About the Photographer

Aloha, my name's Caleb Heolahanu Barville. I grew up in the small town of Kona, Hawaii. Growing up in Hawaii, I spent a lot of time in the ocean surfing, diving, and boating. My dad Mark brought me out on the boat at the ripe age of three and I caught my first Mahi Mahi (dolphin fish) on my own at the age of five. We went out almost everyday after school, on the weekend, and on night trips to catch squid and other deep sea fish. I got into surfing when I was 10 years old and would surf everyday before school, sometimes solo, sometimes with my friends, then skate to school where we would do outdoor learning and learn about the fascinating aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems of Hawaii.

I started taking photos when I was twelve, using a camera that my dad purchased on a family trip to San Juan Island. I loved taking photos of landscape on my adventures, and it was a great way to document everything that went on in my life. I started taking surf photos in the water with a GoPro, but realized quickly after a few years that I needed something more to really capture what I was seeing, so I bought a water housing for my Sony camera that I had at the time, and started taking more professional water and wave pictures. During my later years of high school, I drifted away from photography and started focusing more on cycling and triathlon. I became very involved in the racing community on the island, and in 2019, started a hill climb cycling race series I called Big Island Hill Climb Racing. The races were short, usually 400-1500m long, but up the steepest hills I knew on the Kona side. We had eleven consecutive races over 11 weeks, and then a finale race up one of the hardest climbs in Kona, Lako Street, it was the Championship race. It drew in over 30 of Hawaii's cyclists, with a few people traveling in from the outer islands, and even a couple of out-of-towners who were visiting the island. We raised over $800 for the GO Wild Scholarship, a scholarship that was led by my good friend and teacher at the time, David Wild. 

After leaving Hawaii, I moved to Tucson, Arizona, where I pursued a short-lived career as a professional cyclist. That career ended at the beginning of the Covid pandemic with all of the races being cancelled and a loss of motivation due to friends passing away after being hit by vehicles. In April 2020, I moved to Bellingham, Washington and got really into the mountain biking and hiking/backpacking, since I had so many mountains to explore right outside my door. I spent my summers solo road tripping around the Northwest US, biking and hiking everywhere I visited. I met so many extraordinary people throughout my travels, and made memories that I will treasure forever.

I moved to San Juan Island for the summer of 2022 to kayak guide. The San Juan Islands have always been in the back of my mind as a place I've wanted to live, I spent every summer from the age of 12 on Whidbey Island, living with my grandparents and learning about the vast history of the islands. I had a fascination for the geology and marine biology of the area, which made me want to pursue a career as a naturalist. Now, I'm still out in San Juan Islands and Bellingham.

I'm currently studying Marine and Coastal Sciences and Geology at Western Washington University.