I’ve often heard people warn against working with your spouse, so it was with great hesitation that I agreed to work alongside my husband on this series we call Drinking with Writers. My husband is a writer, and I am a photographer. We have an unspoken agreement that words are his territory and images are mine, so if you want to read stunning sentences, go check out his work. I’m simply hoping to offer insight into some of the things we’ve been working on this year.

We started collaborating about 6 months ago and loved the idea of a recurring column featuring writers from all over the place. We love Seinfeld’s show, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and wanted to put our own spin on it. While we do sometimes get coffee with our writers, we also have been known to order cocktails, organic juice, or locally brewed craft beer. Some of the writers we’ve featured are good friends of ours, some are acquaintances, and others are people we meet for the first time at our sit-down.

My husband, Wiley, is the one who actually drinks with the writer, and I am responsible for the visual illustration of what the day looks and feels like. We choose bars, coffee shops, and other places that are locally owned and serve food and beverages we enjoy in our daily lives.

For our sixth installment of DWW, Wiley sat down with Rachel Lewis Hilburn, the news director at WHQR Public Media, at Clean Juice in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. They discussed Rachel’s brilliant work and how she got her start.

I don’t always get to hear complete conversations while I’m shooting because I move around so much, but I’m so in awe of all Rachel does that I found myself lingering a little longer than usual when I was within earshot. Clean Juice’s beautifully neutral palette was the perfect backdrop for photos, and with a wide offering of healthy options, including organic juices, acai bowls, and protein smoothies, it is already a popular spot in downtown Wilmington.