The Siren

"The Siren" is a mural that artist Audrey Kawasaki painted for Pow Wow Hawaiʻi 2016, that's on a building in Kakaʻako, at the corner of Pohukaina and Koula Streets. 

Yuki

Yuki celebrated her 9th birthday a few days ago. It's hard to believe that it's been nine years! She's still a puppy at heart. Today's photo was taken when she was three months old.

Papaoneone Beach

Waves crash along the walls fronting homes at the far end of Papaoneone Beach in Māʻili.

Skidmarks

Looks like a someone did donuts in a parking lot at Windward Mall.

Shady Spot

This Aloha Air Cargo pilot found a shady spot to relax between flights, and while cargo was off-loaded, and more cargo loaded. I saw him carrying the beach chair and water bottle to the shadow cast by the Boeing 737's tail section.

Makapuʻu Tide Pool

At the base of the Makapuʻu Coastline are tide pools that can be accessed by hiking there, and can be seen from above along the Makapu‘u Lighthouse Trail.

Posing Pups

Yuki and Peanut model their scarves they got from Kamaʻāina K9, at the Hawai‘i Pet Expo.

Ramp Marshal

This ramp worker from Barbers Point Aviation Services marshals in this US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III to its parking spot at the Kalaeloa Airport. This C-17A flew from Joint Base Charleston, in South Carolina. The Kalaeloa Airport is used as an overflow airport when the ramp at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is full.

We also honor those who are serving our country, as May is Military Appreciation Month, and honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in protecting our nation's freedoms, as Memorial Day is tomorrow.

Explorer Interceptor

Some of the patrol vehicles in the Honolulu Police Department, are Ford Explorers, that are modified to the "Police Interceptor" line. This one above, responded to a call on Fort Street Mall, along South Hotel Street, in Downtown Honolulu.

May is Law Enforcement Appreciation Month, and we honor those who serve our communities. In Hawaiʻi, May 15th begins Police Week, and is Peace Officers Memorial Day. We thank you for your service and sacrifice.

Pond In The Stream

At one part of the Kahalu‘u Stream, there is a man-made pond.

Reverse Reflection

The sun light off of the condominium tower in the center of the photo, is a reflection from another condo tower out of frame to the right. The sun is behind the condo tower on the left in the clouds, and it too is getting a reflection on its shade side.

Ti Leaf Flowers & Honeybees

Honeybees hover around this bunch of ti leaf flowers to collect pollen.

Escaping The Line

This running back from the 808 Ducks races past his offensive line, and a defensive lineman from the Kapcity Hurricanes on a second down rush attempt. Both the Ducks and the Hurricanes are from Kapolei, and part of the Jr Prep Sports league at the time.

Fresh Catch

This fisherman reels in his catch on a jetty.

Front Street Revisited

Another view of Lāhaina's Front Street from 2009.

Ocean View

The view of ocean fronting the Elks Lodge 616 along Waikīkī's "Gold Coast", as well as Waikīkī, metro Honolulu, and Waiʻanae Mountains.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter!

Monarch Butterfly

One of the monarch butterflies that emerged out of its chrysalis a couple of hours prior, gets its bearings and its wings dried before flying off. We discovered several caterpillars on our crown flower plant, that attracts monarch butterflies to lay eggs on the leaves.

Blue Honu

All Nippon Airways has three Airbus A380 Super Jumbo airliners in its fleet. They inherited them when they acquired Skymark Airlines. ANA decided to have the A380s painted as honu (or Hawaiian green sea turtles). This one is painted blue, and is named "Lani".

6:15A Sun Rays

Three sun rays peek through the clouds at 6:15A on the way to work.

3 Falls

This water display is at the Foodland Farms wing of Ka Makana Aliʻi.

Hold Short Bars

The yellow bars going across a taxiway, indicates where an aircraft needs to hold until cleared by an air traffic controller to proceed onward. This one is at Honolulu's Taxiway R5, to enter Runway 26L/8R.

Mynah

A mynah stands on the hood of my car while I was parked in a parking lot.

