Roses In Vase

This floral decoration was the centerpiece on altar at church. When I saw it, I had to get some photos of it.

Aloha Week

The second Saturday in September marks the beginning of "Aloha Week" in Hawai‘i. The Aloha Festivals Committee sponsors the Aloha Festivals Floral Parade which is being held today. This floral parade, which is featured nationally during the Thanksgiving Day Parades Across America TV show, runs from Ala Moana Park to Kapi‘olani Park. The parade features flower decorated floats made by various organizations and corporations, marching bands, pa‘u riders, and dignitaries.

The Aloha Festivals Committee has these banners hanging from light poles around metro Honolulu and Waikiki. I wanted to get a sunlit shot of these banners, but forgot to get the re-do while walking back to my car.

Thunderbirds Run 'em Up!

The US Air Force's Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, performed twice over Waikiki yesterday, as part of Air Force Week, and the 60th Anniversary of the US Air Force. These Lockheed-Martin F-16C Fighting Falcons roared over metro Honolulu and Waikiki at speeds reaching 500mph at altitudes about 500 feet!

In today's photo, the Thunderbirds make a pass in their six-ship delta formation over Waikiki as they began survey flights in yesterday morning. The two solo pilots, Thunderbirds 5 and 6, break away from the delta. They performed later in the afternoon, and included a pass over the USS Missouri and the USS Arizona Memorial at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

The Thunderbirds are also performing on Saturday with show center fronting Fort DeRussy in Waikiki.

Rocky Beach

Waves crash upon the rocks of this secluded beach.

Bird Of Paradise

One of the flowers commonly associated with Hawai‘i. They can be found in practically every part of Honolulu. I found this one at Foster Botanical Garden, and used a soft filter.

Never Forget

Six years ago, one man called 19 others to commit the most atrocious acts on US soil. Their acts caused thousands of innocent lives to perish in a matter of hours. They thought by flying four airliners into four buildings and bringing them down, and those in them, they could bring down an entire country. They were wrong! Five men on one of the four airliners (United 93) used in this terrorist attack, decided to fight back, even if it cost them their own lives to save those in the intended fourth target. What the events of September 11th, 2001 did was bring our country closer, to fight those bent on destroying our country.

It seems a lot of people seemed to have forgotten those horrific events of the saddest day in American history. Many have also forgotten that we have the God-given right to defend our nation, our freedoms, our loved ones, and ourselves from those bent on destroying it. If we don't stop them on their soil, they will bring us down on ours. Please take a minute out of your day to remember the thousands of people who perished in New York, NY; Washington, DC; and Shanksville, PA; and those serving our country around the world who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our freedoms.

I was trying to find a photo that would be right for this solemn day, thanks to T, she said this would be the photo to match this day. I got this photo one early evening aboard the Star of Honolulu dinner cruise ship.

Crazy Bitch

You all must be thinking ... what kind of title is that? Well, a female dog is termed a bitch in dog breeder-speak, so it's not entirely a bad word ... for a female canine.

I caught Lola, a three-year-old female Labrador Retriever taking a dip in one of the ponds at Blaisdell Center, during the Hawai‘i Kennel Club's 2007 Fall Dog Show. It was quite amusing to hear Lola's owner call her a "crazy bitch", when she decided to take a second dip. So I guess the term was appropriate.

One of the shots I have always wanted to get, was a dog shaking the water off of its fur after a bath or swim, and freezing the water droplets in mid-air. Well, I got one ...

Power Of Prayer

Jesus said, "In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." John 16:23-24

Another God-inspired pose T suggested ... It took a few shots to get this one, we think this is the best of them. Praise God!

Dual Hood Ornaments

One thing missing from cars nowadays are hood ornaments ... back in the day, cars had some pretty interesting ones. The ones pictured above are from a 1955(?) Chevrolet Bel-Air. It reminds me of two ramjet air intakes. Maybe the car designers thought it make the car look faster.

Spear Tips

These spear tips a top the ends of this wrought iron fence surrounds ‘Iolani Palace, the nation's only royal palace that was used as an official residence by a reigning monarch. Hawai‘i was an independent kingdom until the monarchy was overthrown by the US, and annexed in 1893.

