The Audience Is Watching

These two small planes in the foreground watch as this Hawaiian Air Boeing 717-22A, N475HA "I‘iwi", is about to touchdown on HNL's Runway 26R. Looks like the little birds are watching (and scoring) the bigger bird's landing.

Gerbera Daisies

One of the more popular flowers found at a florist ... and one of my favorite ones to photograph, though I found these in a garden.

Downtown Dawn

The downtown skyline in the early morning, as the sun rises and turns the sky these vivid colors.

Royal Blast

The Royal Cosmetics Company celebrated their 20th Anniversary with a bash in Hawai‘i, that included a 15-minute fireworks show that lit up Waikiki last night. The launch barge was placed abeam the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

At first, I thought thie fireworks show had to with the Moana Hotel's anniversary, but my source there said it was not.

I was at my folks for dinner, but the only camera I had was my little CoolPix L3, but it does have a "fireworks" setting. I was without my tripod, so I had to use the railing ledge to try & keep still. Had I known about the display, I would have brought my good camera with me. Oh well ...

High Tide

High tide at the Turtle Bay Resort on a winter morning.

Ripples

Water drops from the fountain at Kawai‘ahao Church make ripples in the pool below.

I took this photo with a 1/1000 sec shutter speed to catch as many circles as possible. A few seconds later, I shot video of this same spot, with the same shutter speed, I could really see the ripples develop, especially in slow motion.

Blue Moon

A blue moon is when there are two full moon cycles in the same month. May was one of those months with a full moon on the 1st and the 31st. It's not common occurrence. The last time it happened was three years ago, and the next one will happen on New Year's Eve 2009. I got this shot from my front balcony late Thursday evening.

Penguins

With all the films starring penguins ... I thought it should be my turn to jump on the bandwagon. I got this photo while at the Hilton Hawaiian Village ... black and white bird, black and white photo.

Ko‘olau

Clouds hover over the tops of the Ko‘olau Mountain Range. I took this photo in a valley at the Ku‘uloa Ranch, where the movies "Jurassic Park", "Pearl Harbor", "George Of The Jungle", and "50 First Dates" among many more were filmed. I was there for a Japanese TV shoot that got rained out that day.

Fountain At Night

The fountain at Kapi‘olani Park at night.

Lahaina Noon

There's a solar phenomena called "Lahaina Noon", when the sun comes directly overhead, and will barely cast a shadow. I was on the Lantern Floating shoot, when one of my friends told me about it, and it was to happen at 1230 on Sunday. During the set-up for the shoot we came across this bottle, that was nearly shadowless. Thanks Mike!

Memorial Day

On this day, we honor those brave and valiant men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of our country (in the past, and the current) from evil tyrants bent on destroying the freedoms given to us by God and our founding fathers.

This photo is from the 2004 Blues On The Bay Airshow, and shows three US Marine Corps F/A-18Ds from the VMFA-533 "Hawks" (MCAS Beaufort, SC) as they rest on the MCAF Kane‘ohe Bay ramp, late in the afternoon.

Flower In Rain

A single Shaving Brush flower sits in the light rain.

Watching Surfers

Watching surfers while sitting on the breakers fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village's beach.

End Zone Pylon

This extreme close-up shot is one of the pylons that mark the end zone on a football field at Aloha Stadium for the 2007 NFL Pro Bowl. I took this a few hours before kick-off, as we were setting the field level video camera, and the cables to feed the stadium's JumboTron.

Different View Of Leahi

More commonly known as Diamond Head, this view of Leahi, is the last one that many passengers will have as their flight climbs away from the southern and eastern coasts of O‘ahu.

Smokin!

This truck spews out some serious smoke, as it's owner tries to fix it.

Liquid Night

One of the short waterfalls at Tamarind Park at night.

Maui Stopover

On my return trip from the mainland, I stopped over on Maui, which saved me $50 in airfare. With three hours to wait until returning home, I walked around the Kahului Airport (OGG) getting airliner photos. I wanted get to head-on shot of an arriving airliner taxiing to its gate, and got my wish answered with this United Airlines Boeing 777-222 from Chicago. I lined up with the guideline, and snapped a series of photos as this big Boeing taxied in.

