Tom Stevens

Absolute Maui Tom Stevens

Absolute Maui updates the island's composite portrait by asking, "How does Maui look and feel in the 21st century?" Its visual content reveals what is "absolute" about the island: perfect moments frozen in time, breathtaking shots, scenic moods and feelings. The images also needed to be splendidly colorful, masterfully composed, exquisitely vivid, sharply focused, richly detailed, and brimming over with reverence, elation, and soulfulness. In view of the stunning photography, it was easy to choose Absolute Maui as the title. Of the more than 9,000 photos reviewed for these qualities only 175 appear on these pages, representing the ultimate in today's photos of Maui. Considered individually, each image says something both timely and timeless about the island. Viewed as a collection, they form a composite portrait of the island as seen by those best able to capture it visually: its foremost contemporary photographers.