SANTA ROSA
Between Sea and Earth
In 2009 I began to photograph the primal beauty of the Santa Rosa barrier island located to the west of Pensacola Beach, Florida. This section of the barrier island is protected by the U.S. government and looks timeless. My simple goal was dramatically interrupted on June 23, 2010 when the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill came with a vengeance to the shoreline where I was working. This precious barrier island with its quartz crystal beach and sand dunes, maritime forest canopy, grasslands, and salt marsh was now threatened by a man-made disaster after centuries of surviving the pummeling of the most powerful natural forces of wind, wave, salt and fire. Once I discovered that Santa Rosa barrier island is still threatened by the BP oil spill, my goal has moved beyond merely photographing the primal beauty of Santa Rosa. My objective today is to create a traveling exhibit and book that will make people aware of the lingering threat created by the BP oil spill.