DON HURZELER

My name is Don Hurzeler. I am a retired CEO living on the Big Island of Hawaii. I became a serious photographer only after retirement…and have done it professionally now for nearly 20 years. My mentor and business parter, C.J. Kale, my wife and I own the Lava Light Gallery in Waikoloa, Hawaii. Our specialties are all things Hawaiian with an emphasis on underwater photography and lava shots. I am also the author of nine books and the owner of Kua Bay Publishing LLC.

I had two Honorable Mention images in the recent contest. The first was of lava entering the ocean…taken from a boat at dawn. It is called Lava Pyramid and it is one of our best selling images in our gallery. I’ve printed it as large as 8 foot by 12 foot on metal for a restaurant in Denver, Colorado.

The second Honorable Mention was for a Mara River Crossing shot called “Jump”, featuring a wildebeest leaping from a cliff into the river.

In both of the images I am capturing nature at its wildest… the power of creation with the lava creating new land and the power of survival for the wildebeest seeking new feeding grounds.

My only message in those two photos is to do the work to be in the right place at the right time and be prepared to capture the magic.

My themes tend to be around action, with a bit of chaos thrown in.

I follow all the great photographers. However, my business partner and friend, C.J. Kale and his old partner, Nick Selway, have been a big influence.

Winning two Honorable Mentions in the Golden Shot contest is a reminder that there is a lot of competition out there and there is always room to improve.

My advice for those who want to do well in International Photo contests is quite simple…never up, never in. Enter contests on a regular basis. Learn from the experience. See what the competition is doing and how judges view your work. It is a learning process and photography is all about life long learning.