SHORT FILMS

Check out my latest visual trip around one of the last relatively "untouched" inhabited islands of the East Coast. A place stuck in time exactly as the locals would have it and do have it. It's an island absolutely worth seeing - remote, unconnected, and wild. Tread lightly and respect those who are already there and it'll be a worthy experience.

I have seen hundreds of islands in my lifetime. From Cuba, the Bahamas, the Med, to the coastline of the South and I can say with confidence Cumberland Island takes the designation of my favorite island of all time. I have been coming to the island since 1999 and have always heard whispers of the Greyfield Inn, the only accommodations on the island and knew I had to see it. From the moment you step off that ferry you are immediately absorbed into the organism that is the Greyfield. A living breathing embodiment of the history of the island. A place you feel out of place for only a slight second as you acclimate to an earlier time. Your phone does not work, there is no Wi-Fi, no cable, no television. You realize you’ve done the closest thing to time travel that exists. You can walk out on the dock and see cars and lights of St. Mary’s in the distance, but your mind has a hard time processing the real world in the distance. Everything other than Cumberland feels alien in that moment. Long bike rides on the island expose you to an untouched natural sea island the world does not have many left of. I biked for ten miles down a beach on an 80-degree sunny day with not a soul to be found. The dirt roads on the island are bordered endlessly by some of the largest oaks in the south twisting into a canopy overhead. You feel like a king sitting on his Charleston green colored throne overlooking his kingdom around Greyfield. This place does not have the ability to let you down.

Sometimes you've just got to go see something for yourself. I've been hearing about Mexico City for a bit now, especially since I've become more present in West Texas. We went for a 5 night trip to the Roma Norte neighborhood of the city and had a very interesting time. Food is delicious, history is rich, and for the most part a bustling beast of a mega city that few people state-side even realize exists in that way.

From the neon haze of South Beach to the laid back residential jungle of Coconut Grove, Miami is an intoxicating landscape full of culture. While I've spent maybe two months of my life here, I still don't feel as if I can fully detail what is and what makes Miami, Miami. It's a life study, a life's work to fully put into words who and what this city embodies. It's fast, it's bright, it's loud and it's not waiting for anyone.

Some find joy and peace with a good book on the beach in the Lowcountry of SC. I myself find it best much more inland in the brackish waters of the Combahee and ACE Basin. In this video I explore the haunting peacefulness of leftover rice fields from another time in our South Carolinas history. Once the economic center of the southern universe that made kings of industry and built Charleston, is now run by massive gators and traversed by migrating birds. You will find a peace here like no other, but a haunting peace that begs you to remember what once was.

The south has always been, at least as long as I've known it, to be in a sense of decay. Ill repair. This in itself is what gives it a bunch of its mysterious haunted look, a look you are enthralled by, but one that keeps you at a distance. As the south and the world around it begin to change there are those who try and capitalize on this mystery and as they do the mystery begins to fall apart. People begin to peer in closer than they would have before and it looses that haunting grip on your eyes. Some have mislabeled the southern people as a simple minded people, a simpleton. However, even those that do this, do so because they are intimidated by our complexity and depth, not because they actually believe it. There is much more to the south than the rebel flag, Budweiser, and NASCAR and if you took the time to stop at that back-road country store, or that small town crossroad, you'd be on the first steps to finding that out. There's still mystery to the south and there always will be, but you might have to just look a little harder than you used to.

Even in the middle of the pandemic the hustle and bustle of Bimini is evident. This is far from the stereotypical sleepy island theme of most small Bahamian islands. Steer clear of the resort on the East end and instead opt for a fried snapper platter on the beach in Alice Town. Spend the day swimming on one of the best beaches in the Bahamas right outside town and let yourself ease into a Bahamaian , rum-induced, coma.

Got into Austin late at night and stayed at the historic Driskel Hotel. In the morning Allie and I hit the road for an 800 mile road trip to Terlingua, Texas near the Mexican border. It was a long haul, but as you passed through hill country and the desert began to open up, a strange feeling overcomes you. Your ego begins to melt away as you see the vastness of it all, and realize how big things really are. We grilled out and drank tequila as we watched the sun set and rise over the Mexican mountain border. In the morning we continued west over the mountains into Presidio, TX which is more Mexican than American, and then crossed the border into Ojinaga, Mexico. It must be said passports aren't required to enter Mexico, hell they didn't even make us roll down the windows as we rolled across the concrete jungle of a border. All of a sudden you're just in Mexico, without warning, without any signs, free to galivant across one of the biggest countries on earth - unrestricted and unknown. However when we came back across into the sweet U.S. of A. we had a thorough shake down by border patrol who worked us over good and then with a smile let us back into our home country, a process we take for granted as American citizens. From there, a bit shook up I might add, we took off for Marfa, TX, the real destination of it all. There we found a strange art town that looked like burning man and the LA art scene had a love child and abandoned it in the middle of nowhere. The craziest part is you're a good 8 hours from Austin, 5 from El Paso, and there is no option to fly - only driving, and you have 5-star meals, champagne, caviar, 10-20 thousand dollar pieces of art, high end clothes, and much more... just in the middle of nowhere. Of course the town owes a good bit of credit to Donald Judd and his art foundation. After two nights here we hit the highway again aiming for Dallas and as we would later find out, also oil country. A dry, dusty, oil-smelling place of never ending oil pumps and wind power. Oil country changes a man, but eventually we did make it to Thrifty, TX - our stop for the night, and found a relaxing retreat hidden on a small creek. We were exhausted by this point and barely had the energy to light a fire and kick back, but managed that much. Headed back in October, with my monoliths in tow from SC. So if anyone has an interest in planting a monolith give me a ring.

About an hour East of Columbia you can find the Wateree River. It originates from Lake Wateree and runs into the Congaree River forming the Santee River just 10 miles North of St. Mathews. As far as wild and natural rivers go in SC, this one is at the top of the list.