Leahi From Above

For the final blog post of 2010, the summit of Leahi (Diamond Head) is seen from 1,500 feet up, during the Hawaiian Air's media flight on their Bellanca CH-300 "Pacemaker". Hiking the inner wall of Diamond Head Crater to the top of the iconic Honolulu landmark is one recommended activity for tourists and locals alike.

Waikele Rain

Over the past few days, the State of Hawai‘i was drenched by heavy rains and thunderstorms. Today's photo shows one of the heavy shower bands through a few trees, caught at 1/800th sec.

Mountain Doves

A flock of mountain doves gather on the wall fronting Point Panic at Kaka‘ako Park.

Hawai‘i Bowl

On Christmas Eve, the University of Hawai‘i Warriors played the Tulsa University Golden Hurricane in the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl at Aloha Stadium. I got this shot of the Warriors walking across the field to their locker room, after they arrived from Waikīkī on three buses, with a police motorcycle escort.

I was not able to get any game photos, since I was in the control room, directing the in-hose game video.

The Golden Hurricane dumped on the Warriors 62-35.

Torch Ginger

Torch GInger flower cuttings for sale at the KCC Open Market.

Terraces

Terraced rock formations at Pahipaialua Beach.

Mele Kalikimaka

Kat & I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Daily Double Delivery

Back in July, China Eastern Airlines had two brand new Boeing 737s making their delivery flights on the same day. They arrived from Boeing Field about a half-hour apart, and overnighted at HNL. They continued onto Majuro and Saipan, before reaching their new home in Shanghai. I took this shot a few minutes after the 737 in the back pulled into its parking spot.

Haleakalā

The view of Haleakalā from the parking lot of the Walmart in Kahului.

Tree Lined Road

The east end of Kalākaua Avenue is lined with trees. I took this photo with a Nikon 16mm fish-eye lens, and converted it to a painting in Photoshop.

Big Spray

This surfer creates a fan-like spray as he cuts the corner of this wave.

Star Cluster

A cluster of "Little Bright Star" orchids in bloom ...

Tiffany Thurston

Last weekend, Contemporary Christian music artist Tiffany Thurston made a guest appearance with New Hope Leeward's worship team. The local-born singer also performed a number that featured the sign language dance ministry alongside her. I snapped this shot of Tiffany, flashing the shaka sign, during rehearsals early last Sunday morning, in which I directed two of the worship service video feeds.

Morning Dew

Morning dew on the leaves of this shrub in black and white.

Trent 772

The business end of one of the two Rolls-Royce Trent 772 jet engines belonging to Hawaiian Air's A330-200, N380HA, "Makali‘i". I took this shortly after it arrived at HNL on its delivery flight.

Chasing Crab

These three boys try to catch a sand crab running for its life at ‘Aweoweo Beach.

Railroad Tracks

Along the Leeward coast O‘ahu are railroad tracks that date back to the 1800s, when trains were used to haul sugar cane from the fields to the sugar cane mills. A railroad network covered a large portion of of O‘ahu. Most of the Neighbor Islands had railroads as well.

There is a train that still runs on the tracks above, operated by the Hawaiian Railway Society.

I desaturated the colors to give the photo to give it a vintage look.

Waina Kai

Waina Kai, or sea grapes, grow along the shoreline of rural Hawai‘i beaches. The ripe berries are edible.

Kewalo Stairs

One of the stairways that leads to the water that surfers use to get out to the surf break, shot with a Tokina 10-17mm fish-eye lens.

Hoku Lwin

Hoku Lwin is the oldest son of New Hope Leeward's Senior Pastor Mike Lwin, and is a member of the church's worship team. Hoku is a talented guitarist and singer, a spirit-filled worship leader, and seen above jamming during  a lunch break at the 2010 Family Impact Conference.

Sharing Food

This family shares a variety of prepared food they bought at the KCC Open Market.

Hawaiian Honey

With the amount of endemic flowers in Hawai‘i, it leads to a variety of honey, as beekeepers have their bees pollenate only one type of flower. These gourmet honeys have a unique taste, and are for sale at the KCC Open Market.

Purple Ginger

Plants and flowers are other popular items sold at the KCC Open Market. This purple ginger cutting was for sale by one of the several flower vendors.

Bee Girl

This girl donned a bee costume to attract customers to their honey tent. She also gave out sample spoons to those who stopped by.

Crowded House

More of the crowd walking through KCC Open Market. In the background, are some of the food tents. There is a variety of foods ranging from grilled steaks, seafood, breakfast foods, and specialty foods.

Greg McDonald

Steel Drummer Greg McDonald provided the entertainment on one of the Saturdays. He and his wife Junko perform around town, and have CDs for sale at their tent.

Open Market

The theme month for December is the "KCC Open Market". On Saturday mornings, a section of the lower parking lot on the Kapi‘olani Community College is transformed into a farmers market. Fresh produce, and food stands are among the vendors there. The photos this week were compiled over the several times Kat & I have gone to shop and eat there. We definitely recommend the open market ... just go early!

In today's photo, this is part of the crowd at the entrance of the open market. It's a popular attraction among locals and tourists from around the world, especially Japan.

