Last month I had a quick job for the New York Times where I photographed outrigger canoe instructor Solomon Pali for a business profile the newspaper did on him. Pali takes Fairmont Kea Lani guests out on short trips teaching the basics of Hawaii paddling skills.
The job was fairly quick and I had a short window of time with the Hawaiian waterman as I had to photograph him in between customers and his schedule.
I did the standard shots of him but we decided to go out on the outrigger canoe where I would photograph him with the ocean as his background. It is always nerve-racking to get into a small boat with thousands of dollars of gear but the resort’s canoe was fitted with two amas making the outrigger very stable and nearly flip proof, especially in the hands of experienced paddlers. He and a few other paddlers from the hotel took me out into the ocean for about 10 minutes but that was all the time I needed.
The shots were fantastic and powerful. The best shot was of Solomon blowing a conch shell. Traditionally, he said, Hawaiians blew the shell when they were paddling in warning anyone on the beach of their arrival. The editor chose a standard shot of Solomon smiling into the camera. My favorite is below.
Solomon Pali blows a conch shell in advance of landing his canoe on the shore at the Fairmont Resort.