I arrived on The Big Island of Hawaii with a one way ticket, a place to stay for a few nights, and a desire to build nests and photograph people in the nest during a time of a natural disaster and when so many people of this Island were being misplaced from their homes.  From there I didn’t know what would happen or what my  journey would look like.

Over the course of the first several days, I put the word out that I was on the Island and that I was open for connections and opportunities.  I then met the amazing author Faith Spina who helped me secure the first stop on the nest tour of the Island, Ka’waloa Coffee Plantation.

Michael and Greg of Ka’waloa gave me a place to stay for 3 nights and during that time, I built a nest out of materials from the plantation.  I spent a day hauling lilikoi vines up a steep hill and creating art and an expression of “home” for people of the Island.  Below is an example of the images made on the Coffee Plantation.

  

 

After my time at the Plantation was over… I knew that I needed to get the nest to the other side of the Island.  I knew I needed to get the nest to where the disaster was taking places.  And, where Mt. Kilauea was destroying homes and at the same time, creating new land.  So, with the help of my art assistant, Mu, we strapped the nest to the top of my rental car and drove it across the Island.  This is me trying to keep her strapped down on the side of the rode.

 

Once we were on the other side of the Island, we visited the Shelter and met some lovely people wanting to experience the Nest and share their story.  So, we took the Nest to Kehena Beach.  This beach is a black sand beach right at the base of the volcano.  The great thing about this beach is that it was re-opening for the first time after the eruption and it is also a nude beach.  It was the perfect location for The Nest Project.  The only problem….was that the nest needed to be lowered over a 40ft cliff to get it on the sand.  But, it was worth it.  Here’s some behind the scenes shots from The Nest Project on Kehena Beach.

  

 

About 10 people got in my nest that day.  It wasn’t hard to get participants…but by the time we got the nest lowered and ready for shoots….we were losing light.  But, the images turned out so beautiful.  I just love the contrast with the black sand, the nest, and the ocean.  I could have shot there all day…if I had the time.  No doubt that I will be back.

 

 

After the epic day at Kehena Beach….we headed back to the other side of the Island to prepare for our next Nest adventure in Kona.  We had to leave this nest behind….there was no way to take it back up the cliff.  But, we tucked it away safely and I’ve heard that people are still snuggling inside of it on the beach.

Earlier in the trip, I met the lovely Megan Love hula hooping on the beach in Kona.  I told her about my project and she was on board from the very start.  So, she offered to host me at her Air BnB the last 2 night of the trip.  And, our only option was to build a new nest to open up to the people of Kona.    The new Nest was made out of palm leaves and dried grasses.  And, about 6 people hopped into it.

My favorite part of this location is that in the end the Nest was put up into a tree in the front yard of her home.  And, it is still being used as a meditation space.

 

 

I was truly hard to leave The Big Island!  I was fed, hosted, and welcomed with open arms.  I will never forget my wonderful time there and the amazing people that I met.  I am currently interviewing the people that were in my nest in Hawaii and I will have some of those stories up on my blog soon.  Plus, I’ve already bought tickets to return in December!!

 

With Love,

Debbie and The Nest