The Italian based Golden Goose sneaker company hired me to capture their flagship store in Honolulu. I was tasked with shooting interiors, products, and staff members.
My 2022 photo of the 16th green with the famed “W” tree at Waialae Country Club was used as collateral for the Sony Open Golf Tournament. The photo was used for badges, parking passes, tickets and posters for the 2023 season.
Commercial advertisement shot for the Uniqlo Store in Honolulu.
In store advertisement for Uniqlo Hawaii in Ala Moana Center in Honolulu.
In Store advertising for Uniqlo Hawaii at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu.
Panel mural displayed inside Uniqlo Hawaii at Ala Moana.
Panel mural displayed inside Uniqlo Hawaii at Ala Moana.
No bigger than a large papaya and covered with a thick bark, the root vegetable taro serves as an important crop for Native Hawaiians and Polynesians across the Pacific. The highly nutritious staple served as a food source for the Polynesian explorers who crossed the oceans in outrigger canoes.
Today, the root serves as a culinary device for dishes across the globe and is an important cultural dish for local Hawaiians. Traditionally, taro root is steamed then mashed into poi and eaten with the fingers. The stems and leaves are also consumed. Explorers likely brought taro from the Asian mainland into the Pacific and taro dishes can be found in various countries. Western chefs are creating new recipes with the tuber.
Growing taro is back breaking work and many farms are moving away from the labor intensive crop. However, the farm-to-table trend has spurred an interest in traditional and ancient crops and new, smaller farms are sprouting up giving life to this historic plant.
A collection of images from my daily life in Honolulu.
Over the years, I have photographed food across Hawaii and Asia expanding my palate, portfolio and waist line.
A buyer checks the quality of the ahi at the Oahu fish auction.
Plated on location during the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival at The Four Seasons
Plated on location during the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival at The Four Seasons
Plated on location during the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival at The Four Seasons
Swissotel Bangkok
Swissotel Bangkok
Swissotel Bangkok
Plated at Yanagi Sushi in Honolulu
Plated at Town
Breakfast at Koko Head Cafe
L’Aperitif at La Mer at the Halekulani
L’Aperitif at La Mer at the Halekulani
Inside the Halekulani Hotel
Plated at the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival
Inside the Halekulan Resort
Inside the Halekulan Resort
At the Royal Hawaiian
Huggo's by the Sea
Smoked cocktail served at the bar.
Hilo, Hawaii
Trump Waikiki
Four Seasons Lanai
La Mariana Restaurant
Inside the Halekulani Resort
Inside the Halekulani Resort
Cafe Miro
Paris Hawaii in Waikiki
Chef’s Michelle and Wade
Portraits of LPGA golfers taken at the 2021 LOTTE Championship golf tournament held in Kapolei, Hawaii.
Poke, pronounced “poKey” or “poKeh,” depending on who you talk to, is a diced raw fish dish made popular in Hawaii and has spread across the globe. The concoction is similar to Latin America’s ceviche but poke lacks the citrus element. While the origins of poke are blurred, ancient Polynesians likely mixed sea salt, found on exposed coral, to preserve fresh fish. Asian immigrants brought into Hawaii to work in the sugar cane fields in the 1800’s introduced soy sauce and sesame oil altering the simple salt dish into a more Oriental taste.
Yellow fin tuna, or ahi, is the most common fish used to make poke in Hawaii. Soy sauce flavored poke mixed with raw onions and seaweed is found everywhere from fancy hotels to the local deli counter at grocery stores. Markets make and sell poke using a wide range of ingredients like shrimp to tofu with flavorings such as oyster sauce and wasabi and add unique things like avocados or cured fish roe. Poke is eaten widely across all spectrums of local society and pricing varies based on the quality and freshness of the fish.
I decided to document how the popular cubed and marinated fish ends up on our plates across Hawaii and the world. I started by heading to the piers to see fishing boats offloading their catch in the early hours of the day and end at the market where buyers take home poke by the pound.
(Incidentally, I can make a mean salmon poke! Email me and I ‘ll share the recipe.)
Just before dawn, man unloads fish off a trawler in Honolulu Harbor. Fishing boats sail across the Pacific catching various fish over several weeks. The boat workers are mainly from South East Asia and leave their families for months for paltry salaries. Fish are flash frozen in the hull until it is loaded and sold at auction. Much of the seafood stays in the local market but premium pieces are bought and shipped to Japan and the US mainland.
