Spinner Dolphins & Reef Fish

Keeping with the dolphins at the nose of the 737, Wyland painted a trio of spinner dolphins on the right side (top).

Wyland also painted a few reef fish below the right side forward entry door.

Honu & Tiger Shark

The honu, or green sea turtle (top), carries much significance in Hawaiian culture. A honu was also painted on both sides of the 737. Wyland adds detail to the honu on the left side.

The tiger shark is a predator commonly found swimming around the Hawaiian Islands. Wyland begins outlining the shark against the late afternoon sky.

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Wyland painted a Hawaiian Monk Seal on both sides of N748AL.

The top photo shows a Hawaiian Monk Seal painted right of the main entry door. According to Wyland, the seal was there to greet the passengers awaiting to board the aircraft.

The above photo shows a monk seal painted above the wing root on the right side of the aircraft.

Humpback Whales

Humpback whales were painted on the right rear section of the fuselage as well, that featured a mother and her calf.

The top photo shows a low-angle wide shot of Wyland and Kenny on the snorkel.

The above photo shows a mirror image of Wyland off of the humpback as he adds the finishing touches.

Super Bowl XLIV Champs

"Who dem say gonna beat them Saints? Who dat! Who dat!"

The New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV yesterday over the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17! Woo hoo!

Today's special shows a photo of quarterback Drew Brees' helmet on the NFC from the 2009 Pro Bowl, that I took while we were setting up our camera cables on the Mauka (Mountainside) sideline.

I remembered I had this shot, and thought that if the Saints win, I'm posting this ...

The "Koholālele" theme week continues below.

Bottlenose Dolphins

In the top photo, Wyland draws out the bottlenose dolphins on the port side (left) nose section.

In the above photo, Wyland paints in the dolphins. Nautically, dolphins can be found racing along the bow of ships.

Draw & Paint

This month's theme week is "Koholālele, Wyland's painting of N748AL". In 2007, marine artist Wyland was commissioned to paint one of Aloha AIrlines' 737-700s, which were used for the Hawai‘i - West Coast service. It would be the artist's only moving "whaling wall".

In April 2007, I was commissioned to photograph Wyland as he painted the Aloha Airlines 737-700. Asked if I would be interested was a no-brainer. I cleared my schedule for this historic event, which occurred a month later, and spent three days in the Aloha hangar shooting over 1,000 photos. Out of those photos, over 250 were submitted to the airline for their use, and to magazines. The first and second days were the actual drawing & painting, and the third day was the unveiling and blessing of the aircraft. Because there were so many photos, I decided to double up on the photos.

It was amazing to see how Wyland worked. He said the aircraft had one big challenge: the fuselage skin is curved. At the same time this was the only painting (up to that point) where he could get a full view by stepping back a few yards, since the maximum height he worked was about 20 feet (on a moving scaffold), something he could not do while painting a building.

In the top photo, Wyland draws a humpback whale on the left rear section of the fuselage with a blue grease pencil. This was the first of the sea life he painted.

In the above photo, Wyland adds detail to the whale painting by using different shades of blue.

Boots & Kimo's

Boots & Kimo's Hawaiian Kitchen is one of Kailua's most popular eateries. So much so, that wait times can go up to an hour on a busy morning. It's known for its macadamia nut sauce on their pancakes, and their Hawaiian-style ribs. The owners are big NFL football fans, and have the room divided into AFC and NFC, plus each table has a team logo on it.

This was the scene when Kat & I had gone there one Saturday morning, and our wait time was about 45 minutes. And yes, the food is delicious!

Egret On Lexus

One Sunday morning, after a 7am service, I noticed this egret sitting on the roof rack of a Lexus RX300 SUV. I had gone to pick up breakfast at a nearby restaurant, and saw the bird while walking back to my car. Of course I had to get photos of the white bird, and it looked like the bird owned the car.

Aloe Flowers

During fall and winter months, aloe plants around the state are in bloom ...

"Dog" House

This is the front of Da Kine Bail Bonds, owned by Duane "Dog" Chapman, the bounty hunter, and star of the A&E TV series. This is where the Honolulu segments are based out of. It's next door to one of the churches where I videotape Japanese tourist weddings.

Around the corner from the bail bond office is the "Dog" store, where merchandise & souvenirs from the show is sold.

