Over the past six years I have had the amazing opportunity to photograph one of the top cheer programs in the country. Hawai‘i Pacific University has been dominating the Division II Cheer divisions for much of the past decade. HPU Large Coed was the first team to start the tradition of winning year after year, then came Small Coed, and finally All-Girl. These three teams are full of cheerleaders that come from all over the United States as well as Canada! Another interesting thing about HPU is these athletes all live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 2,000 miles away from any other land mass. Because of this, the cheerleaders work hard to get to know each other and quickly become one giant "O‘hana" which means family in Hawaiian.
Many of these photos have been shot at NCA College Nationals throughout the year, and many of the others have been shot on the islands while shooting their annual Spirit Calendar. As always, my goal has been to shoot the photos in a way that most people would not attempt. I have laid under an entire team and had them throw double full baskets over the top of me, swam out to the middle of a harbor in a life ring to get a better angle, as well as hit by monstrous waves all to get the right shot. I believe if these athletes do what ever I ask of them I need to do what ever I can to show off they're amazing talent, combined we have achieved what we consider to be a perfect photograph of the skill. Enjoy!
-Andrew Dean
Hawaii Pacific
Over the past six years I have had the amazing opportunity to photograph one of the top cheer programs in the country. Hawai‘i Pacific University has been dominating the Division II Cheer divisions for much of the past decade. HPU Large Coed was the first team to start the tradition of winning year after year, then came Small Coed, and finally All-Girl. These three teams are full of cheerleaders that come from all over the United States as well as Canada! Another interesting thing about HPU is these athletes all live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 2,000 miles away from any other land mass. Because of this, the cheerleaders work hard to get to know each other and quickly become one giant "O‘hana" which means family in Hawaiian.
Many of these photos have been shot at NCA College Nationals throughout the year, and many of the others have been shot on the islands while shooting their annual Spirit Calendar. As always, my goal has been to shoot the photos in a way that most people would not attempt. I have laid under an entire team and had them throw double full baskets over the top of me, swam out to the middle of a harbor in a life ring to get a better angle, as well as hit by monstrous waves all to get the right shot. I believe if these athletes do what ever I ask of them I need to do what ever I can to show off they're amazing talent, combined we have achieved what we consider to be a perfect photograph of the skill. Enjoy!