Birthday Boy

Yesterday, we celebrated Peanut's 2nd birthday. His first year with us went by fast, and hoping for many more birthdays to celebrate with him.

At The Snap

Team Rice quarterback Derek Carr drops back after taking the snap, and looks for a receiver to throw to during the 2016 NFL Pro Bowl. I slowed down the shutter speed to achieve the motion blur of the offensive and defensive lines, while Carr seem to be frozen.

Front Street Memory

This week's photo shows shops along Lāhainā's famed Front Street from a 2009 photo. Hopefully, the town and its people will rebuild in the years to come. It may have been touristy, but it still held the small town charm. It will be interesting to see what the new Front Street will look like in the future.

Sheriffʻs Escort

Deputies from the Hawaiʻi State Sheriff's Department escorted this Boeing 737 that belongs to the US Department of Justice, and is operated by the US Marshals Service. The airliner made a stop at HNL, and was taxiing out for departure. They stayed until the 737 was airborne.

Si Woo Kim

In last year's Sony Open in Hawai‘i PGA Fedex Cup golf tournament, SiWoo Kim (of South Korea) won the tournament by one stroke, as Hayden Buckley missed the tying putt that could have sent the final round into a playoff. Kim is seen above, posing with the tournament trophy for the sports photographers. I got this shot after the broadcast that I was a part of ended.

Kukuihoʻola Island

Happy New Year!

Kukuihoʻolua Island is located off of Lāʻie Point on Oʻahu's north shore, and is noted for the hole in the middle of the island. During high tides and east swells, it gets battered by waves as seen above.

Sparky Cloud Blast

During one of The Chainsmokers songs, the cold spark machines and the CO2 blasters fire. The carbon dioxide cloud columns blast over the crowd then dissipate, while columns of cold sparks rise at the front of the stage.

Happy New Year! Wishing you all a blessed 2024!

Media Pool

The lineup of television news camera operators for the 2016 Hawai‘i Bowl press conference. This was one of the very few times that the press conference was held at Aloha Stadium, instead of Waikīkī.

In previous years, this game was played on Christmas Eve afternoon, but this year it was played a day earlier on the 23rd.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Sunrise Wing

The sun catches the trailing edge of the wing of our early morning Island Air flight as it approaches the south Maui coastline. The summit of Haleakalā is right below the sun.

Roll In The Grass

Yuki takes a roll in the grass during one of her runs in the yard.

Piano Keys

Taxiing into position for takeoff on HNL's Runway 8R, or the "Reef Runway". These, known as "piano keys", are white bars painted on the runway to signify the end of a runway. I got this photo during the Island Air Dash8-Q400NG media flight.

Opposing Teammates

Seattle Seahawks teammates, Cornerback Richard Sherman (25) and Wide Receiver Tyler Lockett (16) played against each other in the 2016 NFL Pro Bowl. Sherman is seen trying to distract Lockett from making the catch. Lockett made the catch, then stepped out of bounds.

Those selected to play in the NFL's 2016 all-star game, were then selected to play for either Team Rice or Team Irvin. Sherman was selected to play for Team Irvin, while Lockett was selected by Team Rice. The Seahawks had two other players for Team Irvin: QB Russell Wilson, and DE Michael Bennett; and LB Bobby Wagner was selected by Team Rice.

Gold Coast Sunset

Sunset from the Elks Lodge on Waikīkī's Gold Coast.

That 70's Look

These United Airlines stewardesses pose in front of the 747 Friendship poster during the post-arrival media event. They were dressed in their 1970s-era uniforms to mark United's final 747 flight.

Shredder

Tennis balls do not stand a chance with Peanut. He's able to start peeling the felt covering in under 15 minutes, and completely shred it in under an hour.

Keawa‘ula Blowhole

The Keawa‘ula Blowhole is one of the lesser known blowholes on O‘ahu. It's located at Keawa‘ula Beach (or Yokohama Bay), before Kaena Point, on the Leeward O‘ahu coastline. At high tide, the spouts can get quite high.

