Sullivan's Island Winter-Spring 2019-20

23 www.SullivansIslandMagazine.com | www.SullivansIslandHomes.com Sullivan’s Island as a common muse – have attracted thousands of followers. So who are the people behind the lenses? MEET MICHAEL BARNETT, aka themilkywaychaser A packaging engineer by day, Michael Barnett’s adventurous personality has allowed him to experience the world from a perspective that many of us don’t see. “There are two types of people: people who get home from a long day and sit on the couch and watch TV, or those that say, ‘I’m going to go out to the beach and walk for an hour.’ The second type is just who I am. I have to get out there and see the world,” he explained. It just so happens that he carries a camera along. A hobby that started with a disposable underwater camera on a 1990s-era vacation morphed into building his own PVC camcorder housing to film his friends surfing. Over the decades, Barnett has honed his skills and ridden the waves of changing technology. He became fluent in things like aperture, shutter speed and ISO. “Photography is kind of secondary. It’s not because I want to take pictures. It’s because I like exploring and experiencing, and I want to document it.” For a while, his job sent him to far flung corners of the world, where he would schedule time to explore, documenting adventures along the way. Now, the Charleston native and former island resident’s work anchors him here, and Sullivan’s beaches, wildlife and horizons – even the elusive Milky Way – are the focus of his at-home adventures. He is also an avid conservationist and spends time volunteering (camera in hand) with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help the loggerhead sea turtles on Cape Romaine. He appreciates that the photos he shares can educate his followers and help bring awareness to wildlife issues. Barnett has a natural eye for an artistic perspective. “Anyone can take a picture. It’s how you frame that image or that moment that helps people understand who you are, what you see, what you think is beautiful,” he explained. “I live the life I want to live and do what I want to do. If the things I do and capture in a certain way inspires people, that’s awesome.” Photos by Michael Barnett.