Woody

Kat & I came across this car that was parked outside the Mililani Mauka location of Poke Stop, where "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives" was shooting a segment. I'm not sure if it was for the segment, but it's definitely a classic!

Controversy

A couple of weeks ago, the Hawai‘i State Senate voted on the civil-unions bill. Supporters of traditional marriage (dressed in white) and supporters of same-sex marriage (rainbow-colored lei) of the bill filled the Senate gallery before the vote. The Senate passed the bill that day, but the House indefinitely postponed action on the bill a few days ago.

Pro Bowl Camera 3

For the first time in five seasons, I won't be working camera 3 for the NFL Pro Bowl, because the league moved the game to Miami this year, and the week prior to the Super Bowl. Since the 2005 Pro Bowl, I have been one of the camera people who shot on our hand-held field camera. Guess we'll just have to wait 'til next year ...

Centerpiece

This etched glass tile block and flower arrangement was the table centerpiece at Todd & Dyann's wedding reception. Dyann did the etching on the blocks too!

Aisle Seat

On our flight to Maui in November, I took the aisle seat and Kat had the window on the Hawaiian Air Boeing 717-200. This was the view from Row 17, looking forward toward the flightdeck.

Big Island

On a clear day, the peaks of Mauna Kea (left) and Mauna Loa (right) on the island of Hawai‘i, commonly called the "Big Island", can be see from the summit of Haleakalā (on the island of Maui). The 'Alenuihāhā Channel separates the "Valley Isle" and the "Big Island".

Pool Reflection

This is the reverse angle to the "Slide" photo I posted a year ago. While videotaping painter Dana Queen for a TV project, around the former Weismuller Estate, I took out my camera to get this reflection shot between takes.

T-Shirts

At Matsumoto Store, there is a huge selection of logoware to choose from. Tourists and locals alike get their t-shirts while they wait for their shave ice order.

Pizza

One of Kat's specialties: flatbread pizza with pesto, spinach, garlic, mushrooms, shredded chicken, and mozzarella. I got this photo right before Kat put this pizza in the oven. Oh so yummy!

"Mary, Did You Know?"

Azure, from the New Hope Leeward worship team, sings the Christmas song "Mary, Did You Know?", while the drama team re-enacts the birth of Jesus is shown on the video screen. I shot this during one of the Christmas Eve services. Mary, Joseph and Jesus were actually on the opposite side of the stage.

Вода (Water)

When the Antonov An225 "Mriya" was into town, I had the opportunity to check out the largest aircraft in the world. While we were up in the cockpit, there was this bottled water that was on the radio operator's control station. Yes, this bottled water ls labeled in Cyrillic, and it came from the Ukraine, where the aircraft and crew is based. In fact, most, if not all, of the markings are in Cyrillic.

The brand is София Книвська, it's a Ukrainian brand of mineral water.

Island Beauty

In 2006, Island Air changed their corporate branding and their livery to three themes: Island Beauty (hula dancer [above]), Island Rhythm (“ukulele), and Island Style (surfboards).

Today's photo was taken minutes after arriving from the media flight. An article about Island Air, their Q400, and a flight review I did appeared in the Oct/Nov 2006 issue of "Airliners".

Cracked Glass

The Prince Court restaurant at the Hawai‘i Prince Hotel features sliding doors at the entrance with panes of fractured glass.

Smoky Night 2010

This was the scene at 12:15am on New Year's Day, in a neighborhood in Kane‘ohe, where Kat's mom lives. The smoke was from all of the fireworks that people were setting off at the stroke of midnight to ring in the new year. With the light winds that night, the smoke hung in the air until the early morning hours.

There were a lot more fireworks set off this year than last year, as evidenced by comparing the photos.

Accident Scene

On Christmas Day, we came across this unfortunate four-car accident on the Interstate H3 East near the Tetsuo Harano Tunnels. We had seen the white police SUV (far right with hatch open) race past us as we were getting onto the H3. It didn't look like there were any major injuries, but cars were damaged.

Table Reflection

A reflection of the street scene off of the table top at a shave ice shop near St. Louis Heights.

Fearless Foursome

Four of the pastors at New Hope Leeward are hosting a new message series called "Fearless", which officially begins this week. Senior Pastor Mike Lwin (center top), along with Pastors Mike McGuire, Art Larson, and Alec Shimizu (left to right) contributed to the eight-week series.