I had wanted to get a wide shot of the palace from the King Street entrance, but was there too early, as the sun was almost behind the palace. I got this photo of the spear tips behind the palace, where the Capitol building is.

Sandbox

Remember those days of pre-school and kindergarten, playing with friends in the sandbox? Fun times, weren't they?

I came across this sandbox at pre-school adjacent to a church where I was videotaping a wedding, and got this shot before the couple arrived.

I thought a little artsy Photoshop effect would improve the shot.

Bamboo Arch

Do you remember the "What Was I Thinking?" and the "Bride On A Beach" photos? Well, this is the bamboo archway(?) that matched the chairs in the "Thinking" photo. I know, it's not exactly an arch ... but you know what I mean. I also tried to frame the Moku Manu Islands between the bamboo poles.

Paddles

One of the many canoe racing teams had their paddles lined up outside their tent. This was taken on the same day as the "Regatta" photo posted in July.

Lamp

I bought this lamp at Home Depot last year, when I discovered it was priced at $7(!), marked down from $35. I asked if anything was wrong with it, and was told "no", it's just a close-out ... someone made a big booboo! The cashier insisted it was a mistake, but the department manager overrode her call, and I got the lamp for $7. It was later re-priced at $21 ... timing is everything.

I installed one of those blue-tinted light bulbs, that give off a whiter light, than regular bulbs, and was playing with my camera's lighting and white balance. After looking at all the test shots, I thought black & white might have a better effect. I was also trying to get symmetry with the walls, ceiling, and lamp.

Saxes & Drums

This month's theme week will be objects. Leading off the "Objects" are saxophones and drums from Hope968's worship team.

I originally took this photo for the worship team's CD booklet. I was asked to photograph the worship team early one morning. I thought it would be cool to include several concept photos for the booklet.

Warriors 2007

Today is the beginning of the University of Hawai‘i Warriors 2007 football season! The 23rd-ranked Warriors' first opponent, is the University of Northern Colorado Bears (a Division 1-AA school in the Big Sky Conference), in a home game at Aloha Stadium.

Pictured above are All-American candidate wide receiver Davone Bess (left) and Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Colt Brennan (right). I took this photo of this lethal offensive combo at a Hope968 worship service where Colt Brennan was the special guest speaker, last November. Davone Bess accompanied Colt to our church service, and spoke at a service a few weeks later with fellow wide receiver Ryan Grice-Mullen. Linebacker Solomon Elimimian recently spoke at one of our services as well.

Go Warriors!

N95SW

This photo of a Linus Airways (Indonesia) Boeing 737-2H4/Adv launched my "career" as a professional photographer. It was the first photo that airliner magazines paid me for. It was published in two magazines here in the US, one in the UK, Germany, Portugal, and Brazil. Since then, I have had several articles and a few dozen photos published worldwide.

This 737 was on its way from Miami, FL to Jakarta, Indonesia, after leaving a 20+ year stint with Southwest Airlines. N95SW was the final 737-200 series that was retired from the Southwest fleet, which included a final flight over Dallas, TX; it's also the first aircraft in the Linus Airways fleet. An airliner enthusiast in Miami notified me of this jet's planned stop (and of its color scheme) at HNL (from Oakland) during its delivery trip. I got this photo while the flight crew rested in Waikiki, before continuing onto Majuro (Marshall Islands), then Indonesia.

I wonder if the ground handling company broke out the green safety cones just for this aircraft ... as a joke?

Frets & Strings

The rosewood fretboard of my Kramer guitar neck. I had this guitar custom-built in 1990, with the Kramer neck, a maple-top body by Warmoth Guitars, vintage-wound pickups by Jackson Guitars, and an original Floyd Rose tremolo bridge. Of all the guitar necks tried, this Kramer felt the most comfortable. Not that I'm any good, I'm not ... I don't play that often ... but I wanted a guitar that would last, instead of the cheap one I bought in the mid-80s.

Sadly, Kramer went out of business a few years later. Gibson brought the brand back, but I don't know if they are using the same specs as they did with the original.

Lunar Eclipse

Last night, we here in Hawai‘i got to experience a total lunar eclipse. I think it's the second time I've seen one, thought the first one, was a partial eclipse. I slept through the others since they occurred quite early in the morning. The next one is slated for 2010.

