From the archive, 2021. Photography by Blake Wisz.
Here is what a photography collaboration with the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island looks like from behind the camera.
I collaborate with hotels and resorts on photo and video work, and this stay was hosted. What follows is my experience and the media that came out of it, not a rated review.
The resort
The Fairmont Orchid sits on the Kohala Coast, the dry, sunny north-west side of the Big Island, on 32 acres of oceanfront with a protected lagoon, a long pool and gardens that run down to black lava rock. It is the kind of property where the architecture stays out of the way and the landscape does the work: palms, water, sky and stone.
What we shot
The lagoon and pool in morning and evening light, the grounds and walkways, the oceanfront dining, and the quiet corners guests find on their second day. The brief was resort photography that sells the feeling of being there, so we worked the edges of the day and kept people out of frame unless they were part of the story.
Worth knowing
- The lagoon is calm enough for kids and clear enough for snorkelling right off the resort.
- The Kohala Coast is the sunniest part of the island. Plan the shoot list around golden hour, not midday.
- Kona town and the coffee farms are under an hour south, which is how this stay paired with our coffee work.
If you are looking for a Big Island resort where the setting is the point, the Fairmont Orchid is a good one.
Photography and video by Blake Wisz, 2021, for the Fairmont Orchid. Watch the clip on YouTube. See more travel photography and our Kona coffee work.