A man sorts through various yellow fin tuna before being sold at the Honolulu Fish Auction.
While using heavy equipment, workers sort through various fish at the Honolulu Fish Market.
Workers use a lift to move a fish carcass off a boat in Honolulu Harbor.
A auction worker walks past rows of fish for sale at the Honolulu Fish Market.
Meat cut from the tail of a yellow fin tuna sits on display on the carcass for buyers to examine before purchasing at the Honolulu Fish Auction. Buyers look for color consistency and fat content before placing a bid.
A closeup view of an eye of a ahi tuna at the Honolulu Fish Auction.
Meat cut from the tail of a yellow fin tuna sits on display on the carcass for buyers to examine before purchasing at the Honolulu Fish Auction. Buyers look for color consistency and fat content before placing a bid.
A fish buyer stands among the various fish at the Honolulu Fish Auction. The auction usually starts in the early hours selling thousands of pounds of fish, much of it sent to the US mainland and Japan.
Guy Tamashiro examines a piece of ahi cut from the tale of a fish at the auction. When bidding on a fish, Tamashiro looks for fat content, color, and the oiliness of the sample. Guy’s family established Tamishiro Market in Hilo in 1941. The market has since moved to Honolulu where they sell poke made fresh daily along with fresh seafood, vegetables, and dry goods.
Buyers line up to bid on fish at the Honolulu Fish Market in Honolulu.
Joshua Schade, owner of Ahi Assassins, unloads an aku, or skipjack fish, from the back of his pickup. Schade, a third-generation fisherman from Oahu's windward side, tries to catch most of the fish used at his shop. If he doesn’t catch it himself, he will locally source fish from friends and colleagues.
Erika Luna, girlfriend of Joshua Schade, plates up fresh poke at their hole in the wall shop, Ahi Assassins.
A bowl of fresh poke made at Ahi Assassins.
With her sons behind the counter, Alicia Kam holds bowls of fresh poke at the family shop, Alicia’s Market in Honolulu.
A woman awaits the return of her friend who was shopping for poke inside Ono Seafood in Honolulu.
Ryojiro Tsuchiya, co founder of Maguro Brothers in Honolulu, cubes fish for poke at their shop. Located inside Kekaulike Market in Oahu’s Chinatown, are known for their fresh fish and Japanese inspired poke.
Ume-shiso ahi poke on a bed of rice from Maguro Brothers.
Shoppers await for Tamashiro’s Market to open in Honolulu. The famous pink market is easily spotted due to the large red crab above the entrance.
Colorful tropical fish are for sale at Tamashiro Market in Honolulu.
A shopper peruses a variety of poke for sale at Tamashiro Market in Honolulu.
He’e, or octopus, poke at Tamashiro Market.
Kajiki, or marlin fish, poke at Tamashiro’s Market.
A shopper at Tamashiro Market carries out cartons of poke for a party at his office.
I had the fortunate chance to witness and document the 2018 Kilauea eruption. The eruption started in the tropical neighborhood just east of the active volcano. The ground literally split open and began to spew volcanic gases and lava which eventually destroyed thousands of home displacing many.
Poor government planning and corruption in Hawaii’s past allowed residential zoning in an active rift zone. Developers then carved out plots and sold them cheaply with the caveat that the lava will likely return…we just don’t know when.
In a state where the average home price can soar beyond $800,000, lava flow land is a bargain. For a few thousand dollars and some hard labor, you can buy a lot and build a dream house with million dollar views. And many people did just that and enjoyed their lives atop an active volcano knowing the lava could return at anytime.
Sadly Madame Pele shook her ‘aina and reclaimed what belonged to her. I captured many remarkable yet tragic stories of those who lost all.
People are silhouetted by a lava fissure during the 2018 Kilauea eruption in Leilani Estates on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Guardsmen were deployed to the lava zone.
Lava slowly creeps across the road in lower Puna during the 2018 Kilauea eruption.
Lava can be seen from a kitchen in a home in Leilani Estates during the 2018 Kilauea eruption. Lava eventually took the home days after the photograph was taken.
Sam’s home in Leilani Estates was near one of the first fissures that erupted — saying it sounded like a giant jet engine. Sam was confident the lava would not come any further.
