Randy Jay Braun's signature, hand-tinted, black-and-white photos of Hawaii’s ancient hula
dance are beautiful, and evocative. They make you feel that you have stepped back
in time to a gentler age. Randy refined the technique over 30 years in the darkroom.
So it was with sadness and apologies to his many-times great-grandfather Edward
Anthony* that he packed up his traditional darkroom equipment. However, the change
to digital was an explosive one! In his own words, he “exploded into color” and
now creates “tropical scenes bursting with hues”, often working in five or more
software programs to get the effect he wants. The result is often surreal and moody,
making you reexamine everyday scenes with a new eye. His portraits seem to shine
a light on the person’s inner self.
Randy has formed a strong bond with the people of Hawaii during his 20 years of
living on Maui and has a deep appreciation for their culture.
Becoming a member of a halau (school of hula) over 10 years ago, he has performed
ancient dance, chants, traditional rituals, and the proper protocols for many cultural
events, including a trip with 10 hula brothers to Nuka Hiva Island with their Kumu
(teacher). They performed a ceremony for 120 Polynesian navigators who were leaving
on a 3-month open-ocean journey in ancient voyaging canoes. When you become a student
of a hula teacher, you are their student and a member of the ohana (family) for
life. “I hope that many of my images will be valuable a century from now as a historical
and artistic record of an endangered culture.” In recognition of his commitment
to Hawaiian culture, the state of Hawaii presented Randy with the coveted Kahili
Award.
Randy’s interest in culture and the arts started early after his father “intimidated“
him into taking square-dancing twice a week in the one-room schoolhouse in the backwoods
of Kansas.“It was a long, hot summer!” He was also influenced to take his first
4-H photography class using a “well-used Argus C-5, 35mm camera” from his father.
From then onwards, the 11-year-old
was almost never seen without a camera around his neck.
Studying documentary film-making at Occidental College in Los Angeles was an introduction
to the Hollywood film scene, but no guarantee of financial success.
“I was saved in the nick of time by Carolyn London- Johnson who hired me as a staff
medical photographer”. His commitment to excellence resulted in him becoming a sought-after
operating room photographer. But taking photos of “slimy innards” was not exactly
creatively fulfilling. With Carolyn’s persistent encouragement, he made the leap
into an artistic career. In gratitude, Randy has kept her portrait watching over
him in his office for 23 years. Carolyn’s faith was well-placed. Her portrait hangs
in what is now the oldest fine-art photography gallery in Hawaii."
 | Randy's Sources of Inspiration |
- Edward S. Curtis for his artistic documentary work of a culture that needed
preservation. visit...
- Elizabeth Carmel for her exquisite use of subtle hues and tones. visit...
- Scott Kelby for his personal sharing and leadership within the industry. visit...
- John Paul Caponigro and Vincent Versace for their attention to personal
perception and philosophical interpretations of photography. visit...
- Peter Lik for his retail success. visit...
- Karin Rosenthal for creating the best contemporary black & white photographs
he has seen. visit...
- Ben Wilmore for his teaching ability and patience, and for the guts to always
move forward. visit...
- Alex Lindsay and Scott Bourne for their insightful podcast called
TWIP (This Week in Photography). visit...
Randy is generous with his time and loves sharing his insight and experience with
young photographers, recently organizing “The Maui Photography Workshops for adventurous
outdoorsy types”. Something of an “outdoorsy type” himself, Randy can be found on
an annual expedition with his father.
This
year saw them explore into the depths of the Grand Canyon.
“I am also getting to know the folks at Artisend, and have seen their passion to
create a family of successful international artists. ”
Randy’s unfulfilled dream is to write books on photography - so look out for them!
In the meantime, he is intensely grateful that he can be a full-time artist with
his name on a gallery.
“It boggles my mind to know that I have to sell $700 of my
own photographs each and every day of the year just to break even, but somehow I
do. My only fear is to be forced to go back and work a ‘normal’ job which requires
me to wear shoes, sox and tie. ….I think I would wither up and die a slow death.”
You can read more about Randy and his work at www.RandyJayBraun.com, or visit him personally at
The Randy Jay Braun Gallery in Makawao, Maui, Hawaii, USA.
* Edward Anthony was the first photographer in America. He started his photo lab
in 1847, which in those days was closer to being a chemistry laboratory.