Christmas In July

With a lot of merchants doing the "Christmas In July" sales, I thought I'd do my take on the theme, with today's photo from last year's Christmas lights decoration at Honolulu Hale, on an evening I shot photos with Kekiinani.

Oh yeah ... only 149 more shopping days until Christmas.

Cold War Relic

The Boeing B-52 "Stratofortress" dates back to the 1950s, as the first B-52A rolled out in 1954. This US Air Force Reserve Command B-52H, 60-0041 (c/n 464406), belongs to the 93rd Bomber Squadron "Indian Outlaws", from Barksdale AFB, LA. This "Stratofortress" was built in 1960, and has been through several modifications. Especially in recent years, as the Cold War between the USA and the USSR ended, its mission role changed from a nuclear bomber, to a conventional weapons bomber. One thing was certain, when this bomber took off, it created a huge roar, and left a dense smoke plume and a smoke trail that seemed to go as far as the eye could see. Why it was in Hawai‘i? Only USAF knows.

It's seen here taxiing to the east end of the "Reef Runway", as the winds were blowing from the southwest, thus reversing the air traffic pattern at HNL. This big bird took its time taxiing from the west end. It moved so slowly ... that a rain shower band came from behind it, and passed it, as the B-52H was half-way down the taxiway. The crewman running alongside the jet was making sure the outboard wheels did not damage the taxiway lights. There was a van guiding this ancient bird, and the crewmen took turns running.

This plane is over 45 years old ... that's older than me! Some of the flight and ground crews are only about half of its age. And the Air Force wants to keep these birds around for another 15 years(!). They sure built these planes tough! Who would have thought that the two of the mainstays of the Air Force (the B-52s and the KC-135s) average 40 years in age.

Aspiring Model

Though not really versed in fashion nor modeling photography, I was asked by a friend of a friend, to photograph her son, Sean, who wants to get into modeling. She wanted to have test shots of him, so they can distribute photos to different agencies. We spent a couple hours getting shots of Sean wearing different types of clothing.

I took this photo at Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park in a shot that could either feature a product or beachwear. In this case, I used a can of XS® Energy Drink as a prop.

Pinwheels

I came across these pinwheels in a community garden, that's meant to scare away birds. The colored foil, movement, and sunlight seem to keep birds away.

The challenge for today's photo was ... waiting for the sun to peek from behind the clouds, timing the wind with the sun, getting both pinwheels to spin at the same time (though in opposite directions), and keeping the shutter slow enough as not to overexpose the shot, yet get some motion blur in the blades. I wasn't asking for too much, was I? After several tries, I got this one. Patience paid off.

Dachshund

Okay, when it comes to dogs, I'm extremely partial to Dachshunds. I grew up with a total of four of these long-bodied hounds. They are a loyal, smart, funny, loving, and persistent breed, that packs the bark of a big dog into their small frame. The last doxie I had, Pepper, died around 20 years ago. Has it been that long??? Yep, you guessed it, I'm a sucker for a doxie ... if I had the opportunity, money (they ain't cheap), and time, I'd own one.

I got this photo of this Dachshund pup at Magic Island on the day I got baptized. After the service was completed, I walked around the park taking photos, and came across this chocolate and tan pup who sat with her master, whon was gracious enough to let get a few photos of her pup.

One of these days ... I'll get another Dachshund ...

Perspective

Playing with some depth of field with these railings at the Kahala Branch of Bank Of Hawai‘i.

Orchid Buds

When I was composing angles for this photo, I thought it looked like (okay, sorta looked like) "The Attack Of The Pod People". It's really one of two stems about to bear flowers from my orchid plant. This stem of buds is from a shoot that sprouted in the beginning of the year, and it's the first bloom for this stalk.

I already have ideas on getting photos once all the buds on both stems bloom. I'm curious what color these flowers will be. It's always amazing to see God's creations flourish.

Glamour Golfers

The André Kim fashion show at the 2006 SBS Open, at the Turtle Bay Resort, featured four LPGA golfers, who took to the runway as special guest models. From left-to-right: Christina Kim, Paula Creamer (2005 Rookie Of The Year), Natalie Gulbis, and Shi Hyun Ahn, glide down the runway during rehearsals. The four LPGA golfers closed the show with their modeling of these dresses which contains Renaissance-era prints. Miss Creamer made it to reheasals just in time to have her hair and make-up done, after tending to other commitments. With our videocamera blocking rehearsals complete, and I got this shot (among others) before the video crew went on dinner break.

