Leaving Hawaii – Paradise Lost
June 2, 2006
On June 1st and after 4 years in Hawaii I left possibly for good. The journey is officially started.
The way to tell it is no ordinary day is because I already lost one of my 2 credit cards which has never happened before.
I will try to write about both the positive and negative travel experiences as they happen not to complain or to brag just to report.
My purpose in Hawaii has ended.
Working in a backpackers hostel for almost 4 years I have heard about many travelers going through “post Hawaii depression”.
Leaving carefree lifestyle and nearly perfect weather 12 months a year is not without its consequences. So I am prepared as much as I can for missing paradise.
But if I only stayed for the sake of good weather that would sound a lot like retirement.
Quality modeling or professional photography is practically non-existent in Hawaii. Many people have false assumptions about many aspects of Hawaii because of it is overly romanticized. This effects both tourists or people who move to Hawaii.
The photographers are not very skilled, creative or driven. The great majority of the models are not attractive, dedicated or professional.
The scenery is volcanic tropical paradise often thought of as one of the best locations on earth but with small window of opportunity to catch “good light” unless it is in the shade of palm trees, lava rock walls or rainforests.
During the few months of rainy season in the winter and early spring it is more likely to have overcast sky for quality diffused soft light.
Sunrise or sunset are very brief while the rest of the day is very bright and blinding.
Of course the harsh blinding midday light is not completely useless but there are just so many photos one can take with the model wearing sunglasses or in a straw hat.
On the other hand the raw beauty of Hawaii can be a great canvas to capture beauty and drama. I started to do night beach shoots to photograph outdoors even more.
Living in Hawaii provided me with the opportunity to add many favorite photos to my portfolio.
Being a budget traveler I carefully researched one way Honolulu to Los Angeles flights and found the ATA ticket being the cheapest at $160 which I bought about 6 weeks in advance on the airline’s own website.
It is a 5 hour flight and I guess you get what you paid for because there were no meals or snacks on this ATA flight.
Not a single peanut, nothing! Drinks were served 3 times.
I didn’t mind but I bet many people paid more than I did for their tickets. I was just told by my friend no food is becoming quite common nowadays on lenghty US flights.
I might have missed the fine print but the only time I became aware of this fact was during pre-boarding at the gate when we were told to make a run for the deli in the terminal if we want to bring food on board with us.
I bought a muffin since everything else cost and arm and a leg.
I am only spending a couple of days of stop over in Los Angeles to drop off not needed stuff and pick up new gear for the trip and to say hi to a friend.
Before I moved to Hawaii I lived here for 13 years.
Every time I come back I get an anxiety attack. I can feel the stress the city and the people are under. I am getting out of here as soon as possible.
[...] I have written about the state of Hawaii photography, Hawaii photographers and Hawaiian models and I am not expecting to take Hawaii by storm this time around either. Instead I will attempt to use imagination, intuition, inspiration, curiosity to name a few to continue my photography journey and possibly embrace different styles. [...]