Leah Schretenthaler - The Invasive Species of the Built Environment
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler01In her series *Invasive Species of the Built Environment*, Leah Schretenthaler cuts buildings and other human-built structures out of Hawaii's landscapes. This is an altered view of Ford Island, an islet in Pearl Harbor. 
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler02A bridge connects Ford Island to Oahu—or it did, before Schretenthaler cut it out.
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler03Nu‘uanu Pali Lookout is a popular spot among tourists. 
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler04“Back on Oahu, my friends and I would do many hikes all over the island,” Schretenthaler says. “The hikes that led us to be above the trees would often greet us with a scene very much like this. It was so wild for me to see the growth of buildings and houses all over the landscape.”
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler05Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano sacred to native Hawaiians and important for researchers. In ancient Hawaiian culture only high-ranking nobles could visit. In the 1960s, 13 telescopes were constructed at the summit. 
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler06The Waipi’o Valley (meaning “curved water”) was once the home of Hawaiian royalty. It's famous for its black sand beach, taro farming, and also being a backdrop in *Waterworld*. Schretenthaler has removed an overlook from this image.
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler07Schretenthaler removes buildings, structures, and sometimes people from her photographs using a laser etcher.
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler08“Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park created roads and trails for hundreds of thousands of travelers to explore the landscape,” Schretenthaler says. “One hike in particular leads visitors to an ancient site of petroglyphs in an area known as Pu’u Loa. A footbridge is elevated around a section of the ancient site to protect these carved images.”
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler09An image of Hawaii's landscape with a man-made building removed by a laser cutter. 
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler10Power lines and infrastructure have been removed from this image of the Hawaiian landscape.
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler11A view from Puu Ualakaa State Park. 
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler12There's not much left to see in this shot, taken near the Honolulu Rail Transit project in Pearl City.
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler13A view of Mauna Kea, a volcano sacred to native Hawaiians—without the road leading up to it.
Photograph: Leah Schretenthaler14A view of the Ko’olau Range, with one of Hawaii's most controversial builds—Interstate Highway 3—cut out.
