Sunrise Beach

Video by Jennifer Kay

South Beach. Everyone thinks they already know everything about it. Topless beaches, grisly crimes, restless crowds, flashy cars, neon and police sirens, plastic people and pastel buildings. It’s the South Beach that’s rude and bold and famous. 

People ask me why I live at the beach, and I think they expect an answer that glitters. Something about the beach’s frenzy or the Art Deco or the way everyone looks in the heat.

They expect the tourist beach. I live at the beach, though, and it’s not the same place.

I set out on this visual journey to share the South Beach that I experience. It’s a quieter place, where people live and work instead of showing off and partying. I set out in the mornings, shortly after sunrise, to highlight the difference between my neighborhood and “South Beach.” In those early hours, the light is softer. You can see the discipline that balances the beach’s hedonism, the workouts that perfect the famously fit bodies and the workers cleaning up the previous night’s activities. There’s room to move in the mornings, and even room and time to pause, because the crowds are still asleep. 

When I moved to Miami, I chose to live on South Beach because, of course, I wanted to live near the water. I also wanted to live in a neighborhood where I could walk around, where I didn’t require a car, where I could feel energized by my environment instead of feeling overwhelmed, and where I could see other people utilizing the beach in similar ways. These images are my reasons for still living on the beach.