Kenny Hill

The Elevator Shaft, Oahu

People's Choice Award

Exploring nature and finding landscapes that have that jaw dropping appeal have always driven my adventurous side. Growing up I always wanted to have a camera in my hand but never officially began what I thought to be my “photo career” until sophomore year of high school. As my fundamentals were being developed, my photography teacher in high school pushed me to reach new boundaries in my exploration of photography. Today, I hold on to that same drive and motivation that was instilled in me by him. Reaching back to my roots of exploration of nature and adventure I fell in love with landscape photography and the beauty accompanied by it. When photographing landscapes, I want to be able to portray the landscape on a raw and real level. By capturing light at the perfect moment and by using depth, color and layering, I want to allow the viewer’s eye to comfortably gaze across the image. I want my photography to inspire people to go and explore just as I did as a child and capture what this world has to offer. Photography has allowed me to provide lasting memories of trips and locations that will be with me for a lifetime. Now at Florida State University, I hope to continue to develop my craft, my love, and my eye for photography going forward.

Near Shark Cove on Hawaii’s Oahu island, the “Elevator Shaft” is named for creating a pressure of ocean water that is propelled from the Pacific Ocean and spills over onto the reef shelf located next to it. With the vibrant Hawaiian skies painting the ocean and foreground, this image was captured as the Elevator shaft was refilling, creating the effect of there being a hole in the ocean.