Maui Photo Festival 2011 gave us hands-on workshops, a welcoming photography community and plenty of time behind the camera. Here are the parts we loved and the suggestions we shared after attending.
This is our August 2011 festival recap. Speakers, software, prices and workshop activities below belong to that period, rather than a current event schedule.
What We Loved About Maui Photo Festival 2011
The location! Maui was perfect for outdoor photo shoots and workshops. The beaches made wonderful sunset locations. We couldn’t ask for a better place to spend time with a camera.
A warm, strong community. This felt different from the bigger mainland photography conventions we’d attended. Its smaller size brought people together to meet and learn from one another. Professionals and enthusiasts could network in a less intimidating setting, with time to speak to the pros and mingle.
Off-site workshops. The program offered opportunities to shoot with expert speakers away from the hotel. Excursions included Haleakala Crater for sunrise and doors-off helicopter rides.
Studio lighting and live models. Organizers set up studio lighting for attendees to use, with models available so everyone could practice. There were indoor shoots, outdoor shoots and hula dancers, along with other chances to work on our photography.
Contests and prizes. Photo contests rewarded images taken during the festival week. The prizes we noted in 2011 included Wacom tablets, Photoshop CS5 and camera backpacks. Those software names take us right back to that year! For more island photography and artists, explore our Maui art guide.
Student scholarships. We loved that the festival supported aspiring photographers from local high schools. Seeing those talented students join the workshops was one of the highlights.
Magazine staff. Speakers from The Knot and Maui No Ka Oi Magazine talked about photo submissions and what editors wanted. Hearing directly from people who chose images for publication made those sessions especially useful.
Speakers We Remember
Jim DiVitale: I was in awe of this man. Most technical classes I’d taken moved too slowly for me. Jim sometimes moved almost too fast! He covered material at an incredible pace, and I gained so much from the workshops I attended over those two years. He was a Photoshop wizard.
Randy Jay Braun: Randy’s images brought Hawaiʻi’s culture to a wide audience. We admired his work as a local artist and appreciated how approachable he was. He also happened to be one of the nicest guys we met.
The speaker lineup also included Jim Tierney, Michael Sweet, Douglas Peebles, Judy Host, Stacy Pearsal, Andy Dunaway, Eddie Tap, Jack Reznicki, Randy Hufford, Lou Freeman, Lewis Carlyle, Rebecca Crumley, Frederick Van Johnson and Mike Sidney. These are the photographers we remember from that festival.
Our Suggestions After the Festival
Warmer classrooms. The air conditioning felt too cold. We suggested turning it down and bringing a sweatshirt just in case. It was a small comfort issue during otherwise worthwhile sessions.
Parking. Parking at the Hyatt could be a challenge when we arrived late. Our 2011 notes mentioned $18 valet parking and restaurant validation. We liked eating at Umalu and found the then-new Japengo expensive. Those were our experiences and prices at the time, not current parking or dining advice.
More business classes. We wanted broader workshops on marketing, branding, advertising, website design and networking. Learning to take a photo is one part of the work. Learning how to run the business around it matters too.
Mixers to mingle. We suggested a different local restaurant or bar hosting attendees each evening. Our idea was one included drink for each paid attendee, followed by a cash bar. It could have given photographers more time to get to know each other away from the classroom.
Small breakout sessions. We also hoped for a few hours of sign-up sessions where attendees could ask pros individual questions. Whether the subject was Photoshop or shooting, that extra time could have helped people work through specific problems.
For more background, see this Maui Photo Festival overview. It gives more context for the photography community we enjoyed meeting.
Some of Our Readers’ Thoughts
A reader shared this additional perspective on the festival’s business workshops:
And not sure if you were at the festival in previous years, but in 09 and 10 there were classes about both social media, marketing and the business side of photography.
Makena Gadient, 2011-08-29 (excerpt)
We’re a small group of full-time Maui residents that LOVE exploring and writing about what we think is the best place on Earth: The Island of Maui, Hawaii! Expect many more articles, reviews, photos and videos of Maui and all of the Hawaiian Islands. ALOHA!
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