As the summer season begins to fade away in the Northern Hemisphere, it seems only right to pay homage to that warm, seemingly endless time when we pause and relax. Although photographer Bryan Derballa spends much of his time working in the concrete jungle that is New York, he sometimes escapes to rural scenes to photograph his project Before We Land. Based around the fleeting phase when we transition into adulthood, Derballa’s project often uses summer to represent the (nearly) carefree life of a young adult.

For the past several years, Derballa has ventured out to hidden waterfalls and lakes to document this chapter of life. He says, “I turned 31 this summer and none of my high school friends do