With this cold weather already hitting us, it seems already a dream the 2 weeks trip from which we have just come back after an unforgettable time with my parents visiting the Hawaiian Islands of Maui, Big Island and Oahu. It was a great trip, with a lot of memories being made and a lot of new learning experiences that add a lot to the the way of seeing life.
Photographically speaking, it was my second visit with Dawn to Maui, and island that I really do like, so I knew a lot of places I wanted to re visit in order to photograph them again, but mainly I went aware of the light conditions, which are not ever picture perfect since the weather there can change in minutes. So, to make things complicated or more interesting, depending how you look at it, I decided to take my pinhole 4 x 5 on its first really long trip, loaded with almost 50 black and white plates. Nice to carry all that around, have to say. Then for color, I took just my phone, becoming this trip my first real Iphone photographic experience. I really enjoyed it, as every picture was carefully planned, and as it is the case of the phone photographs (some of my favorites seen below), I was satisfied. Now I will dedicate the winter to process and print all those (hopefully) great takes I did over the course of these 2 weeks.
So, more photos are to come, but for now I am leaving these ones with some commentary on them.
Cheers!
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Not matter where you look, the hawaiian landscape becomes an ambiguous experience; either you want to settle in one spot or you just want to keep going, with each turn at the horizon line becoming a point of discovery. Pictures_ Food truck at Kahakuloa Bay (left) and "back" road to Hana, Maui (right).
© Flavio Martín Morante_2014 _Iphone 4S
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I chickened, but those boards and those waves really call. Both pictures taken in Ho'okipa Beach, Maui.
© Flavio Martín Morante_2014 _Iphone 4S
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Interesting facts: the english introduced cattle in the islands and spaniards/mexicans were brought there to perform as cowboys or "vaqueros". The term for cowboys is "paniolo" which is an adaptation of the word "español" with the distinctive sound because of the lack of S's on the hawaiian language.
The other thing I found of interest is that Ukeleles, something so associated with Hawaii, actually was brought to the islands by the portuguese, being the hawaiians who adapted them to the 4 string instrument we know nowadays. Pictures: Horseback riding at the Paniolo Ranch in Big Island, near Waimea (left) and Ukeleles for sale at a store in Oahu (right). © Flavio Martín Morante_2014 _Iphone 4S
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The physicality of the place is so strong that your presence becomes just insignificant in front of so much power. Either on a deserted volcanic land or along intimidating cliffs. Pictures: Volcanic lava rock surface in Big Island (left) and cliffs along Maui's west coast (right).
© Flavio Martín Morante_2014 _Iphone 4S
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During our last days, we stayed in Oahu, being a visit to the historic Pearl Harbor our main reason to stay there. It is a mixed feelings place, meaning that despite the infamous events that took place there, it did not make me feel the overwhelming sensation I felt when we visit the Normandy beaches back in 2008. Still, the place its wrapped in sadness, specially because despite all the tragedy you are presented there, gift shops still manage to cash in with a lot of souvenirs made out of bullets, but oh well... Pictures: Visiting the Pacific Aviation Museum, the site in Ford Island where Amelia Earhart crashed in 1937 during her first attempt to fly around the world (left) and the restored air traffic control tower that saw the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 7th, 1941 and which was immortalized in the film TORA! TORA! TORA!. © Flavio Martín Morante_2014 _Iphone 4S
