Olaf Heine Presents Raw and Untouched Hawaii

Top photographer Olaf Heine presents his new coffee table book with publisher teNeues Verlag: Hawaii in timeless black and white. In Hawaii, the energetic and rich ocean and island life captures the imagination, with nature, surf and hula culture, and the indigenous population taking center stage.

America's most famous archipelago, Hawaii, is so much more than a paradisiacal destination for tourists and honeymooners. The Hawaii seen through the lens of German Olaf Heine is raw, unspoiled, and encompasses many historical layers. Heine is best known for his portraits and fashion work of celebrities in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Time, and Vanity Fair.

For this book, he documented for years the rich biodiversity, where volcanic activity has left its mark (p.42-43, 54-55, 100-101), as well as the energetic ocean life, which also has a sensual and melancholic side. The constantly changing, restless, high and powerful waves of the Pacific Ocean and the strong currents dictate the rhythm of Hawaii's eight islands and their inhabitants. They nourish life there and define the people – whether they are fishermen, surfers, dancers, or tourists.

Those who look closely at Heine's timeless black-and-white photos will see a very different side of Hawaii: a deep, still permanent tension among the indigenous population. In the foreword, writer William Finnegan cites various examples from Heine's work, where the photos contain deeper, sometimes symbolic layers that are politically charged and refer to the terrible colonial history.

Like Hawaii itself, Heine's work forms extremes and contrasts, in which he succeeds in finding connection by combining his recognizable style and use of light. This results in a poetic and tasteful whole. Heine also likes to show the beauty of tanned and muscular bodies, shaped by an active outdoor life and completely embraced by the rough sea.