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Ed Greevy: Traveler Philosopher Photographer

Ed Greevy: Traveler, Philosopher, Photographer

My Dad, Ed Greevy, passed away last Wednesday at the age of 85. He died due to natural causes at the Palolo Chinese Home.

Known as the photographer of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, Ed documented protests and land struggles in Hawaiʻi for over 40 years.

Starting from the early 70s, Ed Greevy photographed protests at Kalama Valley,  Waiāhole-Waikāne, Kahoʻolawe, Mākua Valley, Sand Island, Mokauea Island, Chinatown, the H-3 freeway, Heʻeia Kea, Ota Camp, and the march to ʻIolani Palace in 1993 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. 

Ed’s mentor and close friend was John Kelly, founder of Save Our Surf. My parents first met at an SOS meeting aimed at stopping the construction of the H-3 freeway.

In 2004, Ed published a book with renowned Hawaiian activist, educator, and poet Haunani-Kay Trask. The book, Kuʻe: Thirty Years of Land Struggle in Hawaii, featured Ed Greevy’s photographs alongside captions by Haunani-Kay Trask.

In 2014, Ed Greevy’s photographs were prominently featured in A Nation Rising: Hawaiian Movements for Life, Land, and Sovereignty (Narrating Native Histories). The book chronicled the political struggles and grassroots initiatives collectively known as the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.

Born in Los Angeles in 1939, Ed first came to Hawaiʻi on a surf trip. His archive includes over 100,000 images. 

Seven of Ed’s photographs of Haunani-Kay Trask are currently on display at Windward Community College as part of “The OGs: Photographers of the Silver Gelatin Process.”

More of his work can be found at edgreevy.com

Other notable achievements include:

  • Launched Competition Surf magazine with his sister and brother in-law, Kathryn and Jim Joiner, in 1966. 
  • Inducted in the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame in 2014
  • Holds a credible claim as the first person to surf the state of Maine (Memorial Day weekend, 1962)
  • His photographs have been featured in magazines, museums, galleries, television shows, and textbooks in Hawaiʻi and New York
  • He built a darkroom in every place we lived in growing up
  • Either coached or recorded every game of every sport (baseball, soccer, volleyball, and football) I played from elementary through high school. 
  • Famously began his voicemail greeting as, “This is Ed Greevy, traveler, philosopher, photographer. I can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave a name and message, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

Ed Greevy Windward Community College

Opening night, OG Photogs at Windward Community College (6 September 2024)

Ed Greevy, Hoala Greevy, Lisa Greevy, Haaheo Mansfield

Our last family picture together during opening night at Windward Community College (left to right: Lisa Greevy, Hoala Greevy, Ed Greevy, Haaheo Mansfield)

The Ed Greevy Labeling System

I started years ago labeling my negatives by number, starting with 1649. It was my street address in Makiki at that time. It was also my office.

Since then, Iʻve stuck with labeling the back of contact sheets and prints with a sequential job number of that shooting. 

Each contact sheet has different numbers under each picture.

So if we have 7085-11-34, then:

  • 7075 is the job number. Each job number is documented in Ed Greevy’s filing system.
  • 11 is the 11th roll of film taken
  • 34 is the 34th picture on the 11th roll

Ed Greevy

Honolulu, HI

 

John Kelly

How we met

In the late 60s or early 70s, I saw a handmade poster at a local camera store regarding a meeting that would be held at Kaimuki Library within a few days. I called the number on the poster and introduced myself.

The reason I called was due to Doug Fiske. He wrote me and asked about the status of Save Our Surf (SOS). Surfers on the mainland were curious to know what it was and whether they could work with them on the mainland.

Continue reading “John Kelly”

Rell Sunn

Rell Sunn was an up-and-coming young surfer from Makaha. She was very attractive and popular. She also believed in getting as many people into surfing as possible.

She established a reputation as a very good surfer and was a close friend of Soli Niheu. She was always a big proponent in getting kids to learn how to surf, as she was their champion. 

She passed away in 1998 from cancer.

Ed Greevy

Kahuku Hospital, Oʻahu

Continue reading “Rell Sunn”

Mākua Valley

There came a time when the PKO was expanding its area of influence beyond the Windward side. It was then decided among the leadership to visit Mākua Valley.

There had been a lot of plants that were grown historically in Mākua. It was however, chosen by the military as a bombing target. The reason the military liked Mākua was that it mimicked the conditions youʻd find in Southeast Asia. 

Mākua took a lot of shelling and was considered a dangerous place. 

I went along with a group of several groups of Hawaiians that day to take pictures.

Continue reading “Mākua Valley”

Kalama Valley

I went out to Kalama Valley a couple of times. John Kelly recommended I go out there and take pictures to document what was happening. I first met Soli Niheu there. He was the one who allowed me to enter and take pictures. 

Soli always treated me with respect, he treated me well. I appreciated that, because not everybody did. 

Later, the Kalama Valley resistors had a big rally at the state capitol on 31 March 1971.
Continue reading “Kalama Valley”

Puhipau

When I first met him, Puhipau was spending a lot of time on Sand Island. He and his brothers had built a home there.

He was the ice man of Sand Island. He had an old ice delivery truck. He’d buy ice in the morning and drive out in the morning to Sand Island to sell it. That’s why he had the nickname. Being the seller of ice, he was one of the few people on Sand Island that everybody knew.

Continue reading “Puhipau”

Clement Apollo

Clement Apollo was well known on Sand Island, as he became the first director of the Committee to Save Sand Island. He was a gregarious, popular guy. He would give boat rides to people like myself and John Kelly. He and Puhipau were the most well known people at Sand Island.

His house had a wooden floor, it was one of the more well built homes on Sand Island. 

Continue reading “Clement Apollo”