Sandy Beach Rainbow

A low rainbow at the Makapu‘u end of Sandy Beach.

Rosemary Sprig

I found this rosemary plant in a public community garden ... very fragrant.

Vintage Cockpit

This is the cockpit of Kamaka Air's Super DC-3, N9796N, which was the subject of a magazine article I co-wrote, and photographed for "Airways" magazine. The article appeared in the December 2006 issue. The monochrome look gives it the vintage feel, though you can see a few modern instruments as well.

I know the politically correct term now is flight deck, but this is a 60+ year old aircraft ... it's a cockpit.

Rainy Sunset

A rain shower band cuts in front of a sunset and the downtown Honolulu skyline. It gives the impression there's a huge fire behind the buildings ...

Tiny Yellow Flowers

These yellow flowers are from one of my plants on my lanai. The flowers are no more than a half-inch across.

Gone Fishin' v2

Fishing in the late afternoon ... as soon as I saw the silouhette, I knew I had to get this one.

Watching The Surfer Girl

This surfer watches this surfer girl cut loose on a wave before jumping in to go surf the break at Kewalo Basin.

Bats

The bats of the Hope968 softball team during a game from last season.

The South Side Of LAX

From a mini-park on East Imperial Highway, designed and built for aviation photographers and spotters, people can see the southside operations of LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). From this point you can also see the famous "Hollywood" sign (in Griffith Park), and the San Gabriel Mountains behind that.

Oh ... the hustle and bustle that is LAX ... The American Airlines Terminal (#4) is jam packed, as is the Tom Bradley International Terminal on the left (green tail). Asia-bound flights are leaving while in-bound flights from Europe begin to arrive.

This has to be one of the clearest days I have seen in L.A.! Had a blast spending my free day photographing airliners. I'll post a take-off shot I took from this side in the future.

Moonset At 6

The moon sets behind the the Honolulu coastline at 6am as dawn breaks.

Discovery

Little Malia experiences her first Hope968 Easter Egg Hunt.

Mahalo Leila!

Broken Jack

I was at the airport getting a photo of a Xiamen Airlines Boeing 737-800, when I saw this broken bottle of Jack Daniels® whiskey near my car. I thought it looks like despair, or frustration, or someone trying to escape reality. I thought switching it to a black and white photo had a more dramatic effect, and the framing of the branches to give it depth.

A Thorny Situation

Look at those mean looking thorns on this cactus! I sure would not want to fall onto that ... that would hurt ... real bad.

Stalking

Lola, the black Labrador Retriever, stalks a kingfisher in the middle of one of the Blaisdell Center's ponds. The kingfisher was stalking the tilapia for its lunch. I guess it's one of those the hunter becomes the hunted(?).

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!