Arrival in the fall-off-the-planet town Hana, Maui is pleasantly anti-climactic. I wasn't sure at first if I'd missed it. Pulling off at a farmer's market for a cup of Kona to take the edge off of the dizzying two hour, switchback, sheer-cliffs drive, I asked directions to the games. A mellow, sun leathered local steered me down the road on the far end of town to a surfboard hung on a farm field fencepost with bailing wire that pointed toward a park. The park sat nestled at the end of a little road that was fully dunked in cliche´s : boards strapped to beaters, roiling ocean, burly waves, beautiful women, beach cruisers, muscle-bound studs, coconuts, and heaps of attitude. I have to admit to feeling a bit put-off at first because it all seemed so canned. As I got into the rhythm of shooting though my slanted judgment of the scene fell away. Especially watching the kids and a balsa wood board rider I met I realized I had been seeing surfing through the eyes of someone who'd been spoon fed surf culture myths. From the Beach Boys to Spicolli media had packaged surfing and sold it to me in a Quicksilver bag. The true essence of it is simple : a love of playing in big waves. The games were really fun to shoot. It was an inspiring, all-ages salt air community event celebrating local sport. The well fed crowd gorged itself on great music, cheap breakfast burritos and big surfing all day. An almost midwestern wholesomeness wraps itself around a competition whose winners are awarded coconuts hand-painted by a local artist. An aw shucks feel wasn't what I expected to find shooting the world's hippest sport in a speck of a town on a speck of an island in the middle of a very big ocean. This profession always delivers surprises.
See more of my images from the competition on my site : www.ericmelzer.com and my fine art images at www.ericmelzerfineart.com
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