Crew/Photographer
Monte Costa is from Niu, O‘ahu and works as a freelance photographer specializing in editorial and documentary photography. She is a regular contributor to Hawaiian Airlines’ in-flight publication, Hana Hou!, where in 2007 her work appeared in an award winning feature story about Hōkūle‘a’s epic sail to Micronesia and Japan. Costa has photographed throughout the Pacific including the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Through her photography she enjoys a long-time association with the Polynesian Voyaging Society. She also photographs for the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai‘i, a non-profit dedicated to supporting “at-risk” youth. Her work has been published widely and exhibited in museums nationally and abroad.
“Fundamentally, it’s being engaged with the world and with people that really interest me. Photography is being witness, seeing. It’s reflective, it’s about history and it’s about looking more deeply at a subject. This Palmyra trip brings together people and issues that I truly care about. The individuals dedicated and devoted to the idea of voyaging, the extreme rigors and discipline necessary to navigate in the traditional way, the pristine ocean habitat of Palmyra – these things inspire me. Maybe Hōkūle‘a with the worldwide voyage can help us address the urgent circumstances we now face regarding global health issues, both human and environmental; they are interrelated, after all.”