As a native of Southern California, I grew up loving the beach. Every day after school, I would eagerly run across the street and over the sand dunes with hopes that a big swell was coming through. I had always dreamed that some day I would be able to live on my own secluded tropical beach with the kind of surf that I had seen in the magazines.

It wasn’t until the summer of 1999 that I made my first trip out to Hawaii and fell in love not only with the surf, but also with the diverse landscape and natural beauty of the islands. I made several return trips with my camera during the next seven years before chasing the dream in 2006 when my wife and I packed up and moved to the Big Island. I have been photographing the islands in the Hawaiian chain continuously ever since.

I love the medium of photography. It’s been said that photography is the easiest artistic medium in which to become competent but the most difficult to establish a personally identifiable style. A painter or sculptor makes their vision into something tangible. A photographer can only capture what is tangible and somehow make it their vision. Giving an intangible soul to a photograph is what separates Ansel Adams from the vacation snap shooter. This is my ultimate aspiration.

My passion is to present a vision of Hawaii as an unpopulated and unspoiled paradise. I strive to capture a unique moment of emotion in each photo to share the Hawaii my dreams.

Aloha, Michael