“Darling, you are in love with my camera!”
~ Georges Dambier
There are certain photographs that seem to capture not simply a moment, but an entire spirit. Georges Dambier’s Catherine Surf is one such image.
With his warmth and innate sense of style, Dambier directed his models almost as though he were making a film. Every great model of the era wanted to work with him, and he became one of the defining photographers to emerge from the golden age of French Elle.
In Catherine Surf, all of these qualities come together beautifully. Standing barefoot at the water’s edge beside a towering surfboard, Catherine is both modern and timeless. The photograph possesses the effortless summer fashion while celebrating freedom, youth, and the simple pleasures of summer.
I've have always been drawn to photographs that celebrate life, and this image does so with extraordinary charm and optimism.
Dambier’s remarkable legacy continues to be celebrated today in the museum exhibition Vivre sa vie: Georges Dambier and Fashion, currently on view at the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum.
