Behind the lens: Meet the one photographers allowed to doc the Merrie Monarch Festival

HILO (HawaiiNewsNow) – Every click on of the shutter captures a break up second of depth, emotion and triumph — moments that may’t be recreated as soon as a dancer leaves the stage on the Merrie Monarch Festival.

For photographers Bruce Omori, Tracey Niimi and Cody Yamaguchi, it’s a demanding task and a singular honor.

They are the skilled photographers trusted to doc the world’s most prestigious hula competitors, capturing for hours every evening as hālau carry out earlier than a packed Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium.

“It is wild. It’s a marathon shooting constantly for six to eight hours,” Niimi mentioned. “We’re literally clicking that button 10 to 15,000 times a night.”

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Over 4 nights, they’re the one photographers within the stadium allowed to take photos of the dancers. It’s a restriction the Merrie Monarch Festival asks the group to respect.

“It’s truly an honor to be there,” Niimi mentioned. “Such a huge responsibility.”

Festival organizers restrict pictures to assist shield hula practitioners from unauthorized use of their photos for advertising or industrial ventures. Supporters say the coverage is about safeguarding cultural integrity as a lot as it’s about copyright.

Imagine dedicating years to a sacred artwork, solely to later see your picture printed on merchandise with out permission.

“It’s their creation, it’s their art, and it’s that individual as well,” Niimi mentioned.

To forestall pirating and keep the integrity of the pictures, a crew of digital consultants handles the workflow behind the scenes, offering uncooked pictures to every hālau for their very own archives. Selected photos additionally make their option to social media through the pageant, typically in close to actual time.

“They’ve got to go through all the images, pick the best shots, and then post it almost simultaneously,” Yamaguchi mentioned.

For the photographers, the aim is to freeze “poetry in motion,” capturing full extensions, crisp strains and the fleeting expressions that outline a efficiency.

“It feels amazing when you know you got it,” Niimi mentioned. “It’s always at those points where the dancers are hitting a full extension … or you catch that one expression that’s just right.”

Omori mentioned some performances are so highly effective, they nonetheless break by way of the depth of the work. “Sometimes I’m moved to tears by some performances,” he mentioned.

The job comes with strain and loads of adrenaline. “A lot of anxiety at certain points in the night,” Niimi mentioned with fun. “But super fun, though.”

Their photos change into a part of Merrie Monarch’s lasting document, a visible archive that preserves hula for households, for hālau, and for generations but to return.

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