After the show was completed, I managed to get Christina Kim's and Paula Creamer's autograph on the cover of an SBS Open tournament program for my dad (who is the avid golfer in the family), as they mingled with the invited guests of the show.

Bridal Bouquet

A close-up of the bride's bouquet from Josh and Sheri's wedding. This photo was taken shortly after the ceremony ended, while the happy couple signed their marriage license.

Regatta

One of the weekend summer events in Hawai‘i are outrigger canoe races. The O'ahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association (OHCRA) held its John D. Kaupkio Regatta, this past Sunday at Ke‘ehi Lagoon. Under cloudy skies (and some raindrops), paddlers of all age groups, from around the island participated in this race.

The grey blotch on the canoe, "Kawele‘a", was a raindrop that hit my lens. I wanted to fit as many canoes as I could in this shot.

Wait Your Turn

We're number three in line to depart ahead of the Continental 767-400 going to Nagoya, Japan; and the Japan Airlines 747-200 going to Osaka (Kansai), Japan. I'm aboard a Hawaiian Air 767-300 flight going to Portland, OR, to attend business meeting. If I remember correctly, there was a Northwest Airlines DC-10-30 behind us, that was bound for Seattle; and an Aloha Airlines 737-200 inter-island flight bringing up the rear. All five planes in the queue were designated to take-off from HNL's "Reef Runway".

Before our flight could cross Runway 8L, we had to wait a few minutes for an arriving Hawaiian Air flight from the mainland to land.

I also wrote a review (and included photos) of this flight that was published in the online edition of "Airways" Magazine.

Crescent Moonset

This crescent moon sets behind downtown Honolulu, and the Wai‘anae Mountain Range early one morning. I had to get up early for a video shoot, and caught this shot from my lanai before leaving home. You can also see the rest of the moon in the shadow.

The construction crane in the lower center is for the Capitol Place condo project that's being built over the former municipal parking lot on the corner of Pali Highway and Beretania Street. One of the selling points about the apartment I have was the view of the airport. Capitol Place will now block my view of HNL, which can be seen where the crane stands. I guess that's what they call progress.

Closed For Makeover

The Honolulu Fire Department's Station 29, on the corner of Date Street and University Avenue, will be undergoing a makeover as the original firehouse will be torn down, and replaced with a modern facility. The station closed on Thursday, according to the The Honolulu Advertiser, and will take about 18 months to build the new Station 29.

Growing up in the area, I used to hear either Engine 29 and Ladder 29 (or both) with sirens blaring as they made the corner of Date and Isenberg Streets, as they responded to call outs. Back in the high school days, I used to catch the bus every morning at the bus stop on University, that's right outside the firehouse. After nearly 60 years, Station 29 was due to be updated. Will be curious to see what the new firehouse will look like.

In today's photo, HFD crews are moving out the last pieces of furniture as the crews of Engine 29 and Ladder 29 will be relocated during consruction.

Quiet Spot

This looks like a neat place to spend some quiet time in prayer (or meditation), or with someone special.

You can hear the sounds of the palm fronds swaying with the wind, and the rolling waves, on a bright sunny day ... without any distractions.

Angels

My daughters wanted to do a "Charlie's Angels" type pose, so with the assistance of my Glocks, along with a Photoshopped background of the "explosion", I came up with this rendition of the pose.

Winglet

Today's photo is of an Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglet® on a Boeing 737-700. This particular 737 is the BBJ (Boeing Business Jet) variant, which is basically a $60 million airliner converted into a private jet. These winglets enhance the aircraft's performance in range and fuel consumption.

This 737 was parked next to another 737 that was being delivered to Air China (in a special paint scheme for the 2008 Beijing Olympics). I had to stand under the BBJ winglet to get a full shot of the Air China jet.

Contrail

This S-shaped contrail was caused by a US Air Force B-1B "Lancer", doing some high-altitude manuevers above Honolulu. I had first seen the contrails from the third floor of Ala Moana Center. I ventured out to Ala Moana Park to get this photo. I'm not sure what it was doing, but the earlier contrails were circular as well, not a straight line like airliners would leave as they passed over Honolulu (or anywhere else).

Today's photo also happens to be the 200th photo posted on this blog!

Night View

A "fisheye" shot of the downtown Honolulu skyline from my apartment's lanai. The halo effect was caused by the hole from one of those clear CDs on the bottom of the spindle; I was trying to get a spot focus at the same time.

Bride On A Beach

This happy bride Mayu, poses for photographs on a beach after her wedding ceremony. Since it was a two videocamera shoot, I thought I'd capture a few pix in between the video shots I needed to get. With the aid of Photoshop, I added some effects to the water.

