How to Orient Yourself in the Wilderness is an exhibition presented in the style of a survival guide. The “wilderness” is a metaphor for the unknown. Within this category of the unknown are numerous literal and figurative spaces. I use the guide as an attempt to pin down why I gravitate towards the camera and what it means to me as a form of communication. Simultaneously I explore what it means to be “southern” and the manner in which it is traditionally represented in images. Also included in the wilderness tag is the “art world” and the relationship of straight photography towards and with it. The exhibition is loosely attached to the survival guide premise in order to highlight the shortcoming of photography’s ability to explain.