Barcelona was melting. Every table in the shade was taken. Coffee cups, hand fans, and slow conversations filled the afternoon. They weren’t looking for another café or another beach. They wanted trees. Cold water. Rock beneath their hands. A place where time could stretch a little.
So they drove to La Riba.
The road slowly exchanged traffic for forests, apartment blocks for cliffs. And somewhere along the way, the city simply disappeared.
It was the first time Vitalii Melnykov, Mariia Yefimova, and Ivan de Gea had met. Coffee brewed beside the van. A hammock tied between two trees. Cameras resting on backpacks. Feet cooling off in the river while conversations drifted as slowly as the current itself.
While Mariia and Ivan climbed, Vitalii wandered with his camera.
“I’ve always been fascinated by outdoor adventures, camping gear, and the simple beauty of life in nature,” Vitalii tells us. “Their backpacks, ropes, and climbing equipment became part of the visual story I wanted to capture.”
The climbing was hard that day. The humidity clung to everything, turning every move into a little more effort than expected. But strangely, nobody seemed to mind.
At one point, Mariia and Ivan hung a hammock between two trees.
“I lay there for a few hours, listening to the river and watching the light move through the forest,” Vitalii remembers. “It became one of those wonderful moments that stays with you long after the trip is over.”
Photography and Video: Vitalii Melnykov – www.instagram.com/vitaliimelnykov_
Models: Mariia Yefimova – www.instagram.com/mariia_yefimova
Ivan de Gea – www.instagram.com/ivandegea
Production : David Dworsky – www.instagram.com/daviddworsky
www.instagram.com/djucestudio
