It's All About the People......

The sun is making another appearance. This time however, the elements of Earth and Sky seem more clear than they have ever been on this trip. The surf is steady and ferocious, the winds have ignored the palms, the rocky coastline is clear of bi-peds and the sky is vastly blue. The sky, ...today it seems completely empty, void of any thought or plans. Much like the sky in my own head.

The reason I came here was for work, and the work is complete. The equipment is packed and the photographs are all backed up. Now, I stare out on the ocean and land with a calm reflectance. Much has happened since my departure from Portland on October 26th. Some bad and all good, but mostly all good. I learned something amazing on this adventure, and didn't think I would ever say this, but it's all about the people. There are some incredible people out there amongst this mostly mixed up world. These are the people who give me hope. I could name all of them off to you along with a story about each, but you have met these people yourself and can think about them with the same smile I have for everyone, and I truly mean everyone, I have met since our arrival in Barrow Alaska.
Last night I had this conversation with one of these great people about all of the stories we walk right by and will never know unless we ask. He asked me, how many times have I bumped into somebody just to say excuse me and nod instead of taking that opportunity to learn their personal story. I have had this same thought and try to curb away from the all to typical, today is my day and I'm on a mission, attitude. However, there are many days when I do run away from interactions because of my self centered mission, usually pointless. The times I've slowed my pace and made that engagement are the times I have learned and evolved the most.

Even through the chaos that happens on every photo shoot (especially location work) I found a new way of enjoying the moments and individual stories around me while working. It's far to easy to get wrapped up in your work and forget that you are living as well. Keeping up with this blog and knowing that I would like to write more made this process of living easier. I was more aware of the experiences happening before me. Writing down your adventures allows you to experience them from a more emotional sophistication rather than a direct impulsive one. I hope to continue posting my daily adventures, allowing myself to see the emotion and beauty in every day existence. It's easy to record the spectacular days because, well, they don't happen every day. But in so many ways they do, I just have to be receptive to them.
This concludes my current journey until tomorrow. From Barrow Alaska to Turtle Bay Hawaii, what a saunter. My mother always told me to never judge a book by it's cover and I finally learned what she meant. Alaska's cover was far and cold, but the book read warm and generous. And Hawaii's cover appeared colder than Alaska and much more disconnected, but the surviving culture here is one of the most beautiful I have seen. Until tomorrow........

Turtle Bay

We packed up and headed to the North Shore for the last week. This area is a much more pleasant atmosphere. Of course it is still a huge resort/spa atmosphere. But amongst the hooplah, beaches, waves, and forests have room to breath. I went for a jog/wander away from the tourism comforts and found an amazing coastline rich with a volcanic past. The shore was a mix of sand and jagged volcanic shelves the waves crashed upon relentlessly taking the sand away revealing more and more of the black rock with each wash. Along with the surf came the stormy weather and just as quickly as a wave dissolves back into the sea the windy rain lifted as well. This went on for some time filling me with energy and strength I have been craving since my visit in Alaska.However, although I have finally found the beauty in the landscape I was seeking there is still so much development on Oahu that I have yet to find a truly wild place where a resort or hotel is completely hidden. Just when I thought I was away from it all, I heard a golf club chopping towards the earth. I stood and climbed over a small dune to find an unnaturally green golf course and,......yes a resort at the far edge. I guess at least the resorts sprawl plans are contained by the island itself.

This is a place of indescribable natural beauty and wildlife. I just hope we don't destroy the true beauty that exists here with greedy development. Maybe we are blind to the reasons behind natural disasters. Could they be a message, or a way of cleaning up? I do not know, but I can't help to wonder.

