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Last October, I went on a five-week trip to Hawaii to visit my uncle and his wife, who moved there a few years ago and started a farm. Besides growing all sorts of delicious fruits and vegetables, they grow coffee, which was the primary reason for my visit. I made a few short videos about coffee processing and about their farm and a website for their coffee business. What’s more, I got to experience the whole process from tree to cup and learned a whole lot about the wonderful plant. They live in Kailua-Kona, on the west side of Hawaii’s Big Island.

What was surprising to me was that Hawaii really felt just like mainland US when it comes to the big cars, the fast food joints, the people or the spread out anti-pedestrian layout of the cities constructed entirely for cars. I’d always thought that it would be so different from the rest of the US because it’s so far away.

There are three volcanos that are still active on the island, one of which we visited on a beautiful day trip. The sight of it was really impressive, especially at night and with binoculars, when you could really see the lava splashing around in the lava lake.

It was amazing to see and feel so many different climate zones on an island 1/4 the size of Switzerland. The Big Island is a wonderful place with fantastic beaches, turquoise water, and some of the most amazing sunsets I’ve ever seen. The constant change of landscapes when driving across the island was very impressive, the scenery and the sometimes very rough nature were incredibly beautiful.

Of course, my Hasselblad and my Leica traveled with me and helped me take some photos of this magnificent place in the middle of nowhere. Looking back, I really should’ve gone out and shoot more often.

The negatives were scanned by Richard Photo Lab on the Frontier (black-and-whites on the Noritsu.)