Thanks to Rotarians throughout the State of Hawaii­ - along with friends, neighbors and businesses in Waikiki - the only remaining patch of under-developed land in central Waikiki has been transformed from a barren, debris-strewn gravel lot into an oasis of greenery to be known as Centennial Park.

After the lot was cleared, a call went out to volunteers to plant, and I offered to document the process. Previous images told the story of the transformation of the site, mostly shot from neighboring hi-rises, along with a handful of images of volunteers posing for the camera.

I went with a different approach in mind this time: that of a photojournalist capturing the hard work of dedicated volunteers toiling in the mid-morning sun on a hot summer day.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, volunteers were asked to sign up in advance, bring their own garden tools, wear face coverings, and work six feet apart from one another.

The conditions presented a compounded photographic challenge: sharp shadows obscuring faces that were further hidden by masks and hats, as well as the social distancing that prevented the opportunity to catch human interaction.

I kept my distance by shooting with my Olympus E-M5 Mark III camera with a 12-100mm lens. Later, I dodged some shadows in Lightroom, so you could see some semblance of the joy and focus in people’s faces.

The day I was there, dozens of volunteers planted hundreds of native Pohinahina, ti plants, and Queen Emma spider lilies. Have a look at the gallery below and let me know what you think!