Tossing Sand

These two little girls fling sand as they dig a hole.

Window Seat

A view out of a window aboard a Mokulele Airlines's Embraer E-170 on an inter-island flight.

Sunrise Over Diamond Head

The early morning sunlight paints the clouds and sky above Diamond Head and the Honolulu skyline.

Pahinui Trio

The Pahinui Trio performs at the Made In Hawai‘i Product Expo.  Cyril Pahinui (center) is the son of legendary Hawaiian slack key guitarist Gabby Pahinui, and a highly acclaimed musician in his own right.

Les Champions De Coupe Grey Redux

This year's Canadian Football League Grey Cup featured a rematch between the Montréal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The result of the 98th Grey Cup was the same as the 97th, the Alouettes beat the Roughriders 21-18, and repeated as CFL's champions. This past Sunday's repeat performance was the first since the Toronto Argonauts won back-to-back Grey Cups in 1996 and 1997.

I thought it would be fitting to repeat my Alouettes mini-helmet shot from last year's post.

Norfolk Pine Cones

I came across these pine cones of Norfolk Pine trees in Mililani. I had never seen Norfolk Pine cones before, but it seemed like many of the Norfolks around Central O‘ahu were bearing these cones, and the ground beneath was covered with brown ones.

Honokahua

On Maui's western-most end is Honokahua.  Kat and I drove there during our Thanksgiving weekend getaway last year.

Watching Hula

This little girl and her mother watch one of Island Air's flight attendant dance the hula during the airline's 30th anniversary celebration at HNL.

Shaka!

Lieutenant Colonel Mark "Odie" Ladtkow of the Hawai‘i Air National Guard's 199th Fighter Squadron, flashes the "shaka" ("hang loose") sign as he taxies past the media at the F-15 Farewell.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US. The main dish for most people around the country is turkey. However, the inflatable tom above won't be one of them. I saw this turkey while driving in Kapahulu.

Cookies

One of the displays at the Made In Hawai‘i Expo. 

47

I get to celebrate my 47th birthday today!

Kat snapped this photo during a break in the action at the Kāne‘ohe Bay Air Show.

Fishpond House

Along the barrier of the Kahalu‘u Fishpond, sits this house that belongs to the property owner. The other side of the house is flanked by Kāne‘ohe Bay. The property also houses the Aloha Ke ‘Akua Wedding Chapel.

Itty Bitty Orchids

I bought these micro-sized orchids at the KCC Open Market, and each flower is no larger than a US quarter-dollar coin. I was attracted to the colors of the flowers.

Spirit Of Aloha

Four Aloha Airlines flight attendants dressed in the airlines' 70s-era uniforms pose for photos during their 60th anniversary celebration in 2006.

Water Cannon Salute

Two crash tenders from HNL's Airport Rescue Fire Fighters (ARFF) perform a water cannon salute to commemorate the arrival of Hawaiian Air's first Airbus A330-243, N380HA, "Makali‘i", earlier this year. As part of the media, we got to be front and center to this occasion. Seconds after taking this photo, I had to duck away avoid getting some of the spray from the water cannons.

This was the first time I got see a water cannon salute up close from the outside. Back in November 2008, I was aboard the Mokulele Airlines media flight that received a water cannon salute at the Līhu‘e Airport on Kaua‘i.

Today is also the first Hawaiian Airlines first flight from Haneda International Airport, Tokyo, Japan, that arrives at HNL, as HAL458.  The first flight to Haneda left on the 17th.

Nu‘uanu Avenue

Looking up Nu‘uanu Avenue from the North King Street intersection through the Tokina 10-17mm fish-eye lens.

Caves

Along the Wai‘anae Mountain Range, are caves that may have been inhabited by native Hawaiians. At lower levels of the island chain's mountain ranges, there are a fair amount of caves. I noticed these caves from Kea‘au Beach Park, where New Hope Leeward's West Shore Campus holds their worship service.

Jelly For Sale

Kat's mom makes these fruit jellies to sell at an annual craft fair, and Kat and I were tasked to create the labels for those jellies, and a couple of other items she had for sale at the three-day event last week.

Flash Blur

While photographing my Udom Blue Angel orchids, I got the idea to play with the flash and longer shutter speeds. I slowed the shutter to 1/15th second, a breeze kept the flowers moving to create the motion blur.

Tribute

On November 2nd, world champion professional surfer Andy Irons passed away in Dallas, TX. As a tribute to the surfer, local artist Ron Artis made this memorial to Irons in the front yard of Artis' Hale‘iwa gallery and studio.   Today, a memorial service is being held at "Pine Trees" (Waiola Beach Park) in Hanalei, Kaua‘i (Irons' hometown).

Back Shot

The back view of Terafumi and Minako's wedding ceremony through the Nikon 16mm fish-eye. The Ni‘ihau Room at the Sheraton Waikīkī has this large lanai that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

Early Morning Blessing

Before sunrise, Island Air celebrated it's 30th Anniversary with a Hawaiian blessing the day prior to festivities. The maintenance crew circled the four Dash8s for the blessing, in which each aircraft received a Hawaiian name. Shot with the Nikon 16mm fish-eye.