Cup On Ledge

Kathy got this coffee cup of flowers from one of her students back in May, and this is the shot of the entire cup with the flowers.

South Wind Approach

When the winds blow from the south and west, they are called Kona Winds, and it forces HNL to reverse their arrival and departure patterns. Arriving flights get to fly a mile off of the southern coast of O‘ahu, which includes Waikiki Beach. This Japan Airlines 747 flight arriving from Japan is making its turn to land on the "Reef Runway" (Runway 26L), which is behind the buildings. The 747 above, appears closer to the buildings than it really was.

In all the flights I have flown in or out of HNL, there was only one time so far, where the flight I was on landed in a south wind approach on Runway 26L. It's a lot better to look at the south coast view at a lower altitude and slower speed.

Loulu Berries

These berries are from the Loulu Palm shot I posted in November 08. From what I've read, the berries are not edible, and can be quite toxic.

Coat Of Arms

The Hawaiian Coat Of Arms adorns the gates of ‘Iolani Palace, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dried Brush

The hills behind a lookout on the Interstate H3 North, which overlooks Kane‘ohe Bay.

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

Or Happy Chinese New Year! Today is the beginning of the new lunar year, the Year of the Ox.

Kat got this shot during a lion dance at her pre-school's Chinese New Year's festivities. The boys on the left are feeding the lion li see (good luck money envelopes).

Thanks Kat, for the great shot! :-)

Stump Sitter

This lad sits atop the stump of a coconut tree at Kahala Beach Park.

Pink Rose

One of the things that fascinates me about roses, are the amount of petals in a flower. The rosebud is deceptive to the fact of the end result ... seen above.

Slide

This 20+ foot sliding board is part of a pool on the former estate that once belonged to actress Lana Turner and actor Johnny Wesimuller. The pool was built so that Weismuller could swim laps.

I got this photo during a video shoot to promote local artist Dana Queen for an art auction network.

Study Time

Several months ago, I posted a shot called "Aspiring Model", which featured Sean, whose mom hired me to take a bunch of shots for his portfolio. This is another of the shots ... in the background is Sean's mom, singer Melinda Gaborno.

‘Iolani Palace

‘Iolani Palace is where the Hawaiian monarchy lived during their reign prior to the island nation becoming a US territory, then the 50th State in 1959.

Today's photo was taken while Kathy & I had gone to check out the Honolulu City Lights during this past Christmas season.

Hail To The Chief!

Hawai‘i-born Barack Obama will be sworn in today as the United States' 44th President, and the first of African-American ancestry. The 1979 graduate from Punahou School will be honored by his alma mater's marching band. Many Hawai‘i residents have made the trip to Washington, DC to see the ceremony and attend the Hawaiian inaugural ball.

Today's photo was from the Obama summer vacation / campaign stop in Hawai‘i this past August. North American Airlines had this Boeing 757-200 specailly painted for Obama's presidential campaign. On a whim, I had shown up at HNL's south side to see if I could get a photo of the 757 (more than the candidate). Fortunately, the term "who-you-know" paid off, as I asked one of my contacts at HNL if I could shoot photos alongside local TV news videographers, to which I got permission.

In The Name Of Love

25 years ago, U2 released the "The Unforgettable Fire" album, which contained the hit single, "Pride (In The Name Of Love)". The song celebrated civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as we are celebrating Dr. King's legacy today.

A little-known fact about the song was that it was written in Hawai‘i, while U2 was here during their 1983 "War" tour. Lead singer Bono made the announcement before they did the song on their Honolulu stop in the 1985 tour, to which the crowd went wild. Those were the two of the best concerts I have ever gone to, and one of my favorite CDs.

Sunset Dinner Cruise

A popular tourist activity in Honolulu is the sunset dinner cruise. There are a few companies that offer packages that include dinner and Hawaiian-themed entertainment while cruising about a mile off-shore. Today's photo was taken during the winter, about 6pm as this dinner cruise heads toward Diamond Head.

White Hibiscus

Another of Hawai‘i's ubiquitous flowers, the hibiscus, which comes in a variety of sizes and colors.

I got this white hibiscus at Central Union Church, before I videotaped a wedding.

