Hawaii is one of those places that you remember like it was yesterday and feels like it was so long ago at the same time.
Highly suggest viewing this article on a big screen.
Take this photograph above, for instance. I remember that moment with perfect detail. I was photographing a ‘hero-piece’ for the Hawaii Presidential Foundation. I named this one Kelekona Keha, because that was the nearest Hawaiian translation I could find to Rising Dragon. When you see the dragon, just right of the center and rising vertically into the sky, and realize the scale of the scene, you’ll know the mana I felt that evening. It was a crazy-beautiful moment. This is one of the many personifications of nature that I discovered in Hawaii.
[Click on the links to any of the photographs shared here to see them in high resolution and in-situ scenes.]
I put thought and effort into finding those moments when the elements seemed to collaborate with me. It was in Hawaii that I navigated my way through the self-work I needed to accomplish. I began recognizing this feeling of being isolated but feeling safe in that isolation. That idea, “comfortable isolation,” became a motif in my photography.
The Ko'olau Dock above took me years to find. Actually, when I began sharing my last 30-days on the island with people, someone reached out and told me I had to see this place. She was absolutely right. For me, the piece above represents ALL of Hawaii in a single image. It gives me the feels and makes me wish for scenes like this to remain idyllic. I could just sit on that shady dock for hours.
NEW RELEASE:
From the Heart of Hawaii come a story about rejuvenation.
'Pele’s Well' serves as a reminder that I need to 'fill my own cup'. Refilling my own well isn't selfish, it's essential. But it should be done sustainably, without depleting the resources of those around me like Pele does through this well. READ MORE
Speaking of moments I could sit in for hours; above Hanauma Bay at sunrise on Tuesday morning… that moment is magical. I wish I appreciated it more but that moment was SO hectic. I had forgotten my tripod (I was very green in photography at the time and I had to RUN half-mile downhill and back up to get back in time for this photograph. This is one of my earliest photographs, and I’ll actually share my first-ever photograph with a DSLR below, and also one of my most successful. There are very few editions of Hanauma Sunrise remaining. Message me via the contact form below or on the microsite to inquire about collecting.
Speaking of moments that seemed to last forever. I captured Lesion (above) in a moment full to the brim with excitement and trepidation. I was straddling this crack for 4o minutes. I could see the lava flowing beneath me in what must have been a lava tube and I could feel the heat.
I was there for so long because I was positive that if I left to explore nearby, I would never find this spot again. While I waited for the sun to set, the lave that is flowing around this feature oozed up and I wasn’t entirely sure what might happen next.
I honestly have so many stories and works to share about Hawaii and a great, curated selection of works in my portfolio that it is really difficult to narrow them down for this article. If you ever want a custom tour of my work for your home. Book a free session with me.
That one time we hiked to Hiilawe Falls on the Big Island…. what a magical place on the island.
My first photograph with a DSLR ever...
There came the point when I outstretched the reach and technical abilities of my Canon Ultracompact camera. Still, it took me quite a while to make the expensive leap into a professional-grade camera. When I thought I found a deal, I bought my first DSLR, a 5D Mk I. The very next morning, I woke at 4 AM and went to Halona Beach Cove to capture long exposures in the pre-dawn dark. I started at twenty minutes per exposure and decreased as the light-colored the horizon. For Eternity Beach, I opened the shutter for five minutes, laid back, and waited when I brought the photo home... hundreds of dead pixels, a gash across the image, scores of dust spots! I was so disappointed. The camera I purchased was broken. Riddled with dead pixels, even a heavy scratch across the sensor. I returned the camera straight away, and the cost of a new camera almost put my photography career on hold.
Because of the camera, Eternity Beach was understandably wrought with challenges and flaws. I’ve come back to this image over and over for the past five years. I tweaked and retouched. I even threw away many versions and attempts to complete it. Even with the challenges, I must have used up a year’s worth of luck to have captured such an image on my very first foray into professional work. It was worth coming back to again and again. Finally, it’s finished, and I am very proud of it.
Truly one of my most original photographs from Hawaii. I stood on lava rock piercing the ocean's surface to the south of Sandy's Beach with my back to the incoming waves. I focused on this feature beneath my feet at sunrise. When I captured this image, I knew it was going to be great.
Malia Lanikeha means Serene Seclusion in Hawaiian
Shown below as a 72" edition in a 6" standing frame.
Click on any of the photographs in this article to be taken to each artwork’s own microsite with stories and more presentations for each artwork.
“Silence” I found myself alone on Lanikai Beach only once in the three years I lived on Oahu. It was a moment that I simply could let pass without capturing the scene. The layers and the depth in this photograph give me that tingly feeling of something exciting that is about to occur. In this case, completely stepping into this photograph and feeling the tide seep through sand between my toes.
Inspired by a dream in which I was drowning. Above me a rippling tree extended from the surface and all around me were swimming colors. “Lana” means ‘adrift’ in Hawaiian
Alright, I’ll leave you with a little bit about me and then a BUNCH of eye-candy to scope out below. I hope you got to feel a tad bit more connected to the islands after seeing this.
VETERAN • ARTIST • SPEAKER • AUTHOR • OVER-THINKER
You can learn more about me on the Artist page or by clicking here. and you can learn more about collecting my limited edition artworks by checking out the Collecting Page.
as seen on:
Pu’u’ma’eli’eli
“World’s End”
I watched the light expand over the bay from the pitched darkness of the Pu’u’ma’eli’eli lookout. It rolled over the vista like an aged painting on a dark table. The light brushed the landscape so quiet that I felt as though I could hear the sound of the sunrise like a slow crescendo that began with the faintest note and rose until there was no sound but that of day.
Moving Meditation
“Hanauma”
“Crystal Sunset” Yokohama Bay, Oahu
“Molokai Panorama”
“Ko’olau Panoramic”
okay!
If you’ve scrolled this far, then you must REALLY love Hawaii. So I want to give you a first look at an unreleased artwork that is five years in the making…
“Three Fates”
One lesson that has stuck with me from my short career as a day trader is that the value of an asset can move in three directions at any time. Up, down, and sideways. That idea has sublimated into all the facets of my life, like a mantra. It’s one of the reasons, I am realizing, that I am so hard on myself.
I believe that each decision point in our lives is a hub that branches in three directions—action, positive and negative, and inaction. The trend of one’s decisions leads to one of the three fates.
The three waves in this piece have always tugged at my heart-strings. Nearly seven years after photographing it, I feel as though I have some idea as to why.
Alan Watts said that a wave is in a constant state of becoming. That gives me some comfort as I write this because that means I can become the person who makes better decisions. I can change what feels like ages spent in the doldrums into a life of more significant action. If you’re interested in Preording Becoming, Limited edition of 12, use the button to contact me today.