Sessions: Mareike [moana/azul] – Part 3

Oct 1, 2019 | Photography

Part 3 of the session with Mareike.

[ moana / azul ]

Snapped these on the same morning as part 1 and part 2 of this session, using Mareike’s Canon G12 camera and underwater housing. It was such a dream to shoot Mareike in this setting… the beach is our home. I think I met her for the first time at this very beach. I’d been meaning to take her photos for the longest time, so for it to finally happen makes me so happy. And the photos came out awesome too! She actually gifted me with the camera that I used for this shoot, and I feel so lucky to have a friend like her in my life.

Sep 30, 2019 | Moments

Mt. Pioa also known as “Rainmaker” – September 21, 2019

Pre-sunset snorkel

Sep 5, 2019 | Lifestyle

I haven’t taken my little Olympus Tough waterproof camera out in the water in too long. Here are some snaps Ian and I took while snorkeling in the front yard a couple weeks ago. Yodi came out with us and stretched her sea legs. I spotted an octopus hiding in a crevice! And we pretty much faffed about for the rest of the evening.

SESSIONS: Kate & Taylor / Sunrise besties

Jun 16, 2019 | Photography

Life is better with friends.

What are your friendships like?

This one is silly, loving, and adventurous!

This session was from a few weekends ago…

Early 6am wakeup call to capture the friendship of these two dedicated teachers turned island sisters. We were greeted by warm sunbeams and a cool zephyr. Playing music on an iPhone. Dancing on the beach. Making silly faces. Reenacting my proposal from just a couple days ago. Laughing a lot. Climbing coconut trees. Falling off of coconut trees. Laying in the grass. Laughing some more.

I’ve gotten to know these beautiful women over the years, and they’ve been nothing but sweetness and kindness. Kate and Taylor are true gems, and I had so much shooting these with them.

You can see all the islands from up here!

May 31, 2019 | Lifestyle, Moments

At Mt. Alava – the next morning we woke up just as the sun was rising. Yodi was up already and wagging her tail. She slept in the tent with us. I was in between reading a book and staring at my engagement ring. I don’t normally wear rings, so it felt different, new. Ian got up to attend to nature’s call. And the light was streaming through our tent under the fale. We got up and breathed in the cool air and took in this majestic view.

You can see all the islands from up here!

Well not all of them, but way more than I’ve ever seen all at one time, so I was really excited. To the west we could see Upolu and Savaii, and to the east was very clearly Ofu and Ta`u of the Manu`a island group. We jumped back up on the platform and ate some potato chips, snapped some couple-y photos, and called our mains to break the news. This was our first day as an engaged couple, and it was off to an epic start.

Scenes from the 2019 AS Flag Day Parade | PART 2

May 4, 2019 | Culture

Photo journal of scenes from the American Samoa Flag Day parade on April 17, 2019 at the Tafuna Veteran’s Memorial Stadium – Part 2.

Photos by me and/or Ian from the grandstand using a cheap old telephoto lens I’ve had for over 8 years. I actually forgot it’s kind of broken (reads as error and shuts my camera off when fully extended to 300mm and autofocus doesn’t work anymore), but luckily it worked out and we got this softer old school look.

Part 1 from the parade here.

Scenes from the 2019 AS Flag Day parade | Part 1

May 1, 2019 | Culture

Photo journal of scenes from the American Samoa Flag Day parade on April 17, 2019 at the Tafuna Veteran’s Memorial Stadium.

Photos by me and/or Ian from the grandstand using a cheap old telephoto lens I’ve had for over 8 years. I actually forgot it’s kind of broken (reads as error and shuts my camera off when fully extended to 300mm and autofocus doesn’t work anymore), but luckily it worked out and we got this softer old school look.

I’ll post more photos from Leone, Tafuna, and Samoana’s performances in Part 2 later.

MEET: Tilali Scanlan

Feb 9, 2019 | Meet, Photography

We all wonder and wander in our own little way. Everybody’s got a story to tell.
If you want to have a chat, I’d love to MEET you!

MEET TILALI SCANLAN

Competitive swimmer and national athlete representing American Samoa. This Vaitogi girl shares her passion for the ocean, goals, favorite spots, and a dose of inspiration for young Pacific athletes.

Tell me about yourself, where you live, and what do you do?

I was born and raised in Vaitogi, American Samoa as number 7 of 8 kids. I am a national athlete of American Samoa, my main sport is competitive swimming. I was homeschooled until college basically, and now I am in my 3rd year of university studying Marine Science/Biology at USP in Fiji.

How did you get started in swimming competitively?

My mom put my siblings and I into a bunch of sports when we were young to burn off our energy and get us out of the house. I did a lot of sports, but swimming was my favorite. I really got into competitive swimming when I realised the potential I had, and how much fun it was!

