// INSPIRED BY LAUREL DAILEY //

Some people view the world in a unique and beautiful way. Laurel Dailey is, undoubtedly, one of those people. We met for the first time back in 2010 at a photo shoot for Quiksilver in London. Strangely, it turned out that we had both lived in the same part of California a few years earlier when she went to a university that was a five minute drive from my old flat. Afterwards I started following her blog of essays (it's witty beyond belief) and got hooked on her clever insights and honest writing style. We were reunited a few years later when she flew to Oxford to shoot one of my friend's weddings.

Laurel's a photographer and lives in Long Beach, California. She never seems to stay in one place for too long though. If you look at her pictures you'll instantly see that she's hugely inspired by her friends. Following her visual diary on Instagram is like tapping into a world that's effortlessly cool. Her pictures never look like random snapshots, instead they portray moments of sheer beauty and simplicity. There's a nonchalant grace to her work. She takes basic moments, like someone sticking their hand out a car window, and captures them in a way that makes them appear achingly beautiful. When I asked Laurel what inspires her most the first thing she mentioned were blogs. She then went on to talk about her unconditional love for California, a state she's lived in for the past thirteen years, and a place that continues to inspire her work.

Books: East of Eden, Travels with Charley in Search of America, The Fountainhead, The Corrections.

Music: The War on Drugs, Courtney Barnett, Foxygen, Mac DeMarco, King Krule, Haim.

Photos c/o Laurel Dailey's Instagram account. Click to enlarge.