“I’ve felt a strong energetic pull towards the ocean for as far back as I can remember. Growing up on the North African Atlantic Coast in Morocco, I spent as much time by the ocean as I could. As a teenager, I didn’t know exactly why; it just felt like home.
Over the years, the connection only deepened, and I began to reflect more about it. After moving to Portugal in 2022, I had the opportunity to be by the Atlantic ocean daily, diving into the powerful, and often icy cold waves, whose physical energy demands respect. Observing the sun and moon rise and set. The different character of the waves, the different shades of colors.
I think we’ve all experienced it in similar ways: the ocean provides us a space for perspective, calm, and clarity while also providing inspiration and energy for our inherent life force (prana).
Looking at the ever-changing motion of the water can provide a reflection of our own existence. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk and writer, states: “Enlightenment is when a wave realizes it is the ocean.” We are all one with existence, and separation is an illusion. The world we live in is us and we are it: within us, we carry its infinite potential. This aligns with yoga philosophy and practice, striving for unity and the cessation of all that separates us from pure existence.
To me, there is no better place to portray a person than by the waves of the ocean: both are a beautiful expression of being, coming into and out of interconnected existence. Unique, yet interwoven with everything. Capturing both in a singular moment of beauty in time has a special quality to me.”
words and photography by Cyril Schirmbeck
www.cyrilschirmbeckstudio.com
Model is Marta Condesso
Photography: Cyril Schirmbeck
www.cyrilschirmbeckstudio.com
@cyrilschirmbeck
Model: Marta Condesso @martacondessa