As smoke from the lava rises, Mr. Knox was confident the lava would not take his home — placing crosses in his driveway — praying his home would survive. Several days later, lava overtook the home destroying all of what Sam owned.
Smoke rises from the many fissures creating a lava field — swallowing lower Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii.
The dividing line at Pohoiki Rd. is covered in harden lava rock. Several months after the Kilauea eruption stop, Hawaii faces clearing miles of roads making the region passable again.
The lava eruption was just yards from his home. Hoapili stayed at his home as long as he could before evacuating. His home survived but all access to his home was cut off by the lava flow.
Jennifer and Mark Bishop stand on their balcony overlooking the lava field and fissure 8. Their house was only yards away from being destroyed by the 2018 Kilauea volcanic eruption.
Jennifer and Mark Bishop walk in whats left of their garden near the lava field in Leilani Estates. Their home sits only yards away from the lava flow,
Leiliani Estates resident Hannique Ruder laments her dying garden during the Kilauea eruption. While her home was spared from the destructive lava flow, volcanic gases spewed into her community causing the death of many of her tropical plants, trees and flowers.
While his home was spared by the Kilauea eruption, Leilani Estates resident Mark Figley stands in front his home made unlivable by noxious volcanic gases. His four bedroom house sits just yards away from the lava field.
Leilani Estates resident Mark Figley inspects the lava that flowed down his driveway. While the eruption did not destroy his home, noxious gases have made his home unlivable.
Karin Tihopu stands inside her "safe room” which she made air tight to survive the toxic volcanic gases that swirl in her neighborhood from the nearby eruption.
Leilani Estates resident Karin Tihopu stands near her home which sat just down wind from the lava eruption. Her home was spared but changing winds pushed toxic gases into her area forcing her to create a safe room for herself.
A visitor takes pictures of the now dormant fissure 8 inside of Leilani Estates. Residents in the affected area not only struggle with rebuilding their lives but also have to fend off the site seers who are flooding their neighborhood.
Tisha Montoya and her dog Bebe cut through the lava field that covered much of her property and destroyed her home near Pahoa, Hawaii. Tisha and her father Edwin Montoya lived on the secluded property for many years until they had to evacuate due to the 2018 Kilauea lava eruption where the molten rock eventually took nearly all the structures,
Tisha Montoya inspects whats left of her home and property after it was covered by the lava flow.
Clouds billow where the lava hits the ocean in lower Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii.
A coconut frond sprouts on the lava field near a new black sand beach in Pohoiki, Hawaii. While thousands of homes were destroyed by the 2018 Kilauea eruption, many never lost hope and are slowly rebuilding. Coconut fronds were seeded all around the area hoping to regrown the tropical splendor Madame Pele took away.
Photography across beautiful Hawaii
Sunset from the pool at the Four Seasons Hualalai on The Big Island.
A view of Polihalu Beach from atop the Garden of the Gods on Lanai. In the distance is Molokai.
The lobby at the Four Seasons Hualalai on The Big Island.
Surfer off the coast of Hilo, Hawaii.
Outrigger canoe off the coast of Hilo, Hawaii.
Murphy’s Beach on Molokai.
Kalaupapa on Molokai.
Hiking through the bamboo forest on the Pipiwai Trail in Maui, Hawaii.
Pineapple growing at Dole Plantation on Oahu.
A view of Halawa Beach in Molokai, Hawaii.
Entrance to an bed and breakfast on the Big Island
The pool at the Four Seasons Lanai, Hawaii.
Beach goers on Waikiki Beach.
Relaxing on Waikiki Beach.
Diners at Town Restaurant in Honolulu.
Plated at Town Restaurant in Honolulu.
A woman watches the waves at Kepuhi Bay, on the west end of Molokai, Hawaii.
A woman watches the waves at Kepuhi Bay, on the west end of Molokai, Hawaii.
The lobby at the Shoreline Hotel in Waikiki.
Room at the Modern Hotel in Honolulu.
A rainbow is seen off Waikiki.
Sailboats off Waikiki.
Sunrise atop Haleakela on Maui, Hawaii.
People try to stay warm while watching the sunrise atop of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii.
Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore.
Surfers at sunset near Kapiolani Park in Waikiki.
Crowds gather near Waikiki Beach to watch the winter sunset.
Sunset at Kepuhi Bay, on the west end of Molokai, Hawaii.
