊卡紡織，金色頭發。算一算。自我加入沖浪者的隊伍已經有兩個月了，這些沖浪者將他們自己全部奉獻給了這項運動。矮的，高的，瘦的，專業的，初學者…這些對我來說都沒關系。他們都因為一件事而被團結在一起。他們因為水的召喚、因為沖浪，而團結在一起。也許你只能理解這些，如果你曾經也坐在漂浮於海洋中的滑板上，被周圍海浪冥想般的節奏環繞著。
我用腳趾在水裏拍打著。肯定的是，沖浪很酷 —— 但不止於此。要真正地獻身於沖浪，同樣也意味要過一種真正簡樸的生活。它意味著將家人和朋友放在身後，去到異國他鄉。原則上沖浪者並不真正擁有很多。沒有很多金錢，沒有很多房子，沒有很多正式的關系。但是他們擁有海浪。
我和很多人交談過，散發著安定舒適的熱心人、享受美食的人、好鬥的人、擁有信仰的人，除了老套沖浪者的陳詞濫調外，他們都是平靜的人，沒有裝逼的人。我問是什麽在驅使著他們，他們告訴我是海洋、自然、沖浪運動平衡了他們，讓他們成為了更好的人，並讓他們能夠潛入一個不同的世界，那個世界給予了他們充分的力量、幸福和消遣。
通過我的相機，我能看到其中一個沖浪者。他站在滑板上，正被湧進的巨浪推到高處。我舉起鏡頭。海浪是盛大的。海浪如怪物一般令人恐懼，猛烈撞擊。它毫無憐憫地吞噬小小的人類，將他們帶往海底深處。起先我的呼吸都因此而停住，不過這之後我不得不微笑面對。
我可以肯定。
他能夠再次站起來。
Lara Freiburger is a young freelance photographer from Munich, Germany. She focuses on portraiture and reportage and is seeking the small moments in a situation that make the difference in a photograph. You can see more of her work at: www.larafreiburger.com
Lara Freiburger 是一位來自德國慕尼黑的自由攝影師。她專註於人像&新聞攝影，並致力於在攝影中尋找讓情景不同的那些小瞬間。你可以從這裏看到她的更多作品：www.larafreiburger.com
