Yuriko on Oahu (Patreon)

Last month I had to go back to Hawaii for some meetings, and there I met Yuriko, who was in Honolulu to volunteer at the annual POW WOW! Mural Festival as research for her masters thesis (she goes to university back in her hometown, Kyoto.  She was assigned to assist an artist friend of mine in painting his mural, and when I went to visit him I met Yuriko and was instantly charmed by her bright smile.  

Thankfully she agreed when i asked to photograph her a few days later, so on my last day I got up before sunrise and we made an excursion to the east coast to watch the sunrise and then drove into Manoa Valley to hike down into the jungle to find a waterfall.  She had never modeled before and didn't even understand why I would want to shoot her ("You know in my country, I am considered FAT!" she declared)!

I rather disagree, and we had such a fun day exploring and seeing some glorious bits of the island close to town.

I will be posting probably 100+ images (and a video) for my other tiers this week, but scroll down for a little preview!