Claude S. Ayakawa studied photography at the world famous Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif. and have been in business for over forty two years. He was the first photographer from Hawaii to received the combined degrees of Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsmen from the Professional Photographers of America in 1985. Mr. Ayakawa is a life member of both the Professional Photographers of America and the Professional Photographers of Hawaii. As one of Hawaii's outstanding environmental portrait photographers, Mr Ayakawa's reputation is known throughout the world. He is among only a handful of American photographers who had received an honorary membership as well as a Fellowship title from the Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers (SWPP) in the United Kingdom for his exquisite photography and was invited to speak at their convention in London in January 2008. Claude Ayakawa has also lectured in Japan in 1982.