photo.phile: jyoti mau

the drizzly skies hovering over my neighborhood today seemed to brighten while gathering up images for today's photo.phile. i recently became reacquainted with the work of jyoti mau, and found myself blissfully intrigued by the most magical peeks underwater. (fyi: a mu'umu'u heaven invite deserves credit for the introduction.) the oahu photographer also captures the most evocative settings from her travels, and her hollywood series is resonating with me at the moment with its cotton candy skies combined with the twinkle of lights spread far across the city.

i hope you enjoy these glimpses of jyoti's work . . . after all, they were filed away for a rainy day!

{photo.phile notes}

what inspired you to pick up a camera and start clicking?
i can't remember, although i do recall being quite young and feeling something glorious every time i went to longs to pick up my prints. the anticipation was great because i adored looking at these tiny rectangles of wonder. they always gave me more to think about and the surprise of what i was about to behold was purely fun. i loved seeing people and things in photographs, and i appreciated how i could be taken back into specific experiences and moments in a finer way.

with time i developed a sensitivity towards the act of framing a photo and i also found myself becoming more critical of composition. photography seems to have always been a natural extension of innate desires and i continue to be grateful for the satisfaction that i'm given from this simple act.

photography muses that spark your imagination?
years ago i worked for a kind photographer named paul chesley. he has taken hundreds of thousands of images in his career - all prior to our digital era. he worked extensively for national geographic for the past four decades and his images of the pacific and asia in particular are so beautiful. i am very thankful for the time we spent together where i was able to learn, merely through looking at his hundreds of thousands of slides, what can make an image last in one's mind.

also i am always impressed by the work of mario testino. i find his work truly compelling, and it has brought new ideas into my life that i am very thankful for.

kelly [condor]'s work is so carefully thought out and so unique. i have always been inspired by her since the first moment we met several years ago. she's a dear friend and an honest artist. she creates beauty all around her and im always moved to think higher when i see what she's up to.

my sweet mother has an amazing eye. she is naturally gifted in effortlessly seeing things in nature that seem to appear to only her. i truly adore her photographs of our islands. her work makes me appreciate hawaii even more.

favorite island moment caught on "film"?
there are many, but all seem to be of my godchildren at different beaches. probably because for 9 years they have been my most fanciful of subjects here in the islands. a particular image that stands out is from an afternoon where my twin god daughters couldn't stop running their happy little bodies around the vast beach of polihale. their dark skin and hair against the golds of the sand and the whites of the 'ehukai made some beautiful moments.

which camera stays close by for everyday shooting?
my well loved and well used yashica. the one i have now is so magical. thank you keith.

pay it forward with the best photography advice shared with you:
keep taking pictures.

local delights that are a must in your beach picnic basket?
a govinda's guava juice and some apple bananas.

mahalo jyoti!

photo.phile: leiko beck

bostyn's bubble

happy monday! today's photo.phile is leiko beck, a keiki and 'ohana photographer from the big island introduced by my friend kym who booked leiko to capture a few photos during a family getaway. flipping through leiko's portfolio, i found myself charmed by the absolute sweetness of her photography. her camera seems to be smitten with all the cheerful, fleeting vignettes that make up an idyllic childhood from neighborhood adventures to tiny giggles forever remembered in one picture perfect moment.

{photo.phile notes}

what inspired you to pick up the camera and start shooting?
the root of it all is probably my dad. he is a hobbyist and does AMAZING landscape photography (being a physical scientist for the u.s. geological survey based at hawai‘i volcanoes national park on the big island allows him great photographic opportunities!). i picked up his canon slr when i was 14 and fell in love with capturing memories through the lens.

photography muses that spark your imagination?
i love beautiful imagery. period. so i follow a very eclectic group of photographers, not necessarily for inspiration in the work that i shoot, but for inspiration towards life in general.

i love jen altman (an amazing polaroid photographer), audrey woulard (a natural-light child/family photographer), the image is found (mind blowing wedding/engagement imagery), clark little (surf/ocean photography), and james rubio (wedding/engagement photography) just to name a few. not only is their work awe inspiring, but it really gets you imagining what life could be like when you're doing something that you are absolutely passionate about for a living.

