Through the Wide Lens of
Kornelius Schorle By Stefan Verbano
K
KeOlaMagazine.com | May – June 2021
ornelius Schorle deals in postcards from the past. Peering through his camera lens, working with the care and patience of a master craftsman, he has preserved forever—in saturated colors—beloved Hawai‘i Island places that will never be seen again.
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His photography brings permanence to this ever-changing island, which once boasted many well-loved coastal landscapes that are now faded, fragmented memories: the curvature of the bay, the deep hue of the ocean, the dancing palm trees lining the shore, the shape of waves as they break, the sunlight
Panorama taken at lava-cinder covered breakwater from the post-2018 eruption at Isaac Hale Beach Park. Visible to the right is the old Pohoiki Bay boat ramp which now leads to an impromptu swimming hole flanked by the new Pohoiki Beach. glinting off wet black sand. These mental fragments of the past are pieced together again instantly upon seeing Kornelius’s work, eliciting excited reactions from residents and visitors alike who’ve developed intimate, sensory connections to these places and who, upon first spotting his vibrant canvases on display, exclaim, “That’s it! That’s what I remember.”
Over the course of half a century and two destructive lava flows, Kornelius and his tireless efforts to document the island’s scenic beauty, especially in lava-prone Puna district, has produced what could be considered the definitive photographs of bygone places like Kapoho Tide Pools, Pohoiki Bay, and Ahalanui Beach Park—affectionately known as Warm Ponds. Panorama of the Port of Hilo and its miles-long breakwater from above the tree line at sunset.
