www.jamesknudsenphotography.com
Red Awning
For street photographers in Honolulu, Chinatown is one of only two or three areas where we can find what we need to practice our art: people, on the street, going about their daily lives. Before the pandemic, I took it for granted, grew bored even, whined in my head when I’d walk the same four or five blocks with my camera.
But during lockdown in spring of 2020, there were few places I missed more. I missed the hustle of Hotel Street or standing outside of Oahu Market or in the middle of Chinatown Cultural Plaza, hoping a scene would unfold that I could capture. I missed the light in the early morning and late afternoon, slanting across the walls—painted bright red, pink, yellow and green. Colors that you don’t see anywhere else in Honolulu. But most of all I missed bus stop #50 in front of Maunakea Market Place. A plastic red awning hangs there, serves as shade, and at certain times of the day the light pulsing through it bathes the sidewalk and all the passerby in a red/orange glow. This was the first place I photographed when the city started opening up.
I hope the photographs in this portfolio—some made before 2020 and some after—show the deep appreciation I now have for Chinatown and how lucky I feel when I photograph it.
