Atlantic Beach is a city hidden from the tourist’s eye. It’s a beautiful and fun beach community, located below the Florida/Georgia line. As one of many little beach communities hidden across Florida, this is one of the most beloved and biased amongst the locals. Walking along the beach, it’s no surprise to run into old friends or to kindle new friendships. Wherever I go, I always see a photo opportunity especially with the close proximity of my house to the beach. Every morning I run on the beach and am beckoned to capture timeless moments of serene beauty. One of my favorite things is taking pictures of my surf buddies and letting their passion speak for themselves. I’ve always believed that it’s never the equipment that makes you a great photographer, but how the equipment is utilized by the artist behind it. Eva Luna typifies the Atlantic Beach surfer through her way of life. She often refers to herself as a mermaid who loves the water and swims miles in the surf every morning.

Piece together salty air, the sound of sea gulls squawking in the distance, and friendly faces everywhere you go and that makes up Atlantic Beach. Breath taking sunrises and sunsets, a huge Christmas tree bond fire on the shore on New Years Eve, dolphin pods that follow you in the water as you walk along the sand in the morning and sea turtles hatching new families all along the beach each year, this place is a salty, sweet slice of heaven.

A perfect day in this small town would be watching the sunrise on the beach, while eating a muffin and coffee from the local cafe called Lily’s. After giving my stomach time to settle, I would run on the beach and spend the rest of the day basking in the sun, while making trips to the water for a refreshing swim. At the end of the day, barbecuing all types of food with all of my closest friends.

The best thing about my spot is the laid-back surf culture.

The worst is when the surf is not up.

An outsider would be surprised with how friendly everyone is and how ties between people deepen into family bonds as Hawaiians call it, “Ohana.”

If my city was a character, it would be Stitch from “Lilo and Stitch,” because Stitch is an alien outsider that creates a bond with Lilo who is outcasted and it is quoted in the movie that “Ohana is family and family never gets left behind or forgotten.”

Three of my favorite artists are Three Nails Photography, Steve McCurry, and Bert Stern.