favorite island moment caught on "film"?
in general, i recently discovered a love for capturing any ‘ohana living the island lifestyle. for the past 2 years i primarily shot children + teens and while that has been awesome, there is nothing like watching a family interact and being able to "see" and feel the aloha they have for one another.

now, if i had to pick a specific image of an island moment, it wouldn't be one from my work portfolio but one of my son entitled in the air. it's a shot of him playing at the beach during sunset. every time i look at that image i am brought back to that day. that beach. that sunset. that moment. and for me, that's what photography is about.

any simple tricks to share on how to best capture an in-the-moment family portrait?
when dealing with keiki, especially little ones, the best way to capture an in-the-moment image would be to make sure that they are comfortable before we even begin the session. that means fed, changed, and not ready for a nap!

once that is accomplished, i often ask mom and dad to "play" with the child as they would at home. singing their favorite song, pat-a-cake, tickle-fight. you're then able to shoot the family interacting + connecting. the bonus? play time allows the family to forget for a moment that a camera is there, allowing me to capture genuine emotion.

which camera stays close by for everyday shooting?
because i am constantly inspired by the things around me, i do use my canon 5d markII almost daily. if i want something lighter that fits in my purse, i use my old canon rebel xti with a 50mm lens.

pay it forward with the best photography advice shared with you:
shoot what you love. i know it's simple, but it's so true.

local delights that are a must in your beach picnic basket?
mmmm . . . if i'm in my hometown of hilo, i'd definitely hit up hilo lunch shop for some musubi or kandie's for a bento to go. for a little something sweet, i'd stop by big island candies to pick up some delicious chocolate dipped shortbread for dessert.

mahalo leiko!

p.s. big island readers wishing for a sweet family photo of their own will want to click over to leiko's blog where she is giving away an october photo session. good luck!

photo.phile: unique vision photography

bon dance lanterns

summertime is bon dance season in the islands and one of the photographs that lingers in my etsy favorites was snapped by kahalu'u photographer celina flores of unique vision photography. you can almost hear the rustle of kimono, the steady rhythm of the taiko drums, and the sizzle of andagi dough as it drops into the frying oil.

celina has a wonderful eye for finding photography subjects in unexpected places and revealing architectural details in a new light. lovely evidence that toting your camera with you 24/7 can result in unforgettable images.

dino

elevator

tarp

{photo.phile notes}

what inspired you to pick up a camera and start clicking?
i have always had a fascination with the transformation of seeing a scene in real life, looking through the viewfinder to create a composition, and then holding a finished photo in my hand. i suppose it was that transformation that captured my imagination as a curious 4 year old with very patient parents.

photography muses that spark your imagination?
for black & white photography, w. eugene smith's photos for life magazine are my favorite - such humanity captured in images, especially his country doctor and minamata series. william eggleston was a great inspiration when i learned of his work during my years in the university of washington photography program. and james turrell's work, especially his sky spaces, although not photographic, have definitely influenced the way i see the world around me and utilize light to create images.
 
favorite island moment captured on "film"?
there are so many! the light here in hawaii is so different from anywhere else. my favorite images capture this unique beauty. there's a softness, a gentleness to the sky and clouds here, especially at dawn and dusk when they are tinted pink.

any simple tricks to share on how to best capture an architectural detail?
looking up allows you to notice details most people ignore. also, light and shadow - contrast - help to bring out texture and detail.

which camera stays close by for everyday shooting?
i always carry my canon g10. i love it because it's a point and shoot camera and is small and compact, but i can shoot in raw mode, giving me more control over the final image. plus, unlike my slr which is big and heavy and gets left home a lot of the time, my point and shoot is small enough that i want to and can carry it with me everywhere so as not to miss a photo op.

pay it forward with the best photography advice shared with you:
don't feel like you have to have the newest or most expensive equipment to take good photos. start where you are. when shooting, move around! view the subject from different angles. take LOTS of photos. and keep taking them.

local delights that are a must in your beach picnic basket?
mmmm . . . mango! yee's orchard on maui must use magical pixie dust to fertilize their trees because they produce the best mangoes i've ever tasted! and spicy ahi poke is a must-have, too!

mahalo celina! you can order limited edition prints in unique vision's etsy shop and discover all the many things that inspire celina on her blog.

