Many of William Yang’s beach portraits capture his subjects’ ease against the backdrop of beautiful landscapes. The relaxed confidence portrayed in Tamarama Lifesavers, taken in 1981, marks a past era, one where the subject is in the moment, rather than thinking of the myriad ways that the image could be shared or liked.

The beach captured Yang’s eye from early in his career. Of this passion, Yang has said:

There’s an impulse in me that makes me go for the runny make-up, the unguarded moment, the Freudian slip. I mean I could photograph the plastic bags in the water, the rolls of fat, but the beach brings out the romantic in me. I’m overwhelmed by the beauty of it — the space, the surf, the sand and all that flesh. I’ve never gotten beyond the obvious.