MEET KA'ŌHUA

I am a Native Hawaiian photographer.  A storyteller.  An educator. A wife.  A mother.  A grandmother.  I live and work deep in the valley of Kalihi on the Island of Oʻahu. The Haupeʻepeʻe wind plays hide-and-seek, teasing the sickle-shaped koa leaves and the understory below. Koʻilipilipi rain drenches the soil, feeding the land – giving birth to new life. This is Kalihi – my home.   My wahi pana (storied place).

I love to tell stories through my photographs – to celebrate the connection between land and people.  I believe that a powerful image tells a moʻolelo.  A story that triggers emotion.  Stimulates thoughts.  Elicits curiosity.  A photograph allows the viewers to explore their own unique perspective. 

For many years, I have documented people engaged on the land; rebuilding fishpond rock walls; tending loʻi kalo; lashing canoe and hale. My camera has captured the world through the eyes of my kūpuna (ancestors).

Kūpuna magic is created using light and dark contrasts.  Light is one of the most powerful elements in photography.  Early morning and twilight hours where golden strands of light bring a beautiful glow to the land and people.  Contrasting this with dark shadows is another equally important aspect of photography.  Shadows shape light, draw attention to it and bring amazing photographic opportunities.  I try to capture the magic or mana (life force) of our ancestors in my images, blending light and dark. 

As light filters through its skin, I envision mana (healing energy) in the fragile, vibrant, purple-veined flower of the haʻuoi (blue vervain). It is restorative, bringing happiness and peace to all who indulge.  Mana is also found in the root of the blood-orange ʻōlena (turmeric) as it emerges from Papa, Mother Earth, into light.  The restorative mana of ʻōlena heals achy limbs of our elders and flushes the wounds of our keiki (children).  It is also used in ceremony for protection, cleansing, and healing. 

I hope that my stories will engage and connect people to their own special place. Strengthening spiritual relationship with ancestors. Reinvigorating family traditions and practices.  Calling forward ancestral knowledge. Reconnecting to the genealogy of place. The genealogy of home.