The occasion was Ikaika Kanekoa’s party to celebrate his graduation from Castle High School in Kaneohe.

Most grads would worry about how their family would be able to host the several hundred people expected to attend.

But Ikaika’s family are experts in preparing this kind of gathering. His grandfather, Ward Lemn, has it down to an art, and several generations now work together to make it happen.

These family gatherings have become very special neighborhood events, bringing together friends and neighbors, as well as relatives. Guests include quite an incredible cross-section of people from all walks of life. I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to document several of them over the years.

There was a special poignance to this particular celebration. Ikaika’s mother didn’t live to see his graduation. She passed away in February of this year. A prayer was said, and colored balloons were released in her memory. Tears were shed, hugs shared.

A true feast followed.

–> Use this link to check out all the photographs from yesterday’s graduation party!

A note on the photos. I didn’t manage to get the batteries charged on my full frame camera, one I would normally have used, so instead turned to a different combination. I took a Canon EOS-M, a little mirrorless camera which can use all the current Canon lenses. For most of the time, I used a 24-105 zoom lens, which dwarfs the camera, but the combo was surprisingly comfortable to hold. I was trying to avoid using a flash, which turned out to be a mistake. As the evening wore on, it was harder to focus and harder to control motion blur as shutter speeds got slower to compensate for the near darkness. At one point I shifted to a faster lens, before finally giving up and going to the flash. I should have made that move earlier in the evening. Overall, though, the pictures turned out okay, and capture the spirit of the afternoon and evening.