The Bull City - Durham, NC

I've been a Durham resident for ten years, and this city has shaped the way I see and shoot as much as anything else. Downtown Durham has been a constant source of inspiration — the historic brick architecture, the worn textures and industrial bones of a city that's been through a lot and worn it well. There's a grit and character to Durham that I love capturing, and watching it grow and evolve as a Southern city over the past decade has given me a deep familiarity with its streets, its light and its personality. If you're a local business, restaurant, or creative looking for someone who genuinely knows and loves this city, that shows up in my work.

Durham earned the "Bull City" nickname through its tobacco heritage. The city was home to the Bull Durham Tobacco Company, which became one of the most famous tobacco brands in the 19th century. The brand's logo featured a bull, and it was so widely advertised — on barns, fences and buildings across the country — that the city became synonymous with it. At its peak, Bull Durham tobacco was one of the most recognized brands in America, and the bull symbol became deeply tied to Durham's identity.

The Bull Durham factory still stands in downtown Durham today and has been redeveloped into a mixed-use space, keeping that history alive in the city's fabric. It's a fitting symbol for Durham in a lot of ways — a tough, working-class industrial past that's been reimagined for a new era, which is very much the story of the city today.