I know it's not the best shot I've ever posted, but I got this one as the eclipse began.

Wind Bent Tree

This wind bent tree sits in the middle of a pasture at Kualoa Ranch. I thought something looked different about it when I saw how off-centered the trunk was. I was there as part of a Japanese TV production assignment, but we were rained out.

Praise The Lord!

"I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever." Psalm 145:1-2

My friend T and I stopped at Kaka‘ako Park to take photos, and she came up with this pose. Great idea! Thanks and praises to the Lord for the inspiration of this photo!

A Year Ago ...

... today, Kirk & Merilyn were married at the Kahala Hotel. I was hired to be the second photographer, with Jayson Tanega being the principal photographer. Shooting stills for a wedding for me was a huge difference as opposed to shooting video. None the less, it was good experience, and had fun on this day. This photo was taken in the staircase that leads to the ground level of the hotel.

Associate Pastor Gabe of Hope968 performed the morning beachside wedding ceremony.

Kirk & Merilyn, Happy 1st Anniversary! May there be many more anniversaries to celebrate together!

Liquid Jewel

This rain drop looks like a crystal sphere being held in place by the leaves of this ‘akia plant.

Mount Hood

Mount Hood stands majestically in the background, as a Horizon Air CRJ-700 makes its final approach to Portland International Airport's Runway 28L. I took this while my Hawaiian Air flight waited for a couple of arrivals, before returning to Honolulu.

Solitude

Normally, Plumeria bloom in bunches, but not this tree. I thought this flower by itself really shows its beauty. I'm glad I had my soft filter with me.

Nationally Ranked!

The University of Hawai‘i Warriors football team received its first-ever pre-season national ranking (#23) in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Earlier, the Warriors received a #24 ranking in the USA Today Top25 Coaches' Poll. The 2007 campaign begins on September 1st against Northern Colorado at Aloha Stadium.

The Warriors (white jerseys) ended the 2006 season with a huge 41-24 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Hawai‘i Bowl, last Christmas Eve, and earned a #24 ranking in the final 2006 USA Today Top25 Coaches' Poll. Today's photo was taken during the Hawai‘i Bowl pre-game warmups.

Go Warriors!

Crashing Wave

Last summer, a south swell provided some excellent surf for the town surfers. The waves were averaging three-foot faces, with an occasional four or five-foot sets. This wave crashing upon the rocks at Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park, was one of those four-footers. Lots of fun to photograph, though a bit dangerous. I did pay a price, and got wet after taking a photo of wave, but I managed to turn in time so my camera did not get soaked.

Directing Traffic

An officer from the State of Hawai‘i Harbor Police directs traffic out of Kewalo Basin Park on to Ala Moana Boulevard, after the July Fourth fireworks display at Magic Island.

Sweet Sixteen

All of my 16 orchid buds have bloomed! Thought black and white would be best, since I couldn't get the right white balance. The same applies in video, if the white balance doesn't work out, turn it black and white, and sometimes it turns out better.

"Are You Ready For Some Football?"

... is the tagline to ESPN's Monday Night Football. The 2007 regular season for Hawai‘i high schools is about to begin in a couple of weeks. Today's photo was taken from the Camera 2 position, high above the north end zone atop the Aloha Stadium Jumbotron®, while the teams were warming up.

Last night's pre-season match up was between the Saint Louis Crusaders (white jerseys) and the Kahuku RedRaiders (red jerseys). These two teams last faced each other last December, in the 2006 State Championship game, with Kahuku edging out Saint Louis, 7-6. Last night, the Crusaders avenged their loss by thumping the RedRaiders, 21-6. In the afternoon game, the junior varsity teams faced off, with the Crusaders spanking the RedRaiders, 47-14.

Could this be a preview of the 2007 State Finals? Can the RedRaiders repeat as champions? We shall see on November 30th ...

Howzit!

That's what I call a window seat! A crew member of this McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A "Extender", from the 60th & 349th AMW (combined USAF units based at Travis AFB, CA) flashes the "shaka" sign as they taxi by a few aircraft photographers at HNL. That jumpseat behind the captain's seat has one huge window to look out of.

It was one of those days where the winds were blowing from the southwest, which causes the HNL air traffic pattern to reverse itself. This KC-10A was taxiing out to HNL's "Reef Runway" for a re-fueling mission somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. How appropriate that their call sign is "Petrol".

