Happy Halloween!

Trick or treat!

This year's Halloween display at Kahala Mall ... treat.

Happy Halloween!

Elvis Has Not Left The Blaisdell!

A bronze statue of the Elvis Presley was placed outside the Blaisdell Center Arena, where the "King of Rock'n'Roll" performed a concert in 1973, that was broadcast around the world via satellite. The unveiling of the statue was aired on the NickAtNite network.

Extra Blessing

My orchid plant had a third stem that produced this six-pack. The odd thing was that the stem originally had six buds, but was attacked by birds leaving the two largest buds. However, each bud produced three flowers each, and here they are!

Let's Go Fishing

"Let's Go Fishing" was the title of a local TV program that highlighted fishing in Hawai‘i, and around the world, as well as a cooking segment. The show ran from the late-1960s up until the 1990s(?), Sunday afternoons on KHON. I wasn't a big fan of the show, but my relatives were.

Today's photo was taken on a Sunday afternoon, hence the title, at the opening of Kewalo harbor.

Cactus Eclipse

This saguaro cactus screens out the sun at the Kapiolani Community College xeriscape garden.

Aching Hunger

This kingfisher looks intently at it's potential lunch swimming in one of the Blaisdell Center ponds.

Bel Air

One of the most recognizable autos ever made ... a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, and its signature rear fenders ... a true American classic.

Twisted Orchids

It's the first time I've seen orchids with petals like these ...

Shipyard

A container ship gets off-loaded at the freight docks of Honolulu Harbor at night before a firewoks show at Aloha Tower.

Talons

The points of these palm leaves are very sharp ... several years ago I found out the hard way ... ouch.

Innocence

T and I saw these two kids playing upon the boulders at Kaka‘ako Park, they had thrown small rocks at the waves crashing upon the same boulders making up the shore break. I couldn't resist taking this photo, and knew what the title would be right after looking at the shot.

Pre-Game Warmups

With the USA Today Coaches Poll 16th-ranked University of Hawai‘i Warriors football team having a bye week, I thought I'd post a photo for all the Warrior fans out there. Today's photo is of their pre-game warmup against the University of Northern Colorado Bears, whom the Warriors went onto beat 63-6.

Heisman Trophy candidate, Warrior quarterback Colt Brennan (#15) can be seen in the end zone, standing on the H, throwing passes to his receivers running down the sidelines.

This photo is the 300th post of this blog! Go Warriors!

The Eskimo Lands In Hawai‘i

Last Friday, Alaska Airlines began non-stop service between Seattle and Honolulu. This is a photo of the Eskimo tail logo with an orchid lei decal that the 737-800s that will fly the route, as well as the Seattle-Lihue and Anchorage-Honolulu flights.

Seclusion

I was trying to get a photo of the beach and the mountainside, when I saw this couple wading in the surf, spending a quiet moment together. Thought it would make a cool photo.

Reflecting Pool

The Ali‘i Place office building and it's mirror image off of the reflecting pool that surrounds the State Capitol building in downtown Honolulu.

Barrel Cactus Flower

This flower belongs to the Barrel Cactus ... but it also looks like something you'd find in the ocean on a coral reef.

Outdoors & Unplugged

A year ago today, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck the northwest coast of the island of Hawai‘i (The Big Island) at 7:07am, shaking the entire Hawaiian Island chain. The entire island of O‘ahu lost electricity for most of the day as power generators shut down.

At that moment in time, I was lying on my floor doing my Bible study, and prayed aloud for the shaking to stop. I could see one of the walls swaying side-to-side. Freaky! After that I called my folks, my daughters (one of them slept through it), then my pastor to see if we were still having our Sunday worship service.

Today's photo (turned the photo into a drawing via Photoshop) taken during praise and worship, was the result ... no matter what, Hope968 held its Sunday service ... outdoors & unplugged. The University of Hawai‘i at Manoa security shut the building down, but allowed us to have our service in the Art Building Courtyard. I wasn't going to let an earthquake stop me from attending church, neither did the other folks who attended.