Growing up, where were your favorite places to swim?

I swam at the tide pools in Vaitogi almost every day in homeschooling, so that was a favorite spot of mine. I loved going to Maliu Mai, and on rare occasions, beaches on the far ends of the island with the family. Nothing tops swimming in Manu’a though, that’s an all time favorite!

You’re so young and have traveled a lot; where have you been and how did you get to travel so often?

Just for swim comps, I’ve gone to New Caledonia, Samoa, NZ, PNG, Canada, Hawaii, Budapest, Austria, and most recently China (gettin that passport stamped!!)

I come from such a tiny dot on the map, yet have seen so much in my young years, and I’m thankful to sports for that. Swimming has taken me places my bank account could neva.

What does a typical day in your life look like?

Train. School. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. Typically a 5 am start to a 9pm rest (depending on if I get my schoolwork done in time). It gets busier when school deadlines get closer, but I always try to set aside Saturday night to chill and do whatever I want.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Motivated. Curious. Hungry (aaaalwayyys hungry).

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? 10 years?

Back in AS, training young swimmers to pursue the sport, and have opportunities like I have had. 10 years? Somewhere in the islands, doing the same thing, and protecting the oceans! I can definitely see myself somewhere in the water haha.

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

Toughest question yet. BRB gotta make a comparison chart. Definitely high up on the food chain.

What are your passions?

I’m passionate about the water (big surprise there), and becoming so connected with it, that it feels unnatural to leave its medium. I’m also passionate about encouraging young people from small islands like ours to pursue more options. There’s something for everyone.

Why do you care so much for the environment?

I could write you a thesis paper on why, and a whole lot of other good reasons lol. Bottom line is that life is codependent on the environment, and it pains me to see it suffer.

Favorite kind of music?

A LOT, but I can listen to island songs anytime, anyday. Ben Vai is one of my favorite artists from home.

Favorite food?

Pasta

What is your life motto?

“Eat pasta swim fasta”

What’s your spirit animal?

Sloths. They avoid so much trouble by taking naps.

What is your all time favorite spot in American Samoa?

The spot right where Ofu and Olosega meet. Just hanging out under the bridge with my nieces and nephews. Nothing beats that.

Any advice for young aspiring pacific athletes?

Never let where you come from determine how far you will go.

Model and interview by Tilali Scanlan. Questions and photos by Nerelle.

Want to follow Tilali into the blue? Check out this arvo surf sesh!

Also follow Tilali’s adventures on instagram: @tilalipops

Sunset dates out west

Oct 8, 2018 | Lifestyle

We love spontaneous date nights around the island.

This was actually from last month, early September. I remember feeling so busy and stressed, and Ian (being the best bf ever) took me on a drive out west to catch the sunset. We parked off to the side of the road and just hung out on the truck bed, listening to the hum of the waves crashing, watching the sun go down, and talking stories. These are my favorite date nights…

I don’t always take my camera on date nights, but when I do, I’ll try to share photos here.

A Technicolor Camp Night

Oct 1, 2018 | Lifestyle

The night lit by campfire, glow sticks, head lamps, milky way, moonbeams and the light in our eyes.

The night fueled by full bellies, coconut crabs, sandy toes, music playlists, and dancing children.

The night ending in cozy tents, hammocks, and rising tides.

Beach camping American Samoa | Nerelle.com

How I got American Samoa on the map for World Cleanup Day 2018

Sep 15, 2018 | Culture, Lifestyle, Sustainable Living

Happy World Cleanup Day everyone!

That’s today (September 15) in case you didn’t already know, and I don’t blame you because I literally just learned about it on Thursday morning! I emailed the 2 contact folks for World Cleanup Day in the USA to see how I could get involved, and after a flurry of emails, I had unknowingly signed up to be Team Leader for American Samoa’s participation in World Cleanup Day!

What is World Cleanup Day?

Essentially, World Cleanup Day is one day of clean up efforts around the world. It started in Estonia 10 years ago when just 4% of the country’s population made one major mission: to clean up the whole country in 1 day… yes, that’s 24 hours!!! This sparked World Cleanup Day as a recognized civic holiday, now in its 2nd year, and with support worldwide! From Fiji to New Zealand, to India, to the UAE, Argentina, USA, and now American Samoa. Millions of people around the world took a pledge to do their part, big and small, on this particular day to address the issue of trash and waste in our environments.

On top of these initiatives, there is a huge media movement that follows cleanups from 150+ participating countries. A live feed was broadcasted online, tracking the cleanup progress around the world on September 15 at the start of the International Date line in New Zealand… and because of my outreach, American Samoa was officially dubbed the final destination for the 2018 World Cleanup Day! WOOHOO! You can find a screencap of the Live video broadcast here.

