Page 5 - MidWeek Kauai - Sep 15 2021

“I have had an extraordi- narily good run as a commer- cial photographer in Hawaiʻi and I’ ve seen my success in my family. It’s just some- thing that I go, ‘Man, I’ m really happy to be able to do what I can with a career that I love,’” he enthuses.
“I’ve had a lot of expe- riences that make me really excited to get up and get go- ing. Creating images is really in my DNA,” he says. “So, the idea that I was able to ac- complish multiple different genres of photography is im- portant. In Hawaiʻi, we really can’t be a specialist, unless you’ re Zak Noyle. My son
Ric Noyle (right) directs a shoot with military personnel, and sits down
to film a virtual workshop with son Zak (above), who’s an accomplished photographer in his own right.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2021
KAUA‘I MIDWEEK 5
Life Is A Snap For The Ever-grateful Noyle
event. All 14 workshops are free; I felt like that was the right thing to do in COVID times. It gives me a lot of pleasure that we (were able to) still bring people in.”
This very sentiment is what led Noyle to his un- expected career path in the first place. Long before his myriad awards and accom- plishments, ones that you’ ll never hear him boast about, Noyle was just a boy from Cape Town who found joy in developing photos in a dark- room. It wasn’t until years later that he would pick up his first camera.
fact, but that’s true. Then, in ’ 72-’ 74 when the oil crisis happened, we got laid off and ... not soon after that, I decided that Hawaiʻi was a good place to come to. I’ m happy to tell you that I was here for six, maybe eight months, then I met my wife, Denise, and I’ll never be the same.
Due to its accessible na- ture, Noyle welcomed at- tendees from all across the island chain and, much to his surprise, across the globe, too (38 countries, to be exact).
“My parents back in South Africa, my mom and step-dad, made a joke that if I moved further, I would ac- tually get closer because I’m halfway around the world,” he chuckles.
“The cockles of my heart are warmed,” he says, smil- ing. “My sharing of educa- tion is really my motivation to help people — I’ m going to use a horrible pun but — to see the light.
Noyle comes from a line of photographers (his son, Zak, makes the fourth generation of cameramen) so, it’s no surprise that his father, Ken, whom he first met on his maiden trip to America in his early 20s, gifted him with a Canon. In the time since, Noyle has witnessed many of the planet’s great won- ders, all through a lens. He’s been down the Nile River, at the top of Egypt’s pyramids, ventured throughout Russia and Europe, and swam along Tahiti’s reefs, but, for him, there’s nothing in the world quite like Hawaiʻi.
To make a living here, Noyle explains that he had to expand his expertise. For- tunately for him, that’s his favorite part of the gig.
“I like to think of myself as a farmer putting something back in the ground. I think it’s important for us to share knowledge, and I learn things from people all the time.”
“IgothiredbyPanAmasa flight attendant; little known
is one of the few people who really found a niche that he was able to specialize in and boost his career that way, but for the rest of us mere mor- tals, we just have to go about doing what we can.”
types of images. Unfortu- nately, she takes up a park- ing space at my house, so that’s the only problem, but she doesn’t eat very much, which is good,” he says with a smile.
to the ‘ohana).
“My dad inspires me in
One day, Noyle might be in his studio with macadamia nut chocolates as the star. The very next, he could be in a helicopter hovering over a five-star Waikīkī hotel for an aerial view or taking the headshot of one of Hawaiʻi’s high-profile names, like Barack Obama, Daniel Dae Kim and Terry O’Quinn.
When asked about his proudest achievements, it’s immediately evident that nothing materialistic makes the list. Noyle does mention his digital asset management service, Razzbonic, and how he designed it at the dawn of the digital age more than 20 years ago. But, more prom- inently, he echoes how for- tunate he feels to have made Hawaiʻi his home for the last 45 years and fostered a loving family (which has grown recently as his daugh- ter, Sarah, added two keiki
many ways in my photogra- phy, but more so on the way he handles life and takes care of our family,” observes son Zak. “He is a very giving and caring person who wants to help and educate others con- stantly. To me, this character is what inspires me the most of all the many traits he has.”
Noyle feels fortunate to have enjoyed “an extraordinarily good run as a commercial photographer in Hawai‘i.”
PHOTOS COURTESY RIC NOYLE
“I use her when I feel like I can be creative on my own without having a client di- recting or requiring certain
“I always tell people: Just be a good citizen on the plan- et and anything else is a bo- nus.”
In his free time, Noyle still has his camera in tow — and can shoot what he wants. His muse of choice is an 800-pound 14-by-9-foot golden elephant stored at his Kaimukī abode.
Adds Noyle, “I think the places where I’ve succeeded, where I’ve felt the best about who I am as a photographer, is to look after my family well, be able to live in Ha- waiʻi ... and to do something that I love.