Aubrey Hord Photography | Maui Hawaii - new blog announced!

E Komo Mai (Welcome!)
Well, I finally did it! Here is the first edition of my new blog which will be updated regularly when I am on island and in the country.

I have had the most incredible journey over the past few years after deciding to go full time as a professional photographer after many years in the corporate marketing world. I am honored to have been hired by some of the top brands in the world including Nike and Starbucks and grateful to my teammates and managers over the years for encouraging me to follow my dreams. Thanks everyone!

My journey into photography began as a high school student where I managed the high school darkroom. Not a very glamorous job for a high school student, I realize, but an incredible experience, nonetheless. I met a National Geographic photographer when I was in high school who encouraged me and taught me more composition and the technical side of the profession.

When I entered Colorado College, I continued my study of photography through coursework and continued to work in the darkroom. My first "big" camera was a Nikon F2 and I still have it!

My love of travel began at an early age since my family moved almost every four years to a new state. My first international trip took place in middle school at the age of 14 with a trip to England. Since then, I have explored, studied or worked in 14 countries on 5 continents. My favorites stops included working on the island of Palau and diving on the weekends, exploring the volcanic activity on the island of Dominica while living with the Carib Indians, scuba diving off the coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia...

working with Peace Corps volunteers in the National Parks of Uganda and photographing the Mountain Gorillas...

exploring Abel Tasman National Park and visiting with Maori master canoe carver and national icon, Hector Busby in New Zealand...

and living and studying on the island of Kalymnos in Greece (yes, I speak Greek- go figure).

Can you tell I have a love for islands??

I have also been fortunate to explore Bali, Pohnpei, Kosrae, France, England, Ukraine, Hungary, Australia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Believe it or not, I don't surf very much right now but I love to scuba dive, hike and stand up paddle board if you ever want to go! Just be ready for a long day on the trails or water.

These days my husband and I are fortunate to call the beautiful tropical island of Maui our home and I am continually inspired by the people I meet on the island as well as the intricacies of this culture and vivid beauty Hawaii has to offer. What could be a better jumping off point for travel to islands? When I moved to Maui in 1991, I met more National Geographic wildlife photographers, most notably Michael S. Nolan http://wildlifeimages.net/ with whom I worked as a naturalist and world famous underwater photographer, Flip Nicklin (who also photographs for Getty Images and does not even need a website he is so in demand- amazing!).

Currently, I focus my work on fine art, portraits and weddings along with special events and concerts http://aubreyhord.com/.

I am grateful to long time Maui photographer and master of light, Greg Hoxsie, http://greghoxsiephotography.com/ who believed in me and taught me how to use off camera lighting as well as how to capture weddings and portraits in the most spectacular light.

I am a current member of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) http://ppa.com as well as Maui Professional Photographers (MPP).

My local client list over the past few years has grown extensively and includes high end clients on Maui, Oahu, the Big Island, Kauai and the mainland. My fine art clients have come from all over the United States and most recently I have had international clients from New Zealand, Canada and France.

As for equipment, I am a Nikon fan and have Nikon camera bodies, lenses and accessories. I currently shoot with two D700 camera bodies. My Nikkor pro lenses include a 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, 70-200mm f/2.8, classic 50mm f/1.4 lens, and my macro lens is a Nikkor 105mm.

Living and working in the tropics can take a toll on my equipment so I am grateful to Nikon Professional Services (NPS) for keeping my gear clean and ready for anything.

Recent print work includes covers of Real Estate Maui Style (April and June 2009) http://www.maui-style.com/and images in Global Traveler USA (January 2009) www.globaltravelerusa.com/.

I look forward to bringing you news from the Hawaiian islands as well as engaging images to you to enjoy!

A hui hou! (until we meet again)

Aubrey

www.aubreyhord.com