Honaunau resident Wayne Levin’s photography of akule schools taken off the Big Island is on display at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington.
Honaunau resident Wayne Levin’s photography of akule schools taken off the Big Island is on display at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington.
The exhibition’s 16 photographs were all taken off the Kona Coast, according to Levin, who has been photographing the Akule schools for since about 2000. Akule, also known as big eyed scad, is a tropical fish that is found in huge schools either inshore or in the open ocean around the world. It is one of the most popular reef fish in Hawaii.
“I think the schools are amazing. The way they form into incredible shapes, especially when they’re interacting with predators. The way they synchronize, and their tight packed shapes makes me wonder if the individual is the school, with the individual fish acting more like a cell within a larger being,” said Levin.
Levin has photographed numerous aspects of the underwater world: sea life, surfers, canoe paddlers, divers, swimmers, shipwrecks, seascapes and aquariums, among others. After a decade, he turned his lense to the sky, most recently focusing on flocks of birds. Robert Koch Gallery in San Francisco; Clic Bookstore &Gallery in New York City; Andrew Rose Gallery in Honolulu; Mariane Ibrahim Gallery in Seattle; Heather Gaudio Fine Art, New Canaan and 20ltd, London represent his work.
The National Academy of Sciences exhibit continues through Jan. 8, 2016. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, visit www.waynelevinimages.com or the National Academy of Sciences at https://www.cpnas.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/wayne-levin-akule.html.