“SENSE OF PLACE IS THE SIXTH SENSE, AN INTERNAL COMPASS AND MAP MADE BY MEMORY AND SPATIAL PERCEPTION TOGETHER."

My head has been swimming around this shoot. For all the obvious reasons but for all the deep down hidden ones, too. It's too obvious to talk about my fear of water. But the water has been calling to me since Austin. And when I had the opportunity to create a story with Mae, I dove in head first.

I am honored to have shared these waters with you, Mae. And I am grateful to you, Amy, for trusting me to tell this beautiful story, lifting me up by holding me down.

Mae: as you're heading into your senior year, I hope you forever feel a sense of place wherever life takes you. And may you always let your internal compass guide you, by land or by sea.

“I talked about places, about the ways that we often talk about love of place, by which we mean our love for places, but seldom of how the places love us back, of what they give us. They give us continuity, something to return to, and offer a familiarity that allows some portion of our lives to remain connected and coherent."

*The outtakes. The first takes. And as I often refer to them, the best takes. A giant thank you to the entire Murphy family who helped make three days of shooting three amazing underwater tales, three of my best days.