Sussex County filmmaker helps bring photographer’s American journey to screen
Byram. Sussex County filmmaker Paul Jacobson contributed to a decade-long documentary project chronicling photographer Feryl Lois Highsmith’s journey to capture the people and places of America.
| 16 Jul 2026 | 04:27
A Sussex County filmmaker is helping bring the story of a lifelong effort to document America’s people and places to audiences through a decade-long documentary project.
Veteran filmmaker Paul Jacobson, a Sussex County resident with 45 years of worldwide programming and production experience, co-created the project and serves as director of photography and co-executive producer.
Jacobson filmed portions of the documentary in Sussex County, capturing the region’s landscapes and communities as part of photographer Feryl Lois Highsmith’s larger American journey. Filming locations included Cranberry Lake in Byram, Aeroflex Airport in Andover and the Sterling Hill Mine in Ogdensburg.
Highsmith, 80, began photographing America at a young age while traveling across the country by car. Describing herself as “a nomad from the moment go,” Highsmith spent decades documenting people and places in all 50 states.
After more than 40 years of travel, Highsmith has built a collection expected to exceed 100,000 photographs. Her archive is housed at the Library of Congress and is available to the public without copyright or royalty restrictions.
The documentary project highlights Highsmith’s lifelong mission to preserve the stories and character of America through photography.
