Mary and Alfredo: Engaged!

I met Mary at the Hawaii Bridal Expo in Honolulu last July, and met her fiancé, Alfredo, a few weeks later when we sat down over coffee to discuss their upcoming wedding on what will probably be the biggest wedding date of the year, 12-13-14. I was excited as soon as Mary told me her date at the expo, because I still had the date open at that point so was looking for my 12-13-14 couple. I’m so glad that it is Mary and Alfredo and look forward to capturing the big event in a couple months! It’s hard to believe that it will be a mid-December wedding in heat and sunshine as this will be my first winter living in a yearlong summer… I love it! With perfect beach weather year round, Hawaii is the ideal place to get married. And if you happen to already live here? Extremely convenient.

We met at Waimanalo Beach Park bright and early for a sunrise session, pre-storm session, and the results are beautiful. Congratulations, Mary and Alfredo!

Maui Wedding and Portrait Photographer – Hanalani Photography – Inspired. Elegant. Tropical.

Ryan and Ashley: Engaged!

After connecting at the Hawaii Bridal Expo in Honolulu this past July, it was a pleasure to finally meet this beautiful couple last weekend! Their engagement portrait session almost didn’t happen due to the foreboding weather, but they opted to go for it and we drove up to North Shore’s Polo Beach to try to escape the rain that was pounding the south part of the island. The rain caught up with us at the tail end of the session, leaving plenty of time with beautiful, soft, hurricane-style light! look forward to capturing their wedding next June 🙂  Maui Wedding and Portrait Photographer – Hanalani Photography – Inspired. Elegant. Tropical.

Oahu; a Bird’s Eye View

I love being a photographer because I get to see so much of my island “homes” that I wouldn’t otherwise, and the past few months have held heaps of awesome “work” adventures… zip lining over rainforest, shooting almost every beach on Oahu (and most of the surf breaks), horseback riding through “Jurassic Park,” sunset dinner cruises, and too many more to list. Basically, participation in nearly every tourist activity offered on the island (including four luaus in the space of six days. Yes, that happened.)

But my favorite job of this type was the recent helicopter tour that I shot over the island of Oahu. It created the perfect “finale” to my time on this beautiful island!

 

Mahalo, Oahu!

Beauty in the Midst of Chaos

 

It’s been a hectic first two weeks on Maui, with getting everything here, changing a business name, starting shoots, hunting down out-of-the-way tax and government offices, and making flights back to Oahu for days packed with back-to-back shoots, and an especially hectic past few days as I’m preparing to make another trip to Oahu and have had to shuffle an already impossible schedule around due to the impending tropical storm (Ana). But there has been lots of beauty in the midst of the chaos, and I had to take a moment before heading to the airport to post one of my favorite sunsets from my time on Maui thus far. So incredibly grateful. To have this life, even during the challenging slivers of time, is so much more than I could have ever hoped for. 

New Island, New Name

Aloha! I have arrived in Maui safe and sound, along with all of my equipment and even my car (that was an adventure)! I am so excited to be here and begin this new season, and also excited to announce that as part of this move I’ll be changing my business name! I feel that with my decision to continue my life and business in the Islands, it is time to change the name of my business to reflect my love for Hawaii and everything that it represents. Also, change is fun! While I’m sure most “business”-savvy folks would suggest that changing a name is not the best business strategy, I rarely do things by the books and I haven’t been afraid to take (huge) risks in the past, so why start now?!

Selador Images will from here on out (or for the foreseeable future, at least!) be known as Hanalani Photography | Inspired. Elegant. Tropical. 

My packages will be structured the same and, as always, include image drives with hi-res files and print rights. Below is my website’s new “Meet the Photographer” blurb with a bit more about the name change:

I’m a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Midwestern girl who was born with the song of the ocean in my soul, the magic of the mountains reflected in my eyes, and the whisper of tropical tradewinds in my heart. I’m in love with the islands; their beauty speaks to my heart in that special language that is uniquely their own. 

I come from a background in photojournalism that has taken me all over the world, from the from the jungles of Costa Rica to the African bush; the glittering streets of Paris to the winding canals of Amsterdam. (So yes, my youthful appearance is a tad deceiving. In case you’re curious, I’m a bit closer to 30 than I am to 20 🙂 )

 I began my wedding and portrait photography business, originally named Selador Images, in 2010 in the charming southern coastal town of Charleston, South Carolina. In January of 2014, I packed up and moved to Hawaii to chase my lifelong dream of living in an eternal summer. After living outside of Waikiki on Oahu for eight months and making the decision to move myself and my business to Maui, I felt that it was time to change the name to reflect the beautiful soul of Hawaii, my island home. 

In addition to including my name, Hanalani means “heavenly work,” and for me that is very representative of my life here in the islands. I am living in my heaven on earth, doing work that I am absolutely passionate about and I feel so extraordinarily lucky to be able to share with others my gift and passion for photography in this versatile location (no boring studio work here!)

The breath of the ancients is tangible on this land, and to be able to share and capture life and love in the awe-inspiring grandeur of this ‘aina (land) is, I feel, a sacred privilege. I love sharing the beauty of Maui with others, and capturing snapshots of their story during their time in the islands to create vibrant memories that can be carried back to whatever corner of the world they might have come from.

I am excited to be a Maui wedding and portrait photographer!