Taxi Into Position And Hold

"Mercury 214, taxi into position and hold on Runway 3." I got this shot as the Mokulele AIrlines E170 I was on was getting ready for take-off. This was for the return leg from Līhu‘e, Kaua‘i (LIH) to HNL, on the Mokulele Airlines media flight.

Last Minute Shoppers

Last minute shoppers scurry through the new Nordstrom's wing at the Ala Moana Shopping Center during this past's Christmas season. Kathy & I had gone to pick up one of those "what do you get person who has everything?" gifts ... while she was shopping, I found a bench to use as a rest for my camera, since I didn't carry my tripod, but I did have my four-point cross filter.

Crystal Pearl

This drop of water sits between the leaves of an ‘akia plant.

Sepia View

The shoreline and ocean fronting the Wai‘alae Country Club, which will be hosting the Sony Open in Hawai‘i. Koko Head is in the background, along with some rising storm clouds.

Paparazzi

This New Year's season, I was again part of the Japanese TV news corps waiting to interview Japanese celebrities as they exited Foreign Arrivals at Honolulu International Airport. After a season hiatus, I was back in the trenches, working with renowned celebrity reporter Masaru Nashimoto. Normally, I have a BetaCam videocamera, but this time I was assigned this Sony PD-150 DVCam camera (above). The good thing was the camera is light, and extermely light (5 lbs).

It's a semi-paparazzi assignment, but controlled, as the reporters asked if the celebs would take a few minutes to be interviewed. The only celebs I knew of by name were orchestra conductor Seiji Ozawa, and singer Ayumi Hamasaki (a couple friends like her music). There were a couple others which I've seen on Japanese TV before, but don't know their names.

Pine Branch

A branch from Kat's mom's Christmas tree ...

Pee Wee Football

Football at Aloha Stadium is not only for the high school, college, and the pro levels, but even the youngest of players. Each Sunday in November, Aloha Stadium hosts Pop Warner football tournaments, which range from six-year-olds playing flag football to 14-year-olds playing tackle football. It's fun to see the awe in the eyes of the boys and girls as they walk onto the Aloha Stadium Field Turf, as if they were walking on hallowed ground. The 50,000 seats also catch their attention. It's also fun to see a boy get tackled by a girl, or a kid break a long run in full pads for a touchdown.

These kids play tough! In one game, we had seen a quarterback get knocked out on a middle linbacker blitz. The QB was down for about 20 minutes, but the one thing they were concerned about was a neck injury. I was doing replays, and saw in slo-o-ow motion the linbackers helmet catch the chin of the quarterback, and neck snap back before being drilled to the turf. He was taken off the field by an ambulance. I heard a week later, that the only injury the boy suffered was a case of whiplash.

One thing these games allows us to do in my department, is to cross-train on other aspects of video production, like doing replays, or directing the cameras, or refreshing on the three different camera positions.

Today's photo was taken during a game between the Wai‘alua Bullpups and the Makaha Ali‘i a couple of months ago. The Bullpups, seen here, seem to be quite small, playing in the stadium, and the equipment seems to be larger than the child inside it.

Soccer Pitch

Soccer is one the "other" sports Aloha Stadium hosts. Though not a frequent occurence, the stadium can have a soccer field in its confines. When it was in baseball configuration, the soccer field fit right in with ample space around the pitch. Since the stadium was put in "permanent" football configuration, a soccer field can be put in, but the sidelines and corners are rather tight.

In 1977, Team Hawaii became a franchise of the North American Soccer League (NASL), and the team lasted for one season. The biggest draw of the season was when the New York Cosmos came to town with Péle on their team, and the Cosmos won. We had seats in the north end zone for the Cosmos / Team Hawaii game.

In the mid-90s (1994-97), the Hawaii Tsunami was part of the United States International Soccer League (USISL), a minor league pro soccer league. The Tsunami took the Northwest Division in 1996. Although there were many unknown players, the Tsunami had a number of local players, and was quite a treat to watch.

2005 saw the DC United and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer play a pre-season match, which featured 15-year-old Freddie Adu (DC) and Cobi Jones (LA). DC won 1-0, before a crowd of nearly 15,000.

The most recent soccer event was last year's Pan Pacific Championship Cup, which featured Gamba Osaka, Sydney FC, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the Houston Dynamo. The biggest draws were David Beckham, and Brian Ching (from Hale‘iwa). Gamba Osaka won the tournament. Today's photo was taken during the first night's games.

