Scenes from 2023: A Coastal Georgia photographer's images of the year

Justin Taylor, The Current

Photographers shoot hundreds of photos for stories, and some become favorites for the image, the community, the story or sometimes all of it. Here’s Justin Taylor’s picks from the year.

Hundreds celebrate Brunswick’s stew in block party

Mary Ross Waterfront Park is the site for a spirited Brunswick stew competition.

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Crowds from around the region attended the annual Brunswick stew cook-off. 

Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current

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Judges taste and vote on the years best Brunswick stew.

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

Pembroke draws the curious as Murdaugh household items go to auction

An unassuming beige warehouse off old Highway 204 in Southeast Georgia became the sight of a feeding frenzy when items from the home of Alex Murdaugh were auctioned off to the public. Read story here.

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A man bids on a on a piece of the Murdaugh estate.

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

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Local news agencies from the region flocked to the Pembroke Auction House to cover the sale of the Murdaugh estate.

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

Coastal Georgia celebrates Juneteenth

The Current covered several Juneteenth events up and down Georgia’s coast in 2023, from community gatherings to the opening of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center. Story here.

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A Juneteenth celebration at the 38th Street park in Savannah. 

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

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A photo of the crowd from the grand opening of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center.

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

Georgia’s hedge against climate change: Okefenokee peat

The Current’s Mary Landers reports on the battle to save the Okefenokee Swamp from mining operations that would destroy the areas precious ecosystem.

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An overhead photo at the Okefenokee shows the diverse plant life and ecosystem of the swamp, resembling cultures grown in a petri dish.

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

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A photo of mining equipment owned by the Twin Pines mining company waits to strip away the rich topsoil of the Okefenokee's diverse ecosystem. 

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

Brunswick blames crime on homeless shelter and sues to shut it

Citing misleading crime data, city officials in Brunswick wanted to close The Well, a homeless day shelter that provides a place for people experiencing homelessness a place to do laundry, shower, and to rest from the summer heat. 

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A man experiencing homelessness in Brunswick uses The Well as a place to safely rest and escape the heat. 

Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current

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Mindy Carter takes advantage of the quietness at The Well to call loved ones and to look for a place to stay for the night. 

Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current

• Brunswick blames crime on homeless shelter and sues to shut it

Hyundai metaplant site

Photographer Justin Taylor has been documenting the progress of the Hyundai Metaplant in north Bryan County.

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Dump trucks sit waiting at the 3,000-acre Hyundai Metaplant site. 

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

• Slideshow: Hyundai metaplant site

School transportation woes worsen

Bus driver shortage worsens as growing economy lures workers elsewhere.

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A sign reminding drivers to check for sleeping children hangs on the fence of a school bus parking lot. 

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

• School bus driver shortage worsens as growing economy drives workers elsewhere

‘Tidal wave’ of new warehouses pushes residents out, changes coastal landscape

Kailey Cota looks at the sudden boom of warehouses popping up in Coastal Georgia.

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A massive warehouse looms over Bloomingdale, Ga., after being built right next to one of the city’s quiet neighborhoods. 

Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current

• ‘Tidal wave’ of new warehouses pushes residents out, changes coastal landscape

Woodbine man gets life in prison after deputy shot, killed cousin

A Camden County jury acquitted Varshan Brown of his cousin’s murder, who was charged despite fatal shots from police.

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Superior Court Judge Roger Lane listens to closing arguments, before dismissing the jury to deliberations in the trial of Varshan Brown on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023.

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

• Woodbine man gets life in prison after controversial deputy shooting killed cousin

500 new police guns will help failing recruits pass academy, Savannah brass says

Jake Shore examines the Savannah Police Department’s reasons for upgrading their sidearms. 

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A Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm pistol, the gun Savannah Police Department purchased 500 of for training and on-duty use, is seen.

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

• 500 new police guns will help failing recruits pass academy, Savannah brass says

Coastal Georgia shrimpers fear loss of industry as foreign seafood crowds market

An in-depth look at Georgia’s shrimping industry in what is shaping up to be their toughest season yet. The Current’s Justin Taylor spent a full day with the crew of the Big Cobb out of Darien to show us what shrimping looks like in Coastal Georgia. As foreign farm-raised shrimp floods the consumer market, it threatens local careers and culture.

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Frozen shrimp are unloaded at the Lazaretto Packing Company on Tybee Island. Bags of frozen shrimp are then placed on pallets, weighed, and loaded on a truck to be shipped to a packaging facility. 

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

• Coastal Georgia shrimpers fear loss of industry as foreign seafood crowds market

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In the early morning light, deckhand Aron Drake assists in preparing the nets for a day of shrimping. 

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

• Photo story: Shrimping in Coastal Georgia

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As day breaks, captain Wynn Gale of Darien, Ga., steers his boat to the shrimping grounds off of Georgia’s coast. 

Credit: Justin Taylor / The Current

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Georgia Recorder.