ki'i leka

Every once in awhile, people ask me "what made you interested in photography?" Well, like most of my explanations, it isn't really a short story ;) I have always loved photography, and there have been a few images that, over the years, stand out as especially inspiring.

One is a photo of a lilac with raindrops that one of my college friends took and used on an Easter card. I loved the level of detail of the graceful raindrop contrasted by the super blurry background, and the striking hue of the lilac. Another one is a close-up of one of my former employers' son; I loved how the photo captured the sweet innocence of the baby. It was simple, but powerful.

And there is one that is mine! From 1999-2001, I lived in a village called Ha'atu'a on the beautiful, pristine island of 'Eua waaaaay out in the middle of the South Pacific. I was blessed with the sweetest neighbors in the world; a great comfort while being so far from home. The picture below is my favorite photo from the hundreds that I took over those two years. The little girl on the left is Kefi, my neighbors' youngest daughter, and the girl on the right is Toisi, the daughter of a woman that taught me how to tau'olunga (a tongan dance... NOTHING like a hula!). Kefi was a frequent visitor, and loved being my little helper! In this pic, Kefi and Toisi are helping me with my laundry, working together to wring out my pajama pants. This was taken with a point & shoot film camera. I had just one roll of black & white film from home; funny, eh... my how times have changed! I often think back to this image when I am photographing people, it is kind of like a benchmark... a reminder to capture the moment.


p.s. I scanned this photograph, so the image quality is compromised a bit; hopefully I'll run across the negative someday & be able to convert it to a digital image!