Au Revoir Ville De Anges!

Goodbye City of Angels!

This Air France Boeing 747-428, F-GITF, goes wheels-up bound for the Charles deGaulle International Airport in Paris, France. Air France Flight 69 departs from the Los Angeles International Airport in the late afternoon sun, off of Runway 25R. LAX's modern looking air traffic control tower can be seen in the background. Au revoir Ville De Anges!

This photo goes out to my friend Traci, who loves to jet off to France ...

Orchids On Black

These orchids are part of the orchid display at the Kahala Hotel & Resort. The sun lit the orchids so well, that the stone wall where they hang, forms its own black background.

Linear Ripples

Ripples form at the edge of a waterfall at Tamarind Park.

Longboard Chick

This surfer girl checks out the breaks at Kewalos before taking on the three-foot sets.

Footprints

A set of bird footprints in the raked sand of Fort deRussy beach in Waikiki, before the USAF Thunderbirds practice run back in Spetember.

Emergence

A new stalk emerges above the gravel of my orchid pot.

WAC Champions!

The University of Hawai‘i Warriors football team won its first outright Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship by knocking off the Boise State University Broncos, 39-27, before a sold-out crowd of 50,000 people. Upon the clock reaching 00:00, hundreds of fans rushed onto the field mobbing the Warriors players and coaches. The Warriors finished 8-0 in the WAC, and are 11-0 for the season.

Warriors head coach June Jones accepted the WAC trophy presented to him by league commissioner