This one means a lot to me. The North Carolina Press Association named me the 2026 Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year, their top photography award, given for a full year of pictures rather than a single frame. Those photos ran in Coastal Review. The award is named for Hugh Morton, a Wilmington photographer and conservationist whose archive is at UNC-Chapel Hill, and I’m proud to have my work sit in that company. These photographs ran in Coastal Review over the contest year — April 2025 through March 2026. They’re the pictures the North Carolina Press Association judged for the Hugh Morton award.