Spirit of Honolua
Photograph by Travis Morrin
Sony A7r4, 1/800 SECond, F7.1, ISO 250, 12MM LENS
Travis Morrin always had an artistic bent, the margins of his homework assignments perennially decorated with sketches and drawings. Although he ultimately pursued a different kind of art — culinary — partnering with best friends to open the wildly popular Three’s Bar & Grill and multiple Fork & Salad locations, Morrin scribbled-art beginnings surfaced during the pandemic shutdown.
Paper and pen alone could not capture the multihued, multilayered beauty of his island home, but a good photographer might. Morrin began taking his camera whenever he set out to hike, surf or explore, his deep reverence for nature and Hawaiian culture inspiring every click of the shutter. And he got better and better.
“I’d taken a lot of food shots over the years, so that part of my eye was already somewhat developed,” he said. “It was just a matter of learning the technical aspects and taking lots and lots (and lots) of photos.”
Since fully embracing this newfound passion in spring of 2021, Morrin estimates that he’s snapped around 150,000 photos. “When I dive into something, I dive very, very deep,” he said with a grin. “I shoot pretty much every day and everywhere I go.”
A frequent flyer over West Maui’s Honolua Bay, courtesy of a pilot friend with Go Fly Maui, Morrin vividly recalls that September morning in 2022 when he spied a rainbow taking shape from his perch in the open-door helicopter.
“We were passing through Nāpili when it began to form,” he said. “It was a really beautiful moment, framed by Kapalua and red cliffs, a couple of sailing catamarans in the water, so I took the shot — and got lucky.”
