COURTESY KELLY FITZGERALD Kelly Fitzgerald shot Wainiha Bridge for "A New Discovery," a set of photographs of Kauai landscapes.

Preservation

A photographer documents an untouched Hawaii

After residing on Kauai for two years, professional photographer Kelly Fitzgerald fell in love with the island's stunning beauty and quiet lifestyle.

"Kauai has a timeless quality and essence but is rapidly becoming a major tourist destination in the United States," she says. "I wanted to share the way the island made me feel so I chose to document it in black-and-white infrared film to convey the dreaminess and magical quality the island has."

Her resulting work is a group of photographs titled "A New Discovery," consisting of landscapes and some landmarks of the island. The project also prompted Fitzgerald to document the rest of Hawaii's islands. Her works from Molokai and Lanai join some Kauai shots on today's "Portfolio" page.

Fitzgerald, who's now based in San Diego, says that while Kauai's beauty is "still largely unhampered ... I also recognize that progress is encroaching and it will not last. I am moved both by a love of this place and by a desire to preserve its memory."

COURTESY KELLY FITZGERALD "Haena Trees" was taken on Kauai.

COURTESY KELLY FITZGERALD "Kauai Jungle."

COURTESY KELLY FITZGERALD "Old Pineapple Fields" was taken on Lanai.

COURTESY KELLY FITZGERALD Fitzgerald shot "Lone Tree" on Molokai.