(Lāna‘i is Perfect, Flawless in the Calm!)

The Keahiakawelo area of Lānaʻi (a.k.a. the "Garden of the Gods") is slated to be the site of a windfarm with 170 wind turbines that would tower over the landscape at a height of 410 feet, forever ruining one of the most beautiful and sacred parts of this Hawaiian island.

Many proponents of the windfarm describe that area of Lāna‘i as a "barren, ugly, featureless wastleand." My intention in filming the scenes of Keahiakawelo that are shown in this short video was to show that nothing could be further from the truth. At 1:34, you can notice a pink fluorescent PVC pipe at middle right near but below the horizon marking one of the proposed turbine sites.

Lānaʻi is an island rich in cultural history, natural beauty, and ancient Hawaiian sites. The Keahiakawelo area deserves preservation, and should not be turned into an industrial windfarm that will bring few local jobs, won't make the island's energy any "greener," and will only serve to make the owner of the island, David Murdoch richer.

Manoanoa ka po`e, panoanoa ka aina.
(Many are the people, rare is the land).

For more information and to get involved in stopping this development, please visit friendsoflanai.org

The song that accompanies this video is "Kaulana Na Pua" sung written by Ellen Kehoʻohiwaokalani Wright Prendergast in 1893 to protest the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani. This version was recorded by Hui Ohana on the album Magic Islands, which I encourage you to purchase here: amazon.com/Magic-Islands-Rediscovering-Best-Ohana/dp/B0001Z36G4/ref=pd_bxgy_m_img_b/182-1761142-0155345

Here are the lyrics, which despite being about the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai`i, are, I feel, an insightful allegory for the present situation:

Kaulana nā pua aʻo Hawaiʻi
Kūpaʻa mahope o ka ʻāina
Hiki mai ka ʻelele o ka loko ʻino
Palapala ʻānunu me ka pākaha

Famous are the children of Hawaiʻi
Ever loyal to the land
When the evil-hearted messenger comes
With his greedy document of extortion

Pane mai Hawaiʻi moku o Keawe
Kōkua nā Hono aʻo Piʻilani
Kākoʻo mai Kauaʻi o Mano
Paʻapū me ke one Kākuhihewa

Hawaiʻi, land of Keawe answers
The bays of Piʻilani help
Kauaʻi of Mano lends support
All are united by the sands of Kākuhihewa

ʻAʻole aʻe kau i ka pūlima
Maluna o ka pepa o ka ʻenemi
Hoʻohui ʻāina kūʻai hewa
I ka pono sivila aʻo ke kanaka

Do not fix a signature
To the paper of the enemy
With its sin of annexation
And sale of the civil rights of the people

ʻAʻole mākou aʻe minamina
I ka puʻukālā a ke aupuni
Ua lawa mākou i ka pōhaku
I ka ʻai kamahaʻo o ka ʻāina

We do not value
The government's hills of money
We are satisfied with the rocks
The wondrous food of the land

Mahope mākou o Liliʻulani
A loaʻa e ka pono o ka ʻāina
[alternate stanza:
A kau hou ʻia e ke kalaunu]
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
Ka poʻe i aloha i ka ʻāina

We support Liliʻuokalani
Who has won the rights of the land
[alternate stanza:
She will be crowned again]
The story is told
Of the people who love the land

Technical notes:
All images were shot with a Canon 5D Mark II SLR camera, and processed in Lightroom 3. I use Lee graduated neutral density filters to extend the dynamic range. No HDR blending was done. Camera movements were achieved on a 1m long mechanical dolly system, that I built myself with help from some friends in Truckee at Fusion Metal Crafters (fusionmetalcrafters.com). It was VERY windy during a lot of those shoots on Lāna‘i - TOO windy for even the best modern wind-power generation technology in fact, and as a result some of the movements aren't perfectly smooth.