On a clear day, awaiting passengers can get a clear view of Mount Haleakalā, which towers over OGG. The clouds on this day hampered my view of the tallest peak on Maui.

Chinese Anthurium

This Chinese anthurium plant finally yielded a couple of flowers, since I got this plant last July at a high school alumni dinner.

Armed Forces Day

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman designated the third Saturday in May to be called Armed Forces Day, recognizing those who serve our country. In honor of our men and women fighting to protect our freedoms, today's photo is of a Hawai‘i Air National Guard F-15A "Eagle" from the 199th Fighter Squadron, taking off from HNL's Runway 22L. We thank you for your service and defending our freedoms.

Water In Sunlight

The afternoon sunlight cuts through a banyan tree, the fountain spray and sprinklers at Thomas Square.

Red Canoe

This red outrigger canoe sits under a coconut tree on the Hilton Hawaiian Village beach, with Leahi (Diamond Head) and Wāikiki in the background.

Kalo

Kalo (or taro) leaves after a morning rain.

Dusk Departure

An inter-island flight departs at dusk in a photo taken from Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park.

Bad Connection

Looks like this hose is not connected properly, or the gasket is shot. Even at 1/500th sec, the water is still streaky. At least the water being sprayed was falling on plants in the area, so it wasn't being wasted.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today's photo goes out to all the moms!

Ice Crystals On Glass

These ice crystals formed on the outside of the window of an airliner at 36,000 feet. It measured about three inches across. As the aircraft climbed in altitude, the crystal grew from about a eighth-inch drop of water to what's seen. It's said that the outside temperature at 36,000 feet is about -40°F! Add in the fact the plane's going over 450 kts, it's even colder than that.

Ipu Ornament

A Christmas tree ornament of an ipu, a Hawaiian percussion instrument used in chants for hula. I found this on a Norfolk Pine outside the Foster Botanical Garden entrance.

Flying Whale

World-renowned marine artist Wyland was commissioned to paint an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737-700 airliner. The title of this piece of art is called "Koholālele", or Flying Whale. It took Wyland two days to paint this humpback whale, as well as other marine life on this 737. The aircraft was unveiled to the Aloha employees, media, and the general public in a ceremony yesterday. Wyland (right) is seen here with Aloha Airlines' Kenny Tolentino on the snorkel, as he adds to this part of the painting.

To see the entire aircraft, check out the HNL Rarebirds blog.

It was an awesome experience to watch and capture the entire painting process from the grease pencil sketchings to the hand-painted details. I was amazed how this 737 was transformed from a blank slate into a masterpiece. Wyland turned this "$100 miilion canvas" into a work of art that will be seen wherever Aloha flies, as the aircraft gets rotated around its bases. Throughout the painting process, heads turned to take a peek at Wyland's latest project from the inter-island terminal, even from passengers on other airliners taxiing by.

I would love to see this 737 parked next to Southwest Airlines' 737 "Shamu One" somewhere in California.

Finals Week

This one goes out to all those college students who are in the midst of finals week. This girl is trying a new method of learning, by seeing if she can absorb the information on her computer while taking a nap.

Fellow photographer Twain (see link on right), got this shot first, with me in the background. Sleeping people make easy targets for a funny photo.

Loulu

Fronds of loulu palm tree on a clear, sunny day. Looks like giant fans.

Arcs Of Water

Three arcs of water from a fountain display in downtown Honolulu.

Palm Tree?

A friend told me that the fireworks in this shot looks like a palm tree, and if I had planned this. Well, no, I was just shooting away as the fireworks went off as four second exposures. This shot was from the July 4th fireworks show at Magic Island, and taken from the Hilton Lagoon.

Fingerprints?

One of the things that intrigues me of God's creations is the uniqueness of everything He creates. One example is seen in today's photo ... in these leaves from part of my plants. If you look closely, it's almost like a fingerprint, each leaf has a similar pattern, but different at the same time. It shows God's awesomeness and infinteness.

Someone once told me, "We are all unique ... just like everybody else."

Really Big Bird

The Antonov An124-100 "Ruslan" is the largest cargo jet in production. This Ukranian-built behemoth hauls oversized cargo (up to 120 tons) around the world for Antonov Airlines. This aircraft type is a frequent visitor to Honolulu, also by Volga-Dnepr and Polet Flight (both based in Russia). This big bird is stopping here for a fuel stop before continuing onto Australia.

The An-124 is the Russian counterpart to the US-built Lockheed C-5 "Galaxy", operated by the US Air Force. Though the difference is that the "Ruslan" is built for both commercial and military purposes.

Steel Rings

These stainless steel rings are part of light pole fixtures along the walkway of Harbor Court in downtown. I thought they were interesting, and would make an artsy photograph ... The security guard didn't, but was nice to let me take a few shots.

Fire Clouds

Got these clouds during a sunset with a layer of vog to enhance the red and orange tones.

May Day Is Lei Day In Hawai‘i

May 1st in Hawai‘i is Lei Day! One of the days where florists and lei shops do brisk business, and lei sales skyrocket.

Today's photo was taken during the Aloha Airlines 60th Anniversary celebration in July 2006. Flight attendants Jodi (left, in the 1969 uniform) and Berni (right, in the 1976 uniform) sit in the intake of the "Funbird"'s Pratt & Whitney JT8D engine, complete with plumeria lei, in a rendition of a pose taken when Aloha initially received their Boeing 737 in 1969.

I was sure the airliner magazines would have used this photo in the articles they published about the 60th anniversary event, but I guess was wrong. Oh well ...

2 Halves

Two halves of the waterfall at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

Water Lily

I added radial blur to this shot of a water lily with a honeybee taking off from it.

Catch Of The Day

The "Maggie Joe" motors into the Kewalo Boat Harbor from a day of deep sea fishing, as the day ends. No fish flags were flying, so they may not have hooked anything. This time of the day was great for slowing down the shutter to get natural motion blurring.

The OC

Taking off from the John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Santa Ana (Orange County), CA is quite a rush. With only 5,700 feet of runway, airliners must get off the ground real quick, and climb out at a steeper angle. The reason for the steep climb out is for noise abatement, because of the residential areas surrounding SNA. In this departure routing, we flew toward the San Bernadino Mountains before making the 180° turn west to head home.

I was aboard an Aloha Airlines 737-7Q8W, N751AL "‘Aukele", when I got this shot several seconds after lifting off of Runway 1L, and shows the climb angle. Framed by the wing's leading edge slats and engine pylon, is the San Diego (I-405) and Newport (CA55) Freeways interchange, as well as the city of Santa Ana.

Unfurling Leaf

A new leaf begins to unfurl itself in one of my plants on my lanai.

This plant is one of three that is in the same container, and was the centerpiece from last year's high school alumni dinner.

Rocks Under Water

This photo is from the water ponds of the Hawai‘i Convention Center. I was on a video shoot, and caught this shot during a break we had while running through rehearsals.

It captures four elements ... sun, wind, earth and water ... all in the same shot. I thought it looked cool, the way the sunlight lit the water and rocks, as the winds kicked up.

Blue Ladder

When I originally took this photo, I knew it was going to be a black and white shot. However, throught the magic of Photoshop, I was playing around with some tint effects, and tried adding color to the ladder. Blue looked the best, since it looks the protective wrap some metal products have to prevent scratches.

Little Stars

These little white star-shaped flowers are in bloom all over the place. I've noticed that people put the vines it grows on, on the top of chainlink fences, which is where I found this bunch.

Stream

The Nu‘uanu Stream flows through the Queen Lili‘uokalani Gardens. This photo was taken several yards after the waterfall that's part of the garden. I slowed the shutter down just enough to create the motion blur in the water's flow.

Palm Trees At Dusk

Pink clouds, behind these coconut trees, fill the sky as the sun has sunk below the horizon, and night begins to fall.

Sparky Silhouette

A couple sits and watches others set off small fireworks. Got this silhouette shot on July 4th, while waiting for the Magic Island fireworks show to start. Kekiinani and I were at the Hilton Hawaiian Village lagoon to get our shots of the main event.