The island of Maui is a unique place. The geographic and ecologic diversity for such a small place is impressive. You can lay down on a beautiful sandy beach in the sun, surf ten foot waves and see whales in the warm blue water, hike up a mountain to secluded waterfalls, go for a drive along a scenic coastline, explore a volcano at 10,000 feet in a winter coat, then have dinner at a fancy resort – all in one day. Since the mountains create their own weather systems, part of the island gets 10” of rain per year, and 15 miles away it gets 400” of rain per year. This precipitation difference alone makes for a diverse ecosystem. I was most intrigued by a forest of bamboo halfway up a mountain. It seemed to dominate parts of the landscape and nothing else grew where the bamboo did. I wanted to capture a cluster of bamboo stalks as they battled each other to grow higher towards the sunlight.