mike hawkins

Texas /// Alaska /// Vanuatu photographs, pictures stories. I've had the opportunity to live in some amazing places and have great experiences. Uploads are new and older images mixed together. I've been many things and I'll be many more things. Currently I am a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Vanuatu and a guy that owns a camera. All original content

[miiikehawkins]

Turnagain Arm at lowtide.

south central Alaska, April 2012

[miiikehawkins]

Simeon laughing as we talk about his truck not being registered in 12 years and he has never been stopped by any police so he's not worried about getting it registered in 2014. 

January, 2014  |||  Saratamata, East Ambae

[miiikehawkins]

rainbow over Aore Island while having some kava at End Blo Coltar and an afternoon shower on Aore gave us a nice view as the sun set and the kava kicked.

January 2014  |||  Luganville, Santo

[miiikehawkins]

a mother and her son spend time together while she weaves natungura leaves together to make local roof thatch.  There is a baby in the cloth hanging, unknown to me when I took the photo.  Moments after, we were chatting and the cloth began to leak, the baby peeing. 

January, 2014  |||  Lekavatmel, Central Petecost, Vanuatu

[miiikehawkins]

Macklemore and Grieves on 6th street in Austin, TX at SXSW 2011

Mamiya 7 + 80mm + Kodak Portra 400VC

[miiikehawkins]

Purumamasa Island, a small uninhabited off the coast of Aore and Malo islands.

January 2014, Vanuatu

[miiikehawkins]

on acid everything looks like a potato.

said to me over some shells of kava by an american friend who will remain nameless but was homies with Timothy Leary and Hunter S. Thompson.

[miiikehawkins]

The preparations for drinking "stone ground" kava in Lekavatmel Village, Central Pentecost island, Vanuatu.

There are several different ways to prepare kava, many places simply use a Chinese made meat grinder.  The grinder is very efficient but lacks any "character".  Stone ground kava is much more labor intensive, makes less kava to drink but the shells served with ground and hand mashed has a different flavor, and a much thicker constancy.  This combined with the freshly pulled kava from Pentecost created a great kava high when drunk.

[miiikehawkins]

Visit Original Link

Stringband music is the music of Vanuatu.  The songs sound similar but after listening for 15 months it's not so hard to pick up the different "tunes" of different islands.  This is a song by a group from my island, Santo.  There is quite a lot of English used in this song, typically it is Bislama. 

Espiritu Santo, Stringband.

[miiikehawkins]

Paia's dog.  Sits near the shore keeping an eye on his mater as he swims in the ocean after a shell of kava.

December, 2013

South Santo, Vanuatu

[miiikehawkins]

riverside at sunse. tons of local boats going back and forth to different spots.  Had to sit and wait for a minute for one to pass when the sun was in the right place. 

Don Det, Lao

December, 2013

[miiikehawkins]

Angkor Wat reflected in the morning light (after the throngs of people dissipated into the temples.)

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

December, 2013

[miiikehawkins]

Markus dives into the water as it swells up the exposed reef.  

Tongoa Island, Vanuatu

September, 2013

[miiikehawkins]

a mother holds a sleeping baby during a reggae show by "Stan and the Earth Force" at Luganville's "showground station".

Luganville, Santo, Vanuatu

December, 2013

[miiikehawkins]

a group from Araki island just after coming across to Santo in an aluminum boat to drink kava.

South Santo, Vanuatu

Novermber, 2013

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Joshua pulling (paddling) the canoe, headed up the Wailapa river, trolling for fish and headed to a nice spot to escape the summer heat and swim.

near Wailapa Village, South Santo

November, 2013

[miiikehawkins]

Annie and Viji, hanging out on the beach near the mouth of the Achone river.  Her husband and uncle are fishing and she's looking after the kids and made a small fire to roast the fish.

near Hasevia Village, South Santo