Cool! Now what?

I was actually really excited to get such great feedback from Jim Sharman and Steve Jewett, the representatives for Let’s Do It! World and National Cleanup Day. But because I had just found out about the whole movement only 12 hours before it was to begin on the other side of the International Dateline, I really only had a day to make plans.

*Warning: Long Post ahead!*

A Community, A Cleanup

Bluesky Cleanup / Laufou Shopping Center

I was doing all of this — sending emails back and forth, gathering information on World Cleanup Day, and telling my friends about the Coconut Point beach clean up — all during an off-site video shoot for work, and when I told my coworker Lauren, she suggested I ask our company to get involved. That was a great idea! I emailed my HR and Marketing managers and they said that if I could arrange it outside of working hours on such short notice, the company would sponsor trash bags, gloves, and a light breakfast. I was stoked! Soon after, I sent out the email asking for volunteers to show up an hour before work the next morning so we could clean up around our building. I knew not a lot of people could make it because it was outside of work hours, and a few of the departments were extra busy. But thankfully, we got a good group together and collected 100 gallons of trash; mostly cigarette butts, small plastics, and styrofoam.

Photos from our Friday, September 14 / Laufou Shopping Center cleanup at 7:30am

Capstone Cleanup / Lion’s Park

This incredible group of citizen scientists are members of Capstone AOG church. They already do monthly cleanups (working with the AS Coral Reef Advisory Group as volunteers to collect waste and extract data from what they gather), but when they learned about #WorldCleanupDay just 2 days ago (I told Ian, Ian told his coworker, and his coworker told her church group), they decided to do an extra one this month at the Lion’s Park!! We joined them this morning at 7am this morning and found a LOT of soda cans, water bottles, styrofoam cups and plates, plastic cutlery, chip bags—you name it!—just littered everywhere, ESPECIALLY on the shoreline! But I just wanna shout out this awesome group who made it fun, and made a big impact in just a couple of hours! Big thanks to Pa’i from the NPS Green Team for setting this up, and to Bluesky American Samoa for providing trash bags and gloves!

Photos from Saturday, September 15 / Lion’s Park cleanup at 7:00am

A Live Intermission

With an hour between the 7am cleanup at Lion’s Park and our 9:30am Coconut Point beach cleanup, I got a call from Jim Sharman, the Let’s Do It! World coordinator. He wanted to share information about American Samoa on the international live broadcast, and officially dub us the final destination for the 2018 World Cleanup Day! I was soooo excited to see them raise our flag, set it on the map, and then see the producer run in and write out ‘AMERICAN SAMOA’ next to our speck of an island, because people were getting us confused with our sister island, the independent country of Samoa. It was awesome, and it honestly felt so good to know that I played the part in making that happen.

Beach Cleanup / Coconut Point

Now THIS is the beach that I call home! This community is diverse, changing, and impactful. As soon as I learned about WCD, I immediately started a group chat about a beach cleanup, and everyone jumped on it! This morning, we started at 9:30am and in just a short amount of time, collected a lot of single use plastic and styrofoam, cans and water bottles, electrical wires, and old clothes that probably got left behind on the beach. It was a great feeling to see our beautiful beach for what it is, without the rubbish, and an even better feeling to be surrounded by a rad group of friends!

Photos from Saturday, September 15 / Coconut Point beach cleanup at 9:30am

From what I’ve learned in the last few days, it’s that people are interested and want to take part in effecting change. It’s just a matter of reaching out and getting stoked! And every bit of effort counts! Of course, this was only possible because of everyone who participated. Ya’ll are amazing! If you’re still reading, WOW. And fa’afetai tele lava from American Samoa, your final destination of the 2018 World Cleanup Day!

Idyllic Beach Camping

Sep 14, 2018 | Lifestyle

It’s been a while since we’ve gone camping…

This island will always and forever be my home, so camping is one of the best ways to celebrate my surrounding environment. Still, it sometimes seems too small and like Trevor says, “because we’ve got A/C”.

It was a long weekend, and our friends made plans to camp in this isolated cove, which for the sake of everyone involved will remain a secret (for now). I couldn’t say no because it’s been on my bucket list for the last 4 years! It felt almost unreal to finally be there, and to just be away from it all – we were pretty remote, even though a couple of tiny fishing boats did pass through.

Val started the fire, Dustin caught some fish to roast later in the evening, the kiddos Eve and Sam jumped off rocks into the shallow waters, and a few of us paddled out to explore the caves and check out the coral life.

As the sun was setting behind the Pola islets, I realized yet again the magnificence of nature in its raw form, and let out a grateful sigh as the sun kissed the horizon good night.

View more photos of our adventure here.