About
David Marsh - Kauai photographer
A photo is not a photo just because someone clicked the "take picture" button. Aloha. I’m David Marsh, a longtime professional photographer with a passion for story-telling, a professional cinematographer and director prior to my career as a Kauai photographer. My rich life of photo and video design began when I was seventeen after I'd ditched school early to apprentice at Pinewood Film Studios in England, where they make the James Bond films. I was taught to edit 35mm film on flatbeds, which led me to being on the BAFTA and Emmy winning editing team of "The World At War." At 24, I moved to America after landing a gig to write, shoot, and direct low budget feature films. Not great films but a great training. The fare included “The Lords of Magick” and ”Stormswept,” all told fifteen films. During a one-year industry strike, while working on my first novel, a friend twisted my arm into doing video and photos of her wedding. I've now done thousands of photo sessions, weddings, baby bump, engagements, family photography. I've been shooting on Kauai since 2008. When I'm not shooting or hiking I write. See how I get stunning images, my editing workflow See more on David the author.
David on the makai golf course, Princeville. November 2023
Samuel R. J. Gillilan - Kauai photographer
Samuel R. J. Gillilan (b. 1989) is an award-winning international Leica photographer, visionary artist, educator, explorer, and author. His photographic work is found in Vogue, AP, Getty, and more.
Samuel spent his early years growing up on a sail boat in the Pacific Northwest. Visual arts and music were at the forefront of his home-based education.
Samuel and David have worked together since 2016 on major corporate videos, weddings, events and Kauai family photography.
Kauai Photographer david Marsh
My Photography art
Here are a few things about me and my photography art, in no particular order.
- I love bringing kids out of their shell and getting them to shine in a photo session.
- I'm a stickler for backlight.
- A photo that tells a story is my kind of photo.
- Editing is the icing on the cake.
- Hotspots are not always bad.
- Flat feet create flat photos, so point those toes, or cross your ankles, or dig your feet in, and if all fails, kick!
A MERGER
Queens Bath
I don't always shoot with wide angle lenses because they tend to distort the natural shape of a person, but you can't beat the scope, the enormity of the compositions they create. Like here in this photo (above) you're not just seeing a spectacular wide scene with a couple close to camera, you can just about feel the heart of the young couple (just engaged) absorbing the wonder, knowing how blessed they are. This is what I call a merger of you and Kauai. This is Queen's Bath, north shore Kauai, that I photographed using a 14 mm Canon prime lens.
Another kind of merger
Getting married, then taking photos is customary. In this photo, there's a different kind of merger: wedding couple and their guests who are seen but not the focus of the shot, literally. The couple's passion and intimacy is retained and we have a playful, romantic wedding photograph.
Really close
As a Kauai professional photographer, I love to get in close when it matters, bearing in mind that not every one wants such a tight close up.
david the author
Photographer / author
My first book 'Into the Abyss" was published in 2004 and sold, well, a piddly amount of hardback copies although it did garner some complimentary reviews. Today, I have four novels I'm hopeful of seeing published.
Take a sneak peek at my latest "In the Land of The Destroyers" dedicated to my incredible wife. who passed away June 9th 2024.
Here for what the novels are about...