Ocean Vodka has a new home on 80 acres of beautiful farm land on the slopes of Mount Haleakala on Maui. If you’ve never had their unique vodka, you really should try it. It’s 100% natural, organic and gluten free; the only handcrafted spirit in the world made with deep ocean mineral water, sourced from 3000 feet below the Big Island of Hawaii.
I stopped in for a few hours at their grand opening today and attended a tour conducted by Shay Smith, Founder & President. I look forward to spending more time in this beautiful place.
Ocean Vodka Organic Farm and Distillery Grand Opening
April 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment
20th Annual Haiku Ho’olaule’a Flower Festival
April 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
This was a new experience for me. I’d never been to a Haiku Ho‘olaule‘a Flower Festival in all the time I’ve lived on Maui. I had no idea it was such a huge event. And now I understand why you don’t see many flowers at the Maui Country Ag Festival, which was just a couple of weeks ago. This annual event benefits the Haiku Community Association, Haiku Elementary School and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui.
My friend and TEDxMaui core teammate Sara Tekula sent email to all her photography friends asking if we would contribute our time and services to the cause. I ended up sharing the day with my colleagues Sean Michael Hower and Joyce Chin. It was a beautiful day on Maui, and I was proud to be included in such a great event.
Enjoy my photos below. Also see Sean’s and Joyce’s in our Flickr group from the event ->
Maui Country Agricultural Festival 2013
April 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The Maui County Ag Fest is a big deal on the island. On the first Saturday in April, it seems like the entire island gathers at the Maui Tropical Plantation to celebrate farmers, ranchers and agricultural allies in Maui County.
This year, I didn’t have any responsibilities or obligations. I just went to support my friends. Of course, I had my camera with me. I couldn’t very well leave it at home. While I was there, my friend Roxanne Tiffin asked if I would shoot the chef competition that her company, Kula Fields, was sponsoring. I had a lot of fun moving from chef to chef, capturing every step of what they were making.
Enjoy the photos from the day.
Roxanne Tiffin
March 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I met Roxanne Tiffin almost three years ago, when I was first getting involved with Slow Food Maui. She owns a business called Kula Fields, where she and her husband deliver local farm fresh produce directly to homes on Maui and Oahu. We were already her clients by then, but then she eventually became my client as well. I redid her website in WordPress, helped her craft a social media strategy and trained her in all the necessary tools. In the intervening years, we’ve become close friends and shared many laughs, and a few tears along the way. She’s one of the most beautiful people I know, inside and out.
We took some time out earlier this week and actually went out to lunch, which is something we rarely do together. We went to one of her favorite places, Bev Gannon’s Haliʻimaile General Store, and ordered mojitos to go with our meal. Feeling relaxed and buzzed, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to do some portraits at another of her favorite places, the Kula Botanical Garden, just for the hell of it.
Given how camera shy Roxanne can be, I was surprised she would agree to such a thing so eagerly, but this is what ensued. It was a completely unplanned and carefree photo shoot. I’ve found that they can be the best kind.
I’ve been known to forget this cardinal rule from time to time, but I’m glad I didn’t this day: a photographer always has a camera in the car. You just never know what you might miss if you leave it at home.
Grow Some Good
March 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
My wife Kathy Becklin is one of the founders of Grow Some Good, an nonprofit organization that plants edible gardens in schools on Maui and educates kids about growing their own food. She and her colleagues have enlisted the help of a number of chefs on the island, and together, they provide education and host activities to bring awareness to the school gardens.
Last weekend she asked me to shoot their fundraiser, called “A Sunset Taste of School Gardens” at the Hotel Wailea, featuring delectable dishes prepared with harvested produce from the gardens by Chef Cameron Lewark of Spago, Chefs Brian Etheredge and Christopher Kulis of Capische? and Il Teatro, Chef Nicholas Porreca of Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante at Four Seasons Maui, Chef Daniel Fiske of PrivateMauiChef.com and Chef Eric Mitchell of The Outrigger Pizza Company.
One of the highlights of the evening was a special acoustic performance by Marty Dread.
A special evening for a great cause.
Yvonne Biegel
February 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Buy Back The Beach 2013
January 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I had an amazing day with the folks at the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (HILT) yesterday during the 12th Annual Buy Back The Beach event. It began with a trip to the airport to meet my social media colleagues Jon Letman from Kauai, Laura Kinoshita from Kona on the big island of Hawaii and Melissa Chang from Oahu.
We went on a tour of the Waihee Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge led by HILT’s Director of Conservation, Scott Fisher. I’d never been there before, and was in awe of the beauty of that open space. I’ll definitely be going back with some proper gear to do a serious photo walk.
This was followed by a quick lunch at Aloha Mixed Plate and a brief walkthrough of the Old Lahaina Luau grounds where the actual Buy Back The Beach event would take place.
As the evening began, we dined to the sweet sounds of Ahumanu during sunset, then were treated to a great show by The Old Lahaina Luau performers featuring authentic music, hula, and stories about Hawaiian culture and history. I was impressed by the generosity shown during the “Adventures for the Aina” Live Auction, and by Hawaiian Airlines offering to match donations up to $10,000.
The highlight of the evening was Makana, who I had the pleasure of meeting at last year’s Ka‘anapali Fresh event and again during TEDxMaui 2013. His performance made the night magical. I don’t think I’ve met another artist so authentic, insightful and talented. He’s the real thing.
TEDxMaui 2013
January 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
It’s been almost a week, and I’m still buzzing from our tremendous TEDxMaui 2013 event last Sunday. Over 1000 people attended, and we even saw surprise guests Mick Fleetwood and Steven Tyler show up in the audience, backstage and mingling with the crowd during the breaks and after party.
I can honestly that while TEDxMaui 2012 was a great and transformative experience for me, this year’s event was something very special. To begin with, it was a great privilege to be working side by side with my core teammates Katie McMillan, Sara Tekula and Danielle Vieth. They are all smart, beautiful, powerful women, and I’m honored to be part of such an extraordinary team. I’ve participated in and managed many teams in my professional life, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is the best one I’ve ever been a part of, and this event is the coolest thing I’ve ever done.
Our lineup of presenters all did a great job, and most resonated deeply with the audience. Hop over to the TEDxMaui website for more details on the 2013 presenters and their talks.
See photographs of the main TEDxMaui 2013 event at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Flickr. ->
See TEDxMaui 2013 behind the scenes photographs, including rehearsal on Flickr. ->
See photographs of the TEDxMaui 2013 private speaker reception at the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui on Flickr. ->
Cloudy Sunset on Maui
December 30, 2012 By 2 Comments
It’s been cloudy in South Kihei lately, so the sunsets haven’t cooperated much, but this being the day before New Year’s Eve (and my not being available to shoot during sunset tomorrow) I decided to run down to Keawakapu Beach and give it a go. On days like this, it’s always fun to use the ND grads and slow the shutter down enough to get long exposures of moving water.
