Some people say that Florida is a state full of hopefuls—people who flock there in hopes of realizing a dream, an idea, or a lifestyle. Photojournalist Melissa Lyttle is not one of these hopefuls but a native Floridian. After years of living in Florida, the state and all of its nuances have become the central character in Lyttle’s storytelling. She says she wants to show people that her home state is more than meets the eye—it’s not something to be stereotyped by outsiders but instead revered by its residents.

When Lyttle became a staff photographer for the Tampa Bay Times, she lived less than a mile away from the hospital in which she was born and felt she had “truly