Second Impressions of Hawaii

I may have been a bit quick at forming an opinion of this culturally educational place in my previous post. Hawaii has much to offer and I'm finding that 'the people' make this land wonderful in many ways. Once outside of Waikiki, a whole new world exists. And we have been lucky to be able to experience this new world from a relatively local viewpoint thanks to Anthony, Brian, and Amos for helping us out. They have shared with us many of the local secrets and because of them we have been accepted to a certain extent as being more than tourists from the main land.
The Hawaiian and Polynesian Culture is so immensely beautiful it puts me into a state of shallow depression thinking about the extreme lack of culture the Western civilization has. In many ways they are losing their culture as well, but many are fighting to keep it alive and thriving. This is hard to do in the modern world we have created, but the necessity of it will prevail over the modern entanglements we have created.
Today we worked with traditional ancient Hula Dancers (a mother and daughter) and with a traditional Polynesian Dancer. Every dance position they perform has to do with the Earth and Nature or as a recognition for their tribe from the little I have gathered. They respect Nature through music, dance, worship, and living everyday with awareness of its many gifts. We also worked at a Hawaiian emergence school. Michael photographed the tiny classroom with all of the students from that class piled in. This school and the educators working there are working hard to keep giving breath to the Hawaiian culture. They teach and communicate in the native language. The teachers also share many cultural stories along with the many other subjects needed to succeed in the modern world.
While being here and witnessing such beautiful history it is hard for me not to think about our lack of culture. Sure, we share certain holidays and celebrate certain achievements but we don't wake everyday and dance with the Sun, Sky and Earth the way traditional Polynesians or Hawaiians do. Although I'm sure many from this culture do not practice their heritage either, many of them do, and are seeking ways to bring it back into their daily lives. As American Mutts, what customs from the past do we even have that we could include in our daily lives? Which customs do we have that make us recognize and pay tribute to the Earth around us and the awe of it all?

Hawaii

An interesting shock leaving Alaska and arriving in Hawaii 16 hours later. Not sure what to think about it. Not really sure what to think of Hawaii as a whole yet either. My first impressions are less than satisfactory minus the amazing people we have been meeting. But in general Honolulu doesn't interest me in the least. We are staying at a fancy hotel/resort type place in Waikiki that feels much like Miami, and I hate Miami. The atmosphere is phony and stuffy while the many vacationers here are cold and stiff lacking the thrill for really living by consuming meaningless happiness. The resort atmosphere is so out of touch with the purity life can provide that it is difficult for me to see any positive energy I'm sure is there,.....somewhere.We have been fortunate to travel outside of the city to a few beautiful places along the East coast and along the North Shore, but again the entire island is saturated with resort development which destroys the view of the mountains and ocean. But they are still there and surviving, showing us their immense beauty. The few Natives we have met are amazingly generous and warm. Today we had the great honor of meeting a Tahitian Chief who thoroughly continues to practice his Polynesian culture and religion. We have also met a few other Native Hawaiians who are working hard to keep the Hawaiian Culture alive and thriving amongst children and adults alike.It will be interesting to see how my views and opinions of Hawaii develop over the next 9 days. Fortunately, we will be working with some amazing people everyday making for a good visit. As long as I can look through the phoniness of it all and see the true Hawaiian Culture and people who live it, I will have a unique and exciting journey.

Leaving Alaska

5:53pm. 10 minutes ago the plane raced its engines down the runway in Ketchikan and took flight South towards Portland. I forced all of my attention out the tiny window to soak in my last views of the Alaska I have so long wanted to see. At around 6,000 feet, the aircraft entered the Sea of Clouds leaving my now beloved Alaska behind.
It seems to be a sad day, however I am not sad in the least. Instead, I am filled with hope, passion, adventure, and mostly the excitement and anticipation of returning.
Now above the clouds, and entering the deep twilight of blues, oranges, and several hues between, I think about fully participating in the many great moments in our lives and the art of taking nothing for granted. Because all great experiences and moments are fleeting. They live the rest of your days in the memory. Maybe this is why I love photography. Making images helps me freeze these moments into just a bit more than a fuzzy thought often altered by the mind as the years come and leave.I will experience Alaska and the many awe-inspiring people, landscapes, animals, colors, waterways, peaks, glaciers, and valleys soon. Something about these things sets my passion free to flow through the very being of a life void of limitations. This is only the beginning of my journeys in Alaska.We get into Portland at around 10:30pm where we will repack until about midnight or so for our 8am flight to Hawaii for 12 days. What madness and splendor......