I was just north of Yulee, Florida, after a long day of driving, when I realized I couldn’t squeeze the remaining 50 miles out of the tank to get home. I stopped at a station with pay-first pumps, and as I chatted up the young local behind the counter, I had a memorable conversation.

She asked where I was from, and I told her St. Simons Island, leaving off Georgia as I often do when I’m close enough to home.

“You live on an island? Where’s that?” she asked.

“Just north of here, along 95, right on the coast of Georgia,” I explained.

“Georgia has a coast?”

I told her yes, in fact, it’s the same one Florida has. She let out a long ohhhh, I finished paying and left her there geographically confused.

But ignorance is not bliss. We should know where we are. My aspiration is to spark that search.

I grew up on St. Simons Island and have lived here my whole life. I feel extremely blessed to earn a living doing what I love, in a place I love. In 2009, I co-founded a marketing and advertising firm in Brunswick, across the sound on the mainland. I spend my days photographing everything from food to real estate for some fantastic clients. But owning a small business can be draining, and it’s then I really find solace in my art.

While I’ve photographed on the coast since my early teens, I’ve spent the past 10 years actively documenting the barrier islands of Georgia for a series of books published by the University of Georgia Press. In my efforts to give a unique voice to each island, I’ve struggled with finding a creative and fresh approach to capturing the beauty surrounding me. An example is the photograph of a sand dune in early morning light. I’ve shot it a thousand times, it has a place in my work, but I need something more. I need to feel something more, to be passionate and moved by something.