Sunset Cruise

"The Pride Of America", one of two Norwegian Cruise Line ships ported in Honolulu, floats along the southern coast before the Fourth of July firewoks display at Magic Island Park.

Movie Tie-Ins

It seems that every blockbuster film has some kind of product tie-in ... this Spiderman 3 helicopter is no exception.

I tried to combine depth of field, flash and motion blur in the same photo ...

Metro Moon

A full moon rises over metro Honolulu in a photo taken from Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park.

Low Tide

An early morning low tide in front of the Kahala Hotel, and Wai‘alae Country Club.

Bird On Light Fixture

This bird takes a break on this light fixture, as it scopes out food scraps left by my cousin's daughters.

Press Corps

Everyone in the group thought that 2005 was the final year that the Japanese TV networks would have coverage of Japanese celebrities arriving in Honolulu for the New Year's season. So we thought we'd get a group shot for posterity. A bunch of us asked a magazine photographer to take shots with our point-and-shoots. One of the other videographer's photo made in the "Focus On O‘ahu" section of Mid-Week magazine in April 2005. In the photo above, it's the three TV crews (videographers in front with our sound guys behind us), co-ordinators, and reporters. By the way ... I'm third from the right in the front row.

Over the years this paparazzi-type of assignment has been big, with TV crews and photogrpahers vying to get a shot of some Japanese celebrity as they exit the foreign arrivals at HNL. The funny part was that people would ask who we were waiting for,and shrug our shoulders, then told them to ask the reporters. Sometimes celebrities would try to evade us, so it was off to the races! For about ten days, it was a 0500 call time and Byron's Drive-In for breakfast. It's the only time I ever eat there. I had to eat something different everyday ... the fried rice omlette is probably the best (with a side of Portuguese sausage)! Don't forget the Tabasco® sauce either!

As you saw earlier in the year, we got the call for one more year. Will we be back for 2008? We shall see ...

Shiho's Sunset

I met Shiho over two years ago, while she was on holiday from New Zealand, and spent a couple of days taking her sightseeing. I took this photo of her on the day she returned to New Zealand, and turned the sunset into a watercolor painting. This was one of the first "paintings" I did in Photoshop, she said she thought that was neat effect.

South Swell

This surfer took advantage of a south surf swell off the ‘Ewa (west) side of Magic Island. It was a very short ride, but this guy caught as many as he could. As you can see, the wave heights for the south shore were quite decent.

I took this photo before one of Hope968's "Sunny Services", along with several more surf shots. It's not often I get surfing shots close to shore.

The Office

Now, this is what I call an office! Do all of your work while enjoying the sun, and sitting in a nice cool swimming pool. It's such a good idea, that one of my neighbors frequently does it. Now, that's the way to conduct business!

I was on my way to an airliner photo shoot, had looked down, found her talking on her cell phone, and thought it would be an interesting photo. So here it is with a little work in Photoshop.

Celebration

World-renowned marine artist Wyland jumps for joy after completing his most recent masterpiece, "Koholālele", an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737-700. This "$100million canvas", as Wyland put it, was his 95th major art project. His goal is complete 100 "whaling walls" around the world, to draw attention to the fragility of nature's marine ecosystem, and a call to preserve it along with its inhabitants.

Whew! I nailed this pose on the first take, by setting my camera on a three-shot burst at 1/1000 sec. Sure enough, photo number two caught Wyland in mid-air. He asked if I wanted to get this pose for any potential magazine articles. Speaking of 1,000 ... I shot over 1,000 photos during the course of documenting the entire process, and the blessing on media day for Aloha Airlines. It was well worth it and a great experience!

I found out from Aloha Airlines, that they will be using another photo of Wyland painting the 737 in their 2008 calendar!

Picture In Picture

Rich Eisen of the NFL Network interviews AFC All-Star running back Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2007 NFL Pro Bowl this past Feburary, which the AFC won 31 - 28.

That's your's truly with the videocamera shooting the interview. If you look at the Jumbotron® behind them, you'll see what I'm shooting, a close-up of Johnson. To my left is Janice, who was floor directing these interview segments. The NFL Network also broadcast the interviews ... I was told, "no pressure ... only several million people watching your work". Thanks "Naks" for taking the photo with my L3.