Baseball

Aloha Stadium was originally built as a multi-purpose stadium, that could be configured for baseball or football. The 2006 season was the final season for baseball at Aloha Stadium, as the mechanism to move the grandstands became too costly to maintain. The Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) used Aloha Stadium for their weekend games, as they usually had a double-header on Fridays, and triple-header on Saturdays. Unfortunately, the crowds were quite sparse, as the outfield seats were closed, and the most I had seen was maybe a couple thousand fans turn out for a game. Since the 2006 season, the stadium was left in football configuration, and the cut outs for the base pallets still remain on the Field Turf.

Major League Baseball had proposed a week-long pre-season series featuring four teams that would have taken place the week prior to the start of the 2007 regular season. MLB had even offered to pay for the cost to move the grandstands into baseball and back, but the stadium felt it was not worth risking the move, nor the integrity of the mechanism.

In 1997, the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres played a three-game regular-season weekend series. My friend Nick & I went to the Saturday double-header, with our seats in centerfield near the North Tunnel; the Cardinals swept the double-header 1-0 and 2-1.

Aloha Stadium was also home to the Hawai‘i Islanders, a AAA Pacific Coast League team that played there from 1975 until 1985. The Islanders won back-to-back PCL championships in '75 and '76.

Today's photo was taken from high above centerfield as two high school teams warmed up before their game.

Great Aloha Run

The Great Aloha Run is an eight-mile fun run from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium that is held every President's Day. The proceeds raised from the entry fees goes to a few local charities. Over 15,000 participants run the race, that bridges many age groups. This year will be the 25th Anniversary of the Great Aloha Run.

Several units from the US Armed Forces run in formation, and has drawn cheers from other participants, especially with many of them returning from deployments. One of the most endearing sights of last year's race, was a US Army veteran who lost a leg in combat, and ran the race with a prosthetic limb.

Today's photo was taken as race course marshalls put the finishing touches, in the pre-dawn darkness, on the Aloha Stadium Field Turf®.

Swap Meet

Every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday the parking lot surrounding Aloha Stadium is converted into a swap meet from 7am to 3pm. There are vendors of all kinds selling Hawaiian made products, foods, plants, and clothes. And there are some kitschy touristy stuff as well. Usually for University of Hawai‘i Saturday football games the swap meet will not open, but will be open during high school games played on Saturdays. The cost to get in, is a mere dollar per person. It's a great walk around to shop for all kinds of goodies.

Scoreboard

Aloha Stadium's Matrix Scoreboard (left) and the Sony JumboTron® video screen are in the north end zone. The Matrix displays the score and other game info, and the JumboTron® shows the live game video, replays, and commercials. The windows above the clock are for the scoreboard control room.

Today's photo also shows a game slate for ILH high school baseball game that was played in 2006. It was the final season for baseball at Aloha Stadium (more on that later in the week).

Pre-game Warm-ups

Kicking off the 2009 theme weeks is "Aloha Stadium" for this month. As one of the videographers for the JumboTron® video screen, I have the opportunity to get paid to watch football, and sometimes get close to the action (though at times get really close, and once, too close). Of course, Aloha Stadium is not only about football, but soccer, baseball (no longer), a running race, and other sports. The parking lot hosts an open-air swap meet three times a week as well.

Today's photo was taken during pre-game warm-ups for a University of Hawai‘i Warriors football game in which they hosted the Washington State University Cougars. Yes, it was a cold, windy, and rainy night. I was on a perch, assigned to Camera 1 (the game camera), and bundled up with BDU pants, a turtleneck t-shirt, my stadium polo shirt, and a windbreaker. Anytime the temperature drops in the 60°Fs, it's considered cold by Hawai‘i standards. The Cougars must have felt right at home, though they got thumped by the Warriors, 24-10.

With the win, the Warriors qualified for the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl, which most fans thought it was a long-shot, since all of the offensive weapons from the 2007 season graduated (or went pro), and there was a new head coach.

Pink Plumeria

Plumeria are some of the most ubiquitous flowers around Hawai‘i ...

Kāhala Sunrise

A summertime sunrise at Kāhala Beach Park.

If this looks familiar, I had a similar shot posted a while back ...

Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

May you all have a blessed and prosperous 2009!