I took this photo after we were done recording the small group discussion DVD that I had the privilege of directing. We had scheduled to shoot the eight chapters over two days, but thank God, we shot everything in a day! I think that the project pushed all of us who worked on it further into faith, and away from fear. It was only through Christ that we made it through. It's my prayer that we all grow in our faith and live it.

Open Market

The Kapi‘olani Community College hosts an open farmer's market every Saturday. Fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, and hot food stands line the college's parking lot.

Today's photo shows the crowd on the Saturday before the Honolulu Marathon.

Closing Up

After arriving at HNL, the Xiamen Airlines delivery flight crew fits covers over the pitot tube sensors on the nose of their new Boeing 737-800, B-5488. Once the aircraft is closed up, the crew and aircraft will spend the night in Honolulu, and continue across the Pacific the next morning. The sensors measure airspeed and other flight dynamics, and need to be covered if an aircraft is to be kept overnight.

Peck

Okay ... I posted a short version of this story on my Facebook page, and had requests to show the photo ...

Here's what happened ... a couple of days ago, I got home from running errands about 1pm. After backing my car into my parking stall, I saw this kolea (golden plover) pecking at the bumper of this car that parks on the opposite side of a median strip in our parking area. At first, I wondered why the bird was pecking the bumper ... it was pecking at its reflection!

Well, of course, I had to get a shot of this. I've tried to get a decent shot of a kolea for a while, but they are rather skiddish. Not this day, it so focused on attacking its reflection, it did not care that I was creeping closer. I got about six feet from the kolea, before I got the shot I wanted (above).

To top things off, ten minutes later, I looked from our lanai, and the bird was still at it! When Kat & I had gone out three hours later, it was still at the same spot of the bumper! Kat got a chuckle out of it. It led me to think, how long was this bird really at this? When we came home an hour later, it was eating bugs in the grass.

North Shore Traffic

On New Year's Eve day, we went to Hale‘iwa to meet up with relatives for lunch. This was the traffic along Kamehameha Highway, it was heavy due to the high waves on the north shore.

Ace!

Our nephew Cobe celebrated his 12th birthday this past weekend ... he's striking a pose after an ace on the Bayview Mini-golf Course.

Bright Magentas

A bunch magenta-colored orchids that Kat's mom had given me a while back. This is the first set of flowers from this plant that I thought it would be a while before it would bear any orchids. Patience and TLC paid off ...

In an experiment, I used the on board flash to give the flowers an extra boost, since the sunlight was too harsh ...

Happy 7th Birthday!

New Hope Leeward celebrates its seventh birthday this month. The hip-hop and hula ministries put on special performances during last weekend's services.

Ko Olina Sunset

The sun sets behind the Ko ‘Olina's Lagoon 4 ...

Sparkling Lagoon

The late afternoon sunlight sparkles off of the water's surface, while a family lounges in the lagoon.

Beach Bound

Shifting over to the west side of O‘ahu, Kat & I ventured to the Lagoons at Ko ‘Olina. On this particular day, we went to Lagoon 4, which is near the Ko ‘Olina Marina, and Kalaeloa Harbor.

A Delta Air Lines Airbus A330 makes a sweeping right turn to line up for final approach for Runway 8L. It's bringing in passengers from Atlanta, GA.

Kualoa Beach

Today's photo is a part of the beach that separates Kualoa Beach Park and Mokoli‘i Island ("Chinaman's Hat"), with Kāne‘ohe Bay and the Ko‘olau Mountains in the background.

Kāne‘ohe Bay

Looking toward the south side of Kualoa Park, which is the uppermost part of Kāne‘ohe Bay, with the Ko‘olau Mountains in the background ...

Lanikai Point

An outrigger canoe traverses across Kailua Bay, behind Lanikai Point. Moku Nui, the islet in the background is one of two that make up Na Mokulua.

Kiteboarders

During the summer, Kathy & I took a week off and spent it driving to various beaches around O‘ahu. Some of the photos I took are the subject of this month's theme week ... "Beach Week".

Kiteboarders take advantage of the tradewinds at Kailua Beach Park on O‘ahu's Windward side.

Local Style Table Favor

This was the table favor from Todd & Dyann's wedding. It was a gift box made from palm fronds, that contained cookies. On the top of the favor was a miniature ‘ukulele. Only in Hawai‘i!

A New Decade!

Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou! & Hau‘oli Kekeke Hou!

Happy New Year & Happy New Decade!

May you all have a blessed and prosperous 2010!