Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit more about where the nickname, “Hairy Belly” came from?
My name is Jason Kagimoto and I was born and raised in Kalaheo, Kauai. People might also know me as Hairy Belly, which started as a joke given to me by my wife. I enjoy eating a lot of spicy foods and so one day she made a comment about how spicy food is supposed to put hair on your chest. But since I don’t have any hair on my chest I just said, “it will put hair on my belly” and it just stuck.
What inspires your photography?
As far as what inspires my photography, it's pretty much just nature. We’re lucky to live in a very beautiful place and I try to capture the different lighting and weather conditions.
As far as what inspires my photography, it's pretty much just nature. We’re lucky to live in a very beautiful place and I try to capture the different lighting and weather conditions.
Where is your favorite spot on Kaua‘i?
I would say my favorite part of Kaua‘i is Koke‘e. It’s something that's relatively accessible and at the same time you can really get off the beaten path. Depending on how much time you have or how motivated you are, you can go hiking, backpacking, and camping. Or you could just go up there to hang out with friends in the meadow or at the lodge.
I would say my favorite part of Kaua‘i is Koke‘e. It’s something that's relatively accessible and at the same time you can really get off the beaten path. Depending on how much time you have or how motivated you are, you can go hiking, backpacking, and camping. Or you could just go up there to hang out with friends in the meadow or at the lodge.
What do you most enjoy about hiking and exploring?
What I most enjoy about hiking and getting outside is probably just putting in the work. There is a weird joy in hiking and being tired and getting to see different places.
What I most enjoy about hiking and getting outside is probably just putting in the work. There is a weird joy in hiking and being tired and getting to see different places.
Tell us more about the image featured on the towel?
I took this image that’s on the towel in Koke‘e. It's a spot that I've visited over a hundred times and it's just an awesome place to go for sunset. For this particular shot, I probably went several days in a row, but then this day the clouds were super nice and that orange glow came in. A lot of times, I’ll usually shoot this landscape more wide but on this occasion, I decided I would change it up and shoot tighter. I really liked how it turned out and felt like it really brought out the ridges.
I took this image that’s on the towel in Koke‘e. It's a spot that I've visited over a hundred times and it's just an awesome place to go for sunset. For this particular shot, I probably went several days in a row, but then this day the clouds were super nice and that orange glow came in. A lot of times, I’ll usually shoot this landscape more wide but on this occasion, I decided I would change it up and shoot tighter. I really liked how it turned out and felt like it really brought out the ridges.
