They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For Jamie Winterstern, beauty on the Gulf Coast is at sea and in the sky.
"I mean, this is paradise. This is heaven on Earth for me. You'll never see the same lightning strike twice," Winterstern said.
He fell in love with capturing storms on his camera and soon after decided to make a film about the Gulf's treasures and the shelling-obsessed culture on Sanibel.
"I can't get enough of them," Judy Beerman, owner of Island Gifts and cast member of the film, said.
"When I was a kid, I would go ahead and get clam shells and paint them and sell them," Emily, another cast member, said. "Kids would have lemonade stands and I would sell shells."
Judy and Emily were the perfect subjects for the film's focus on shelling. But Mother Nature had other plans.
"It looked like a nuclear bomb had let off. All I could do was cry and think, my beloved island," Emily said.
Hurricane Ian struck while shooting the story.
"It changed the whole trajectory," Winterstern said.
The ladies' stories struck a chord with audiences. Winterstern's film, "Sanibel," won the Best of Florida Film Award in the 2024 Naples International Film Festival.
"They're very special people and I think to give them a voice is an accomplishment of this film and I'm proud of it," Winterstern said.
There's still work to be done to restore the island, but while its light has been dulled, its people's positivity still shines.
"It amazes me how strong the people are here. How resilient they are," Emily said. "I think the prayers have already been prayed over this island."
"Sanibel" captures the beauty of the Gulf Coast for all to see. You can next watch "Sanibel" at Paragon Theaters in Naples Jan. 2025.