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Thomas Conway
A combined love of art and photography led Kailua boy Thomas Conway not only to the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara to study, but to the bridges of Japan, the gardens of France and picturesque cities all over the United States to capture the world's colorful beauty in a snapshot.
"Alexander Valley" display his love of color.
Yet, for all his travels, Conway says there's no place like home.
"There is something about the landscape in Hawaii that inspires me. The colors are so vibrant and the light changes the intensity of the landscape so quickly. "
Several years ago, Conway began experimenting with photo illustration, in which he uses computer software to enhance certain qualities in his picture.
"When I shoot an image, I immediately know what I will do with it. I work with foregrounds and backgrounds to give depth. I never add anything to the pictures; I take things out."
One of Conway's favorite works is a picture he shot of Mt. Olomana.
"The sugar cane only comes into full bloom for a short period of time once a year. If you don't capture it then, you have to wait for another year. I have lived at the base of Olomana for years, and I will never tire of it, because it is constantly changing."
"On the mainland, everything is gradual," Thomas Conway says of the color and light of the landscapes there. "But in Hawaii, there is such sharp contrast between colors, between horizontal and vertical lines." The scene at right illustrates Conway's point. Lush Mt. Olomana is set against a bright blue sky in the background, and blooming, vibrant wild sugar cane plants in the foreground.
Washington Monument juts out dramatically into a pastel sky, which contrasts with the sharp colors of the scene below it.
A picturesque isle scene titled "Waimanalo Blues."
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