When he was a young student in Italy, Alex flirted with becoming an artist. After returning to the USA, he built a career as a commercial photographer, shooting houses, cars, breakfast cereals, and other objects for sale. He found a business partner, Tony, who got him funding for a studio. As Alex reflects, his work wasn’t glamorous—he never got to shoot gorgeous swimsuit models or go on location to Paris. Yet he remembered the lessons his mentor, Janusz, had imparted about lighting and observation, which made his work not only better but also satisfying. After ten years, Tony sold the studio and handed him a big fat check. So, now he is a millionaire with a condo and a beautiful live-in girlfriend, Grace, who always seems to have a headache. He is frustrated and uninspired—until he stumbles across the existence of an artificial floating marvel (or atrocity) called the Pacific Garbage Patch. Why not charter a yacht to go out and explore it? Brian Belefant started his career as an advertising copywriter, writing hundreds of commercials for major brands, from Nissan to Pepsi. He is an award-winning fine art photographer.