For those who live in Hawai‘i, what were you doing (& where) when the quake struck? You can leave a comment if you wish.

Blues On The Bay

The US Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, performed yesterday at Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i at Kane‘ohe Bay, as part of the two-day "Blues On The Bay" airshow. The six Boeing F/A-18C "Hornets" wowwed the thousands that attended the Saturday show, reaching speeds nearing 600mph!

The airshow also featured aerobatic performances by pilots in single-engined aircraft, an aerobatic helicopter, sky divers, a Hawai‘i Air National Guard C-17A demonstration, a US Marines "rescue mission", and a US Coast Guard "rescue".

Static displays included: Kamaka Air's Super DC-3 and Beech 18, an Aloha 737-200C, general aviation aircraft, a C-130, a C-5B, a C-17A, a KC-135R, and a P-3C.

In today's photo, the Blue Angel 1 leads the six-ship delta formation to roll-out before landing. The Blue Angels will perform later this afternoon on day two of "Blues On The Bay".

Layered Prayer

I took the prayer shot of T that I had posted last month, and layered it with another shot of T in her prayer pose.

Wide Body BBJ

Boeing is introducing a wide body version of their 737-700 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) ... nah, just kidding.

Since I don't have a wide-angle lens for my camera, I have to do it in Photoshop. I think I may have gone too far.

Long Hallway

The exterior walkway of the Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall, with a radial blur effect, looking like capturing the shot in mid-zoom. Which direction am I zooming, in or out?

Beach Bride Redux

Mayu, the bride on the beach, in a variation that included a vertical framing, plus more effects done to the background.

Boats In Bay

These three sailboats sit idle in Kane‘ohe Bay in this "watercolor painting".

Freaky Keawe Tree

Since October is the month of Halloween, I thought I'd get a head start ... I saw this keawe tree and thought the shape looked a bit eerie. Once I turned it black & white, then added the gradient sepia and orange filters, the eerieness increased.

Quiet Moment

A couple shares a quiet moment at the park ...

The theme for the first week of October, have to do with photos that I played around in Photoshop. With this shot, I desaturated and blurred the edges.

Half-Gainer

This young surfer wanted to make his grand entry into the water with a dive. Two of his buddies were already in the water. He threw his surfboard into the water, then like a platform diver, measured off his run, telling us photographers his type of dive ... a half-gainer. This is the second of a three-shot burst.

Early Morning Flight

The sun rises behind the Ko‘olau Mountains, the Honolulu International Airport, and this Hawaiian Air Boeing 767-300ER. I took this photo before boarding an 8am flight to LAX for a business trip.

The upside of this flight is that I get into LAX in the afternoon ... the downside is being at the airport at 5:30am to check in, and go through the security checkpoint.

Only In Hawai‘i

A pair of orchid lei sits upon a rock with coconut trees waving in the background ... only in Hawai‘i.

We Did It!

A Japanese tourist couple celebrates their wedding ceremony on the lanai of the John Dominis Chapel which is at the opening of Kewalo Basin.

Watabe Weddings, a Japan-based wedding company runs the operation at one Honolulu's premier seafood restaurants. The chapel sits above the main dining area, with a view of Diamond Head.

Closed ... But Not Gone

The Varsity Theaters in the Mo‘ili‘ili/University part of Honolulu, closed back in June, but is planning to re-open as a comedy club later this year.

The last time I saw a movie there was a few years ago with my daughters ... though I don't remember which movie it was. I also remember when Varsity was a single-screen cinema. Too bad it closed up ... hopefully, the comedy club will bring new life to Mo‘ili‘ili.

Swift Kick

A co-ed from Maryknoll High (my alma mater), boots the ball that sailed down the left field foul line for a home run, in a game of kickball for their phys ed class.