Chinatown Kitty

This feline is the guardian cat for one of the shops in Chinatown ... okay, more like the attention getter for people to shop there. I was taking a walk around the district hoping ot get some interesting photos, and this cat was one of them. The owner said the cat hangs out at the entrance of her store, and it desires to receive attention from shoppers.

Plumeria & Palm

A bunch of plumeria flowers with a coconut palm in the background, with a soft focus filter, at Kawai‘ahao Church.

Seven Seven Seven

What could be more appropriate? A 777 on 07-07-07.

This Boeing 777-268ER, HZ-AKF, from Saudi Arabian Airlines takes a break at HNL, as its passengers enjoy our tropical paradise. According to sources, this 777 was not the one which members of the royal Saudi family uses. They said that the cabin had a normal passenger interior. The one the royal family uses has been converted to a super-sized private jet. Looks like HZ-AKF could use a fresh coat of paint, as the current looks to be somewhat flat due to sand and sun exposure.

In the background, a FedEx McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) MD-11F is seconds from touching down on Runway 4R.

Tomorrow is the roll-out of Boeing's newest airliner, the 787 (on 07-08-07!). Wish I could have been there to see it in person.

Southeast O‘ahu From Above

The southeastern tip of O‘ahu as seen from Island Air's Dash8-Q400, N539DS, as it climbs to a cruising altitude of 13,000 feet. This was the preview flight Island Air held for the media, Island Air executives, and partners. "Airliners" magazine ran the articles and photos I put together in their July/August 2006 issue (#100).

Today's photo was taken from seat 5A, and the propeller blades of the left side Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A turboprop engine frames the land and ocean down below. I tried this shot at 1/1000 sec, hoping to freeze the prop blades, but the shutter speed was not fast enough.

Alakai

The Hawai‘i Superferry "Alakai" has arrived from the manufacturer in Mobile, AL via the Panama Canal and Los Angeles, CA. It's seen here moored at Pier 19 in Honolulu Harbor, being prepped to enter service in the fall.

Wonder how much traffic this big boat will take away from inter-island air travel?

Independence Day

Celebrating our nation's 231st birthday! Freedom, liberty, justice for all! Thank you to our founding fathers, who had the guts to stand up in the face of death for all of us. Thank you to all the patriots for defending our land. God Bless America!

Today's photo was taken last night at the Aloha Tower Independence Day fireworks display.

What Was I Thinking?

Good question. I asked myself the same question after taking it, but I thought it had an artsy feel to for some strange, unanswerable reason.

I got this shot while waiting for the principal videographer to get his shots of the whole set-up. I was there doing the second angle videography, and thought I'd bring along my still camera for shots of my own.

Field Of Gold

Looks like this field of flowers could go on for miles in some country field ...

Taggers?

In a twist of irony during an anti-graffiti paint out, these painters from Hope968 decided to leave their own mark. Yes, they did paint it over their "tag" after this photo was taken. Through the magic of Photoshop and some creative license, I manipulated the colors from the original grey paint they were using.

Thus begins the second half of 2007 ... will it go as fast as the first half? We shall see ...

Pretty Bird

This macaw actually posed for this photo on cue as I pointed my camera at it. What a ham! And it stayed like that for another minute, trying to get me to take more photos of it. This is one of the several parrots the Hilton Hawaiian Village has on display around the resort.

Oh, by the way, do not adjust your monitor, the colors you are seeing are real. The flash highlighted the colors of the macaw.

Pretty bird ... pretty bird ... squaw-aw-aw-awk!

Well ... we have reached the end of the first half of 2007 ... already(!). Has it gone by that quickly??? That was fast!

Yacht Harbor Sunset

The sun sets amidst the boats of the Ala Wai Marina.

Freaky Tree

I shot this tree which was lit only by street lights, and monochromed it. I wanted only the night sky as the background, to add to the contrast.

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! ...

It's definitely not Superman. I don't recall what type of plane she was pointing at. This couple was one of many admiring a winter sunset from Kaka‘ako Park.

Agave

I saw this plant while on a video shoot, and thought it sure looked like agave. Those I was with thought it wasn't. I did some research on Wikipedia, and sure enough, this is an Agave Deserti plant. Agave in Hawai‘i? Yes! Right here, in the photo above.

Mostly used for medicinal purposes, this variety of agave can also be used to make ... yep, you guessed it ... tequila! Hey, here's a new one for the marketers ... Hawaiian Tequila.

