Photo essay by Pacific Northwest photographer David Johanson Vasquez, shares his experience of photographing one of the Nation's most honored National Monuments on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. The recently completed visitor center at the Arizona Memorial National Monument in Pearl Harbor is the assignment, but it's only part of a dynamic story of creative fortitude, history and Pan Pacific North American culture.
1. PEARL HARBOR PHOTO PILGRIMAGE
March 16, 2011
Photography opportunity found
within a Pacific paradise.
By: David Johanson Vasquez
Wether your an amateur, pro- Aloha spirit and charming land- of my planned travel to Oahu. At
fessional, fine-artist or commercial scapes. that time, preliminary stages of
photographer, you need to be On the Island of Oahu Pearl design were just taking place and
resourceful to have viewers take Harbor has been a great interest there wasn’t much opportunity in
interest in your work. to me. Some years back, The Por- photographing the site. Unde-
For the past 11 years I have tico Group, a Seattle architectural terred, I made arrangements for a
made traveling to the Hawaiian firm began exploratory work to window seat on a Hawaiian Air-
Islands a priority. In this tropic design a component of World lines, Boeing 767, that would al-
paradise, my experience is one of War II Valor in the Pacific Na- low me to take some initial aerial
creative renewal, brought on by tional Monument. photographs of Pearl Harbor.
inspiration from the Island’s In 2008, I contacted a princi- Fortunately,, clear weather al-
pal architect at Portico with news lowed me to photograph the
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2. that the project was nearing com- searched internet images and
pletion. Unfortunately, the dedi- information that would assist me
cation was taking place a couple in knowing the site’s geographical
of months before my next flight
to Hawaii was scheduled. So a
local photographer would be
called to shoot the new center.
Undaunted, I asked for the
opportunity to photograph the
visitor center in February, with no
financial obligation to the firm.
The architect agreed to this offer
by providing me with a National
attributes before arriving.
Park administration contact in
My flight to Hawaii was
Monument on approach to
Honolulu Airport.
Upon returning from the trip
to Oahu, my aerial photos were
emailed to the architect. I fol-
lowed up with a phone call and
the feedback, although polite,
revealed that it was still too early
in the project for the firm to con-
sider using photography. Honolulu. pleasant and as the plane was
If your a dedicated photog- A couple of weeks before approaching Oahu I could clearly
rapher, you realize the impor- flying to Hawaii, my contact see Honolulu. However, after de-
tance of patience and learning allowed me to view images the boarding the plane, blue sky had
from every success as well as fail- Honolulu photographer took given way to a partial mixture of
ure, regardless if it involves tech- back in December. The photo dark clouds. Phoning the national
nical or marketing issues. coverage was good, with many park services, contacts, the staff
angles of the new center shot, informed me the forecast was not
using various times of day for promising for my intended early
best light. This review confirmed morning photo shoot. So my plan
my approach would have to be was to be flexible for the next
different
from
what
was
previ-
ously
used. I
then
re-
By emailing new samples of
my photography, I kept in contact
with Portico and learned last year
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3. week, while my camera on a tripod and be-
watching gan taking a series of carefully
local composed photographs. Soon
weather twilight gave way to sunrise, re-
forecasts to vealing a vibrant panorama
take ad- backdrop of multicolored clouds.
vantage of As morning light lit the visitor
the first center, I joined legions of visitors
opportu- descending upon the open gates.
nity for an The shores of Pearl Harbor,
and the Arizona Memorial, have
continually drawn me into their
honored gates time and time
again. Many members of my
family have served in the mili-
tary, and I’m grateful for their
dedication,
and sacri-
fices dur-
ing enlist-
ment.
What
happened
on an
early De-
cember
early morning photo session. Af- morning,
ter a few relaxing days under a at this his-
blend of tropical sun with clouds, toric site,
a favorable forecast came in for brought
the assignment. our coun-
Traveling in darkness I ar- try into WWII. The individuals gave the ultimate sacrifice. An
rived at the site immersed in sub- who were under fire here, exem- unseen force pulls me to this
tle, predawn light. On a hill I plify the strongest dedication to place, and I offer homage to
discovered after scouting the visi- preserving and defending our what happened at his historic site.
tor center a few days before, I set nation, particularly those who Another cause for my interest
in this National Monument is my
appreciation for history. Histori-
cally, the Pearl Harbor attack
represents a great milestone, a
solid beginning of a Pax Ameri-
cana, or the U.S. ascending posi-
tion as undisputed world leader
for the second half of the 20th
Century.
Once inside the Monument’s
entrance helpful park service
staff, who were informed by ad-
ministration officials to allow me
total photographic access., made
their greetings. My morning
work went well, as I was able to
efficiently move about the site,
photographing for several hours,
from all the best angles.
Leaving Pearl Harbor after a
successful shoot, I felt fortunate
the weather had been so coop-
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4. erative, as it
produced a
combination
of soft, dif-
fused light
with interest-
ing clouds to
ad sky tex-
ture.
For my
remaining
visit on
Oahu, I had
an enjoyable
and relaxing
time with
while working
family and
and playing
friends. We
in Hawaii is
all came to-
due to this
gether for
fusion of
couple of
culture tak-
nights to
ing place on
celebrated
the Islands.
my dad’s
Another
80th birthday
influence I
in Hawaiian
draw from
style with
this land is
great food,
the constant
mediate response was enthusiasm
for the photographs presented,
along with compliments towards
my approach of using subtle light
to help illuminate compositions.
Two dramatic photographs were
purchased at the presentation in
order to meet a deadline for an
architectural awards competition
taking place that week. Within
days, additional images were ac-
quired from me that featured
views not included in the prelimi-
nary photography completed last
December.
live music and Hula dancing. vibrant growth of plant life, along This photographic experience
Of course I found some with continuos volcanic activity was a classic lesson in fortitude,
time for my personal photography which never slows down and cre- persistence, and not giving up, no
work. Hawaii has some remark- ates new land on a daily bases. matter what the apparent odds
able subject matter, which is al- Upon returning to a cold are.
ways worth discovering. Beside winter in Seattle, several days Mahalo nui loa!
the gorgeous tropical landscapes, went by before a meeting could
there are urban scenes with be scheduled with the Portico
blends of Ocean, South Pacific, Group. Once the meeting did
Asian and North American cul- take place, a couple of lead archi-
tures that create a unique, Pan- tects, along with the group’s mar-
Pacific experience. Perhaps the keting manager reviewed the pho-
sense of renewal I experience tographs I brought in. The im-
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