photo.phile: dallas nagata white

happy monday! for today's photo.phile, i gathered up a few of the very pretty and romantic pictures from maui-raised & oahu-based photographer dallas nagata white. there is a sweet soulfulness to her photos which made me curious about the girl behind the viewfinder. and, while the island lovelies striking a pose first caught my eye, dallas's all consuming crush for photography captured my attention.

much to my delight, dallas also snaps the occasional polaroid, and, after clicking through her gallery, i discovered she has an eye for both finding and making a moment. dallas credits her yearlong gig assisting local fashion photographer daeja fallas with finetuning her camera chops, and i dare say she is quickly establishing her own style with every click and becoming quite a storyteller with her camera.

you may have caught word of her white twedding last year which set twitter hearts all a-flutter, and, while her hubby was deployed to afghanistan, dallas documented their year apart with a photo-a-day blog (the final welcome home photo, shown below, is très romantique!).

more peeks and a q+a with dallas after the jump!

message in a bottle

dallas & ed

{photo.phile notes}

what inspired you to pick up a camera and start clicking?
my dad was always a photographer, doing mostly nature shots around haleakala national park (where he worked until he retired), but he also has pretty much my entire life documented on slides, prints, and more recently, digital images. i'd used his old nikon a few times in high school for art projects, but it wasn't until my first semester at uh manoa (fall 2004) when introduction to photography was the only 100-level art class with openings that i got my own slr and fell in love with photography. that christmas, my parents got me a digital rebel, and from then on i was constantly shooting.

i'm really happy that i started out shooting film even as consumer-friendly dslrs were starting to become readily available, because using it made me both appreciate its qualities that digital can't quite replicate, and also taught me a lot about getting the best possible image in-camera. however, these days i'm very stingy with my film since processing can be so expensive, so i find myself shooting wild and free with my digitals, but more careful and considered when i am shooting film.

photography muses that spark your imagination?
too many to really name . . . i'm inspired by everyone, including classics like ansel adams and w. eugene smith, local talents like daeja fallas, to new discoveries like one love photo (thanks to your post about them)! every day i'm on my google reader scrolling through the dozens and dozens of photography blogs i'm subscribed to, soaking in all the awesome creativity.

favorite island moment captured on "film"?
i just went and looked through all my portfolio photos, and i've had so many great moments this year! some of the big ones are my military images, because as an army wife with a deployed husband, being a little more involved in the military world with my work meant so much to me. however, one of my favorite spontaneous photos has to be my rainbow wave image, taken on christmas day 2009. it was just a couple weeks after i'd met my husband, and i was back home on maui watching the surf at hookipa with my mom, and i somehow managed to catch a rainbow in the spray!

still, i must say my favorite moment is yet to come, and will be the end of my current year-long daily photo project - the homecoming of my husband from afghanistan.

any simple tricks to share on how to best capture a lovely, evocative shot?
create an image that means something to you, and don't be afraid to be whimsical. some may see things as cheesy, or overdone, but i figure some things are overdone for a reason! shallow depth of field and the golden hour (right before sunset) are always favorites. but no matter what equipment you have or what time of day it is, if it's something that touches your heart, go for it!

which camera stays close by for everyday shooting?
my g11 is always with me no matter what, but thanks to my epiphanie purse that is actually a padded camera bag, it's easy to take along my 5d mark II, no matter how heavy it is! lenses depend on where i'm going and what i'm doing, but i'll usually have at least my 50mm f1.4 on me.

pay it forward with the best photography advice shared with you:
shoot your digitals like you'd shoot film - trying to get the most image data you can. although i can definitely create images in-camera, i'm often exposing with post-processing in mind, making sure i'm getting as much information in both my shadows and highlights. and of course, always shoot raw.

local delights that are a must in your beach picnic basket?
the ginger ono smoothie from lanikai juice, and spicy tuna rolls from wherever is closest!

mahalo dallas!

while her photography services are for hire, dallas is currently on hiatus to enjoy time with her hubby who just returned from overseas. until then, browse her gallery of i do's and 'ohana portraits at d'amour pacific, and click over to the online shop where you can order prints from her portfolio.