What a job! I get paid to watch football! :-)

Next Generation

This week's photos will have the "people" theme to it. It was an idea I thought up a few days ago ... why? Sounded good at the time ... we'll see how this goes.

Today's photo is of the second generation of Hope968's congregation, taken at one of our "Sunny Services" that we held at Magic Island. I thought this photo had a feel of camraderie, as the kids are a tight-knit group. I had one of those "mind's eye" (okay ... more like "still small voice") moments, where I knew how I was going to alter this shot in Photoshop. Freaky.

Cell Phone "CSI"

Victim: Motorola Razr®

Cause of death: drowning and short circuit of electronics

A friend performed an autopsy on this Razr® that a customer brought in, after the cellular phone was dropped in a water puddle. They said it had been in the puddle for only a few seconds, but those few seconds were fatal to the phone.

So that's what the guts of a cell phone looks like ... so cold and sterile.

Oprah's Global Express

This sleek jet is owned by Harpo Inc, which is media mogul Oprah Winfrey's production company. According to a thread on the Airliners.net forum, Ms Winfrey chartered four airliners from American Airlines (one of her sponsors) to bring 1,000 of her employees to Mau‘i where she gave them a week's vacation there.

Obviously (as seen avbove), Miss O flew on her own jet, a $50million+ Bombardier BD-700 "Global Express", which dropped her and her fellow passengers off on the "Valley Isle". Due to lack of parking space on the Kahului Airport ramp, her Global Express was relegated to park at HNL.

Another View Of Leahi

Another view of Diamond Head (Leahi), this time from the top of Maunalani Heights through some trees. I saw the way the trees framed Leahi, and had to stop to get a photo of it. The Kaimuki district of Honolulu lines up at the foot of Leahi.

I took this photo before visiting my grandmother, who is recovering from a fall, at the Maunalani Nursing And Rehabilitation Center. The nursing center sits on land that once was the Castle Estate. My grandmother was also instrumental in the founding of the nursing center many years ago. Maunalani offers another great unobstructed view of Leahi (I might post later), as well as the rest of metro Honolulu and Waikiki.

New Blooms

These are the first two of nine buds to bloom on one of the two stems to bear orchids. This stem of flowers is from a stalk that began growing a few months ago. What a way to bring in the month of August!

Convergence

Or divergence, whichever way you look at it.

Blackhawk Departure

About 500 yards from my apartment is the Queen's Medical Center helipad. It's where the US Army's 524th Corps Support Battalion (Medevac) Sikorsky UH-60A "Blackhawk" helicopters drop-off extreme emergency medical cases to the Queen's Trauma Center. On call 24-7 to assist Honolulu's Emergency Medical Services, these helicopters fly in patients from outlying areas on O‘ahu. Currently, the 524th is deployed to the Iraqi theatre, and a detachment from an active duty unit from Alaska has stepped in to fill the void, since the Hawai‘i Army National Guard "Blackhawk" unit that was supposed to substitute, was also activated for the Iraqi theatre. Fly safe!

In today's photo, it's a long-exposure night shot of a "Blackhawk" from the 524th departing the Queen's helipad, heading back to Wheeler Army Air Field, in Wahiawa. The chopper came in about 10pm, dropped off the patient, and departed about 20 minutes later. The second streak of light is an Aloha Airlines inter-island cargo flight. I could not have asked for better timing than to get the two take-offs.

While I was moving into my apartment (10 years ago), we would see "Blackhawks" make their medevac flights during the day. In my first night in my new home, I was awakened at 5:30am to the sound of an in-bound "Blackhawk", which acted as my alarm clock. I have heard flights come and go at all hours of the day. Like any other sound, I have become rather immune to it, though I will watch every once-in-a-while. It's a treat to watch these pilots stick the landing on the pad. Occaisonally, pilots will perform touch-and-go landings to train new pilots, or re-qualify current pilots.

Bean Bag Toss

Part of Hope968's Easter Egg Hunt festivities are games for the kids once the hunt is over. A couple of the kids test out the bean bag toss while the rest of the games are being set up.

I was amazed on how the auto-focus picked up on the bean bag, while the boys are out-of-focus.