photo.phile: daeja fallas

til dawn

after an unintended and lengthy pause, photo.phile has finally returned to brighten your monday! i am incredibly excited to feature kailua's daeja fallas whose work many of you may already recognize. after spending countless hours studying collections to find something new to share on h|h, i began to notice an undefinable loveliness in the debut look books of a handful of emerging hawaii designers who nixed simple product shots for an editorial style campaign.

the one common thread turned out to be daeja who has photographed local labels like sugarhigh + lovestoned to style section staple geren ford. her storylines invite the viewer into perfectly composed painterly flirtations, town and country adventures, and carefree seaside escapes savoring what appears to be a fleeting, but somehow always gorgeous, moment.

daeja's portfolio is a study in the many layers of fashion photography from glossy shoots to quiet b&w compositions, and, on occasion, out-of-focus images and raindrops on glass (which happen to be two of my photography crushes).

l'amant

rainbow & raindrops

plage

{photo.phile notes}

what inspired you to pick up a camera and start clicking?
i honestly don’t remember one specific thing that made me want to be a photographer or the day i started. i grew up in a family of artists, my grandmother is a local watercolor artist and my mother is an art teacher so art has always been a part of my life. i remember as a kid wanting everything i painted to look as real as possible. if tutu was teaching me how to paint a still life i wanted my painting to look EXACTLY like what was in front of me.

i think photography gave me the opportunity to make art exactly as i see it in front of me. the beauty of it is that everyone sees things differently; my photos are only one point of view. it is amazing to look at other photographers' work and to see something as they saw it.

photography muses that spark your imagination?
my all time favorite photographer is paolo roversi. his images are beautiful, mysterious and dream like. in an interview i read about him in PDN he said:

“for me, light is life – and the first light that i see is the sun. so when i think about light, i think about the sun and nothing else. window light is the most important light for me. when i take a picture using window light, i always think about what a long trip the light is making to reach my subject.”

when you look at his images you have the impression that the light has traveled for years to help him create the photo.

favorite island moment caught on "film"?
my work isn’t ever really “caught". i would not consider myself a photo journalist who is able to catch the beauty of the random moments of life like brassai or kertész. most of my work is staged. however, there are many natural moments within a staged photograph.

there is a photo in the series i titled “rainbow” of michelle vawer in a stunning diane von furstenberg dress. just before this shot, it was pouring and we were camped out on the porch of the house we were shooting at in pacific heights. my assistant remembered he’d left something on the lawn and ran out to grab it, when he got up there he yelled COME NOW! so we all ran from the house up to the lawn, michelle with her dress only half zipped up and the stylist zipping as we all ran . . . and there it was, a magical rainbow in this beyond beautiful setting. something like that only happens in hawaii.

any simple tricks to share on how to capture a gorgeous fashion photo?
ask the model to take her hands off her hips. unless the clothing has huge billowing sleeves or a waist where her hands will define something about the dress, the hands on the hips pose is one i sort of wish we’d all forget about.

which camera stays close by for everyday shooting?
no matter where i go i have a camera. i love my old canon AE1. i have to admit that although i have several digital cameras i generally take snap shots with my iphone!

pay it forward with the best photography advice shared with you:
pay attention to everything in your frame from the subject to the tiniest detail.

local delights that are a must in your beach picnic basket?
i am ecstatic that it is summer which means mango, papaya and avocado season!

mahalo daeja for sharing a peek behind your exceptionally lovely viewfinder!

you can follow daeja on her blog as she travels around the islands and world-at-large on assignment. she has also opened up shop on etsy where you find a small selection of photography prints for sale.

happy days

hope your holiday weekend was filled with happy times, summer picnic delights, and not too much smoke wafting your way from the 4th of july fireworks spectacular.

the mister is finally on hiatus so i am enjoying an extended play date with my sweetie. photo.phile will be on holiday until my return but i could not resist sharing this lovely beach view snapped by isla at soh inspired! can't you just smell the coconut oil, feel the warm rays of sunshine, and hear the waves gently lapping ashore?

please do click by over the next few days since i do have a little eye candy planned in my absence, however, in lieu of the aloha friday scoop, all sale news will be posted on facebook &/or twitter.

have a lovely week!

{photo credit: isla schmidt}