Experience hula through the photographer’s lens

As a part of a month-long celebration of Hula Arts at Kilauea, Volcano Art Center presents “Experiencing Ancient Hula Through the Photographer’s Lens” at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 14).

The program will feature images by world class hula and documentary photographer Dino Morrow, who will share photographs he has taken during various hula performances, as well as tips and best practices for how to capture these intimate hula images.

Morrow is a documentary and portrait photographer who specializes in candid shots of indigenous and local cultures. His current focus is to witness and respectfully document Hawaiian and indigenous cultures as an intimate and traditional expression: sense of place, identity, connection, art, values, spirituality and offering.

For Morrow, the ultimate value of an image is given when the participants accept the perspective, composition and feeling to be honorable and authentic. In order to achieve this, he relies on a personal connection with the subject and a keen sense of a deeper understanding from their perspective.

In short, Morrow says, “Photography, for me, is trying to see what I feel … with a camera.”

The presentation will be hosted at VAC’s Niaulani Campus, 19-4074 Old Volcano Road in Volcano Village.

Volcano Art Center was created in 1974 to promote, develop and perpetuate the artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of Hawaii’s people through the arts and education.

For more information, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.