Member of Windward YMCA Tai Chi Ohana
"A person walks into a room and maybe notices 50 things. A photographer walks into a room and might see 10,000 things."
-source unknown, shared by Norm Shapiro
Throughout his adventurous life, Norm Shapiro has done that rare thing: pursued his passion—photography. He has:
· Travelled through Micronesia with the Peace Corps
· Leveraged his Master of Fine Arts to teach college credit photography and filmmaking classes on Pearl Harbor Submarine Base, Windward Community College, the University of Hawaii, and at his own alma mater, Ohio University
· Led elementary to high school students on camera journeys via the Arts in Schools Program
· Photographed President-elect Barack Obama during his Hawaii vacation
· Photo-documented Kahana Valley families practicing traditional Hawaiian cultural practices for the Hawaii Historic Foundation
· Married a Kahana Valley girl and raised a family there
· Worked 18 years in the photography department of the Honolulu Advertiser
· Took pictures for television shows (the rebooted Hawaii Five-0, both Magnum P.I.s, the 1998 remake of Fantasy Island, Birds of Paradise, and Marker with Richard Grieco)
Since retiring, Norm likes to do personal photography, such as street photography, landscapes, people, buildings, or anything that catches his eye with the right light, lines, and composition—with his preferred walk-around camera, Nikon 1.
Being an Uber driver two days a week helps him stay active, interact with interesting people, see parts of Oahu new to him, and create more photo opportunities with the Shapiro eye. He likes the flexibility of choosing when and how much to work.
Norm recommends Blurb for self-publishing a photo book because it’s easy to edit pictures. He has used it for several books of his own work. In addition to Uber and personal photography, he is helping a friend publish his autobiography for his family.
What about tai chi?
"Tai chi is good for exercise between the ears," Norm said.
Norm is a big fan of Tai Chi for Arthritis and practiced with Dr. Lam’s DVD at home for almost two years before joining the Windward Tai Chi Ohana. He likes the smaller moves of Tai Chi 41 and how it is gentler on the joints. He doesn’t stay for Tai Chi 24 to avoid being confused by the same terminology for different moves.
Who and what will be among the 10,000 things Norm sees next?



By Wendi Lau