Game Time

Inside the video control room of the Aloha Stadium Scoreboard Department during a University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors football game. This is where the magic happened for the stadium's video board. From front to back, there is the director, producer, live graphics operator, and video board graphics operator. Sadly, the Aloha Stadium was decommissioned and closed in 2021.

Pure Love

Artist Tara McPherson painted one of her "Pure Love" murals as part of the 2017 PowWow Hawai‘i street art festival in Kaka‘ako. This mural was painted on a wall at the corner of Cooke and Auahi Streets.

Spotting Fail

Among the aviation photography community, a spotting fail is where there is an interference blocking the aircraft being photographed. In this photo, Airport Rescue Firefighting Truck 7 from the airport's Station 2 on a taxiway, crosses in front of the departing Antonov Airlines An-124 on Runway 8R. Note that the fire truck still has the Honolulu International Airport titles, when the airport was renamed in 2017 as the Daniel K Inouye International Airport, in honor of the late US Senator.

Torii Field Sunset

Raymond Torii Field at Wai‘anae High School, has one of the best views of any high school football stadiums in the country. Located right on the Wai‘anae coastline on Leeward O‘ahu, breathtaking sunsets can be seen from the home team grandstand before the evening varsity Seasiders game begins.

Happy Heavenly Birthday Emi!

Wishing our departed miniature dachshund, Emi, a Happy Heavenly Birthday! Had she lived, she would have turned 20 today. That's 96 in human years. She's dearly missed, and always in our hearts.

Taimane Gardner

Nā Hōkū Hanohano award-winning ukulele virtuoso Taimane Gardner, or just Taimane, was one of the guest performers for the 2017 Hawai‘i Bowl halftime show, which included an ensemble of Hawaiian music artists and hula dancers. 

Who Is That Masked 747?

This Kalitta Air Boeing 747-400F had a mask decal added to the nose of the cargo jet during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. N744CK "Captain PW Bishop 1" wore the mask from February 2021 to December 2022, and has been since repainted to the new Kalitta livery. It is a frequent visitor to Honolulu as this "Queen of the Skies" occasionally rotates in Kalitta Air flight to/from Los Angeles.

Old Lāhainā Courthouse

Another landmark consumed by the August 8th wildfire was the Old Lāhainā Couthouse. In the aftermath of the fire, the concrete and stone structure remained standing. Here was the courthouse, along with the iconic banyan tree that survived the fire in the background, in a photo taken in 2009.

Please keep the people of Maui in your thoughts and prayers, and kōkua (help) in any way you can.

Spectacular Catch

Pac-5 Wolfpack receiver Rome Lilio (85) makes a spectacular catch as this Saint Louis Crusaders II defensive back readies to make the tackle, in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division 2 game.

Paying Tribute

The USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) pays tribute to the USS Missouri (BB-63), USS Arizona (BB-39) Memorial, and the memorials of the other ships sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The guided missile destroyer was returning from deployment, and took part in the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II.

DDG-112 was named after US Navy Lieutenant Michael P Murphy was a SEAL Team special operator who posthumously earned the Medal of Honor for his actions in Operation Red Wings, where he and two other SEALs were killed in action in Afghanistan.

Pioneer Inn

This past week, a wildfire swept through Lāhainā, Maui. Sadly, the fires destroyed a majority of the town, including the world-renown Front Street, and the landmark Pioneer Inn. The  fire left a trail of destruction from the West Maui Mountains, to the grasslands above Lāhainā, to the water's edge of Front Street. The photo above was taken in March 2009, during one of our trips to Maui.

The fires were blown by high winds as the effects of Hurricane Dora passing south of the islands, and a high pressure system to the north of the islands. The cause of the fire is unknown, but the compressed winds came down from the West Maui Mountains, and created a firestorm that consumed whatever was in its path. There are also three other brush fires ablaze on Maui: Wailuku, Kula, and Kīhei, that spread firefighting resources thin.

Keep the people of Maui in your prayers, and help out in any way you can!

Continuing coverage by Hawai‘i News Now.

Sans Souci Sunset

Sunset from Sans Souci Beach in Waikīkī.