Enjoy this wonderful story photographed by Janelle Pietrzak starring gorgeous Tiffany Renee.

“Every summer, there is a massive exodus to the Mediterranean. Our Instagram feeds are clogged with images of Amalfi, San Tropez, Mykonos, and Ibiza. I am equally guilty of adding to this endless stream of aspirational travel content. For the past seven years I have spent my summers in Italy, even though I actually live a short walk from the beach in Los Angeles. Lately, it has begun to feel like there is an over saturation of this kind of imagery. Have we seen enough beach umbrellas, boat selfies, and plates of pasta yet?

When we decided to shoot this series in Venice Beach, it was in direct opposition to photos of dreamy euro-summer vacations. I wanted to highlight one of my favorite places; where the chaotic urban environment runs straight out into the Pacific. When I first moved to Los Angeles, my apartment was a block from Venice Beach and I would surf every morning at breakwater. I remember waking to the beach with my surfboard and feeling like I was part of such a unique community. Sixteen years later, I spend every Sunday on my roller-skates, grooving to live DJs at the skate pavilion. Yet, in all my time here, I have never actually shot in Venice, eschewing its vibrant energy for the languid Mediterranean.

For this story, I wanted to show the Venice Beach that I love, a place where freaks-and-artists, graffiti-and-roller skates, surf-and-sand, all fuse into a style that is uniquely Venice. For this story, we mixed vibrant popsicle colored swimwear with micro-shorts and crochet dresses in a nod to Venice’s gritty meets psychedelic aesthetic.” Janelle Pietrzak