Photographs of surfing always cause me to pause. I can feel the familiar movement of the wave, the cool, crisp water, and the nourishing sun. As a West Coast transplant living in D.C., I find myself browsing surf photography more than ever. Sarah Lee’s images recently awakened my California roots, and for a moment I got to drift away on a daydream.

In her photographs, Lee captures a quiet yet powerful intimacy with the ocean that only someone who grew up in the water could achieve. Born and raised in Hawaii, and currently based in Encinitas, California, Lee had a childhood that sounded similar to my own, both of us in the ocean constantly. When I talked to her over the