2011 Prince Lot Hula Festival!

A couple weeks ago, my dad and I went to Moanalua Gardens to photograph the Prince Lot Festival, which is a prestigious, annual event to celebrate the Hawaiian culture, with contemporary and traditional hula being the centerpiece of the festivities. We got there early, in order to get good seats by the front of the stage.

Well-known groups, like Halau Na Mamo o Pu'uanahulu (Kumu Hula Sonny Ching) and Halau O Na Pua Kukui (Kumu Hula Ed Collier) wowed the crowds with their performances, and along with the other dancers, provided some great opportunities for the photographers at the festival.

 Out of the dozen shoots I had this month, the Prince Lot was the highlight by a long shot! The attention to detail, the bold colors, the passionate hula...it was all very inspiring, and I only hope my images were able to capture some of the spirit of this special event.

*Photography note:
I shot the event with both D300s. I left the 80-200 on one body, and the 85mm 1.4 on the other, occasionally switching out with the 17-50 for wide shots. The 80-200 was left on a tripod, since holding that rig for several hours can leave the whole body aching. Only natural light was used...no fill flash. All the images, aside from a couple crops, are straight off the camera.