Sand

There aren't too many beaches on O‘ahu where the sand is untouched for long periods of time ... I found one.

Sun Rays

One of my favorite types of shots ... the sun's rays extending from the clouds. This reminds me of God's glory.

Shooter Ready

The title says it all ...

Bronze Reflections

The sun reflects off of bronze-tinted glass onto the water ponds at Tamarind Park in downtown Honolulu.

Boys Of Summer

Today is the Summer Solstice ... the first official day of summer ... and what defines summer? America's national pasttime ... baseball.

In today's photo taken from my parents' place, two high school summer league teams face-off at the ‘Iolani baseball field.

Watercolor Plumerias

Thanks to the magic of Photoshop, I turned this photo of these plumeria into a watercolor painting.

360° View

This chandelier offers a 360 degree view of the room in which it hangs.

Now ... That's A Classic!

This has got to be the all-time best looking hood ornament ever ... from a 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air.

The design of this hood ornament reminds me of the US Navy's Chance Vought F7U "Cutlass", also from the 1950s.

Got this shot from the Classic Car Show atop the Kahala Mall parking structure.

Happy Father's Day!

This one's for all the dads out there.

White Mountain

Well, maybe not a mountain, but a huge mound of crushed coral from an empty lot that was being excavated to lay the foundation of a new building.

"D No Gekijyo In Hawaii"

A segment of the Fuji Television variety show, "D No Gekijyo", was videotaped in Hawai‘i this week. The segment featured onnagata actor Saotome Taichi. An onnagata is young man who portrays women in Japanese Kabuki theatre. Taichi-san has gained popularity for his roles in his family's theatre troupe, though he also does male roles as well. Fuji Television documented Taichi's trip and perfomances which were the first outside Japan.

In today's photo, "D No Gekijyo" segment hosts and enka singers Mikawa Ken (left) and Ken Naoko (right) interview Taichi-san aboard the Star of Honolulu dinner cruise ship. This segment is scheduled to air at the end of July on Fuji TV in Japan.

Taichi-san and fellow onnagata Tachibana Daigoro made an appearance at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for the media, and drew quite a bit of attention from hotel guests and beach goers. Many of them not knowing the two in kimono were men. In many other cultures, men and boys played womens roles in their performing arts ... ancient Greeks, Shakespearean era, ancient Hawaiian hula and Japanese Kabuki. I would have got a shot of Taichi-san in costume, but was too busy running sound for one of the documentary teams.

Puakenikeni

These Puakenikeni flowers bloom white, then change to this yellow-orange color after a few days.

Moonrise Departure

A mainland bound flight crosses the frame as the moon rises above the horizon. The spotlight from the lower left corner is from a house shining out into the ocean from Black Point. I took this photo during the last full moon phase from the Diamond Head Lookout.

Clear Falls

The little waterfall in the back of the University of Hawai‘i School of Medicine. I was there doing a photo shoot, and got this shot during one of the breaks.

Kamehameha Day

June 11th is Kamehameha Day in Hawai‘i, and is one of our state holidays that honors Kamehameha I, who unified the Hawaiian Islands under one rule, which became the Kingdom of Hawai‘i in 1810. Also known as Kamehameha The Great, he reigned until his death in 1819. This holiday was established by Kamehameha V in 1871, and continues on today.

This statue of Kamehameha I stands in front of Ali‘iolani Hale, which currently houses the state Supreme Court. It is decorated with floral lei the night before a floral parade that honors Hawai‘i's first king.

One Year Ago ...

One year ago today, Marcus and Brenda were married in a beachside sunrise ceremony. Pastor Joel of Hope968 presided over the wedding. This photo was actually from their rehearsal, the morning before their big day. I actually did their wedding video, and used the stills to check the lighting at that time of the morning. God blessed their wedding day with clear skies, and an awesome sunrise.

In the almost 20 years I have been shooting wedding videos, this was the first time I had shot a sunrise wedding. I guess there are still firsts for someone who has shot over 5,000 wedding videos.

Marcus & Brenda, Happy 1st Anniversary! May you have many more anniversaries to celebrate!

Cooling Off

NFC offensive linemen cool off under a Big Fog misting fan during the fourth quarter of the 2007 NFL Pro Bowl. Seated (L-R) are Guard Larry Allen (San Francisco 49ers), Center Andre Gurode (Dallas Cowboys), Tackle Flozell Adams (Dallas Cowboys), and Tackle Walter Jones (Seattle Seahawks); standing is Guard Steve Hutchinson (Minnesota Vikings).

This one's for all those football fans jonzing for some football.