Tag Archives: memorial

career, family, location shoot

Whose Story is this?

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I don’t know what the attraction is but cemeteries draw me to them.  Is it curiosity, a little macabre or the photographer in me.  Believe me, I’m in no hurry and definitely not looking for a resting place.  That, will be someone else’s problem.  I won’t be around… lol.  Sometimes I’m alone, sometimes Patti my wife will go with me.  I’ve never asked her why, we just do.  Often we start out together exploring but often separate.  And then quietly call the other when there is a perceived story to share.  We don’t do this at home, only when we’re traveling.  Maybe it the anthropologist in us that looks for clues about the past and the culture we’re invading.  I could write more on my thoughts, but I’ll hold onto them.  Maybe for an addendum if there’s enough curiosity.

TECHY STUFF:  The above images were taken at a abandoned, unattended graveyard we came across at Port Allen near Glass Beach on Kaua’i.  What was interesting was all the writing on the markers and headstones in one area were all Japanese or Chinese, the middle part to young Hawaiian children that died within the first couple years and then the other side to a small section of Hawaiian families.  We don’t know their stories, but we sure speculated for a while.

My real work:  http://www.zwink.com

P.S.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL MY FRIENDS, READERS AND FELLOW BLOGGERS.

photography, Sports, Uncategorized

An Island Mourns

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Andy Irons Memorial

Three times surfing world champion Andy Irons died on November 2, 2010.  We arrived on Kauai Nov. 12 to a community in mourning preparing for a memorial service and a paddle out by fellow surfers, friends and family.  It was an overwhelming experience.  Driving up to Hanalei Bay we passed numerous signs and painted surfboards  along side of the the road that expressed the love, sorrow and loss of their homegrown son.

Over 5,000 people of all ages converged onto Pines Beach for the memorial that was open to the public.  All the flights to the island were sold out as people came to say their final goodbye.  Following a traditional Hawaiian service on the beach attended by the family and friends of the Iron’s family it was finally time.  There was already a large group of surfers circling about a 100 yards off the beach.  The rest of the surfers from the inner circle made their way out through the surf to the final celebration of life.  Once they arrived and the circle was reformed the group started cheering and splashing the water.  Iron’s family then arrived aboard a Polynesian boat and dispersed Andy’s ashes into the ocean where he had lived his life.  As the ashes were being spread a helicopter circling over the surfers dropping flowers and petals onto the ocean and the surfers below as thousands others watched and cheered from the beach.  Once the copter left the circle slowly broke and the surfers and the paddle boarders came back to the beach through an ever increasing surf one set at a time.

Originally, I was just going to take a few photos of the scene but the emotional outpouring changed my mind.  I’ve done a lot of documentary work before so my instincts took over.  I wanted to show the environment, the diversity of the people and the the sense of loss that the surfing community suffered.

A collection of the images can be found at: http://zwinkftp.com/aimemorialhtml/

ANDY IRONS, RIP…….