Aloha for the ‘Āina: A Curated Collection by Our Photographers In Honor of Earth Month

David Croxford

The last time the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational ran, 2016. The Eddie surf contest needs waves with 40 feet faces for a continuous eight hours pumping into famed Waimea Bay on the North Shore. It is a rare sight and typically in excess of 100,000 people trek to the bay to watch the event. It was on my bucket list when I arrived on O‘ahu in 2000 and I’ve been blessed to observe it twice.

Sunset at the entrance to Honolulu Harbor. No matter where you are in the world, sunsets represent another day coming to an end. But few places in the world end their days like these beautiful Islands.

Lo‘i Rainbow, Wai‘anae Mountains in background. There’s a program that reintroduces Hawaiians to their remarkable heritage, and I was assigned to document it. This image was captured while telling that story. In Christian writings the rainbow is a godly promise found in Genesis 9:16. It seemed a perfect start to my shooting day.

Presunrise over Ali‘i Fishpond on Moloka‘i. I was privileged to meet Raiatea Helm’s family on Moloka‘i and hunted with her cousin above Ali‘i Fishpond. While waiting for the light to arrive, the darkness turned to the soft purple predawn light in this image. I was able to capture the silence in the moment of color.

SEE ALSO: Hawai‘i’s Endangered Nēnē Photo Gallery

Simple patterns in nature. I’m struck by the symmetry we see in nature; it’s often overlooked as we hurry from one place to the next. If anything, this shutdown has reminded me to take time to observe, not just rush to complete what I’m doing.

Another from the last time the Eddie ran, 2016.

Evidence of human presence. Simple footprints in the sand. Just ask sometime, what do I see here … who was he/she? What was he/she doing? What do you see?

Sunrise in Kailua, Moku Nui (left), Moku Iki. While on the longer assignments we often attempt to cover all hours of the day and night, especially if the assignment is trying to show the typical day in the life of a community. This image and several others came about from such an assignment. Sunrises and sunsets are always special times for Hawaiians and those of us who call the Islands home.

Sailing wa‘a in Kāne‘ohe Bay. A canoe builder lives on Kāne‘ohe Bay and tests his builds on the bay. We were there to document one of his test runs. I was told to watch my step on the boat ramp; I did, but still I fell. Like a good PJ, though, I saved the camera and housing—but ended up with a small fracture of my wrist that took about two weeks to come back together. I shot this image with an ice pack strapped around the wrist and camera housing.

Low tide below Mokoli‘i. On the way back from Lā‘ie midmorning a few years back, I glanced in my rear-view mirror and saw this serenity. I remember physically sucking air in as I saw the scene. Immediately I found a turnaround and caught the serenity here. Just plain beauty, given to us to see.