THE LTD BLOG
TEAMLTD Originals: Lukene Sotomayor
TEAMLTD Originals: Episode One with Lukene Sotomayor
Welcome to TEAMLTD Originals: a mini documentary series based on real world people who are truly Living The Dream. Throughout the series, we will be catching up with these everyday people to get an inside look at their story, how they live, and why they are doing what they do. We’re excited to be able to immerse ourselves into their lives and share everything we capture and experience from so many incredible lifestyles, so stay tuned for more to come. For now, here’s Episode One.
WATCH HERE
Meet Lukene Sotomayor, a surf photographer currently living in Tofino, British Columbia, Canada.
In 2019, Lukene was traveling, taking surf lessons and only a semester away from graduating her university degree when she decided Tofino would be her next destination. That summer, she made the move and has been there, working as a surf photographer and loving it ever since.
Lukene comes from a close-knit and adventurous family which is what allowed her to experience nature from a young age, and to fall in love with it for what it truly is. It was very early on when she realized that she’s the most happy when surrounded by beaches, oceans and beautiful landscapes – and that’s exactly what she wanted for the rest of her life. She’s always wanting to connect with nature and has looked for opportunities to do so since she was a kid.
She goes on to explain what Living The Dream means to her, how it’s the process of understanding who you are in the world and that not everything is always going to be perfect. To enjoy moments of excitement and success, it’s important to value the low moments too.
Lukene has a pair of tattoos which say “HERE” and “NOW”, so we asked her a little bit about them:
Here and Now for me means everything.
Why? Because the past, I’m grateful for it, it was amazing, I lived it and here I am because of that. The future gets me excited because I have aspirations and goals that I want to go for but those two things (the past and the future) have little meaning when I come back to here, in the present. Because this is the exact moment that I have to make a step forward, and to leave a footprint behind and being mindful – that’s just where the great joy of life comes from.
Lukene has a very modest and calm presence about her and that was so obvious after only spending a few days with her. She continues to capture beautiful surf imagery in her own way, by bringing her own style to the art-form of surf photography and we’re so excited to continue to watch her grow on this journey.