Images of Hawaii's Ancient Hula: Hula Kahiko--Fine Art Photography [Hardcover]

Kim Taylor Reece (Photographer)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 175 pages
• Publisher: Kim Taylor Reece (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966039599
• ISBN-13: 978-0966039597
• Product Dimensions: 13.4 x 9.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,456,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, stunning photographs, August 10, 2000

By 

David J. Huber "Addicted to books!" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Images of Hawaii's Ancient Hula: Hula Kahiko--Fine Art Photography (Hardcover)

Kim Taylor Reece is truly a master of the photographic form. Not just in capturing hula in it's glory, but in photography itself. Beautiful work, perfectly framed, perfectly composed photos. Dance photography is extremely rough stuff - trying to capture a time-, movement-, and space-based art into a static, two-dimensional medium is almost folly, but Kim has an amazing ability to capture the movement and depth of the movement in a way that few photographers can - you'll truly feel that the subjects are, in fact, moving, and that's what dance is all about. I loved going to his gallery on Oahu when I lived there, to poke around at the rather expensive (but worth it) photographs, to speak with Rocky (the beautiful and extremely welcoming woman in so many of these photos), and Kim (who is also extremely nice and more than willing to talk about his artwork). For those who cannot afford a couple hundred dollars per photograph, this book is your best option. It's solidly put together, nice thick serious paper, excellent reproduction of the photos, and it is a wonderful collection of Kim's different styles. The book is beautiful, and the photographs are beautiful. Of course, to truly experience Kim's photos, you must visit his gallery, or at least find a way to see the images in full-size: 8"x10" and greater, but this book does justice to the photography.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kahiko Imagery, July 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Images of Hawaii's Ancient Hula: Hula Kahiko--Fine Art Photography (Hardcover)

As a hula dancer, I appreciated this book of hula kahiko imagery. The art of learning the hula is really underestimated by most people. KTR's photographs captures the graceful movements of the kahiko. Not only that, KTR captures the essence and electricity of the dancing, that one moment when one suddenly feels the hairs on one's neck start to rise. This marvelous work portrays the beauty of kahiko dancing and it is a great treasure. I highly recommend this book to those who appreciate and love the hula and to those who are interested in looking at some quality hula images.

5.0 out of 5 stars Technique, composition, subject; All superb, September 20, 2009

By 

E. M. Van Court "Van, emvc (at) lycos.com" (Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Images of Hawaii's Ancient Hula: Hula Kahiko--Fine Art Photography (Hardcover)

A photography book like this has a number of factors to address in a review. On all counts, Kim Taylor Reese (KTR) excels.

The technique is black and white still photography. KTR's work is a seminal study in the truism that while there is no perfect color, there is perfect black & white. He captures a balance of clarity and graininess, light and dark that indicate first rate tools (cameras and film), brilliant photography, and technical excellence in the darkroom. It would be easy to say that B&W is a limiting technique, but KTR gives lie to this. His work incorporates people as the centerpiece, the main focus of the image and incredible landscapes as the backdrops, and does both well.

The compostion of his photos in this book always starts with the dancer, the people in the image, usually centered and in a natural setting. The settings can be austere, like a oceanscape on a calm day, or busy, like the point where a beach meets a tropical forest with areas of calm and chaos intermingled. Simple, but powerful, keeping the attention of the viewer centered on the dancer while acknowledging the natural beauty of Hawai'i.

The hula dancers, male and female, are the subjects. All of the models are clearly masters and mistresses of their discipline and have been practicing for many years. The power of the women and the grace of the men cannot be overstated. I'm not particularly inspired by men, but ladies of my acquaintance assure me that the male dancers are very inspiring. The lady dancers are stunningly beautiful although not in the fashion magazine, malnurished, substance abuser style that dominates European and American media. They are muscular, graceful, feminine, poised, and convey a sense of personal power and balance that is without equal. If there is anything to be criticized it is that the poses are somewhat static and don't do the hula dance justice in it's movement.

Kim Taylor Reese has done an incredible job of uniting technique, composition, and subject in this book. The beauty and power (if not always the movement) of hula are communicated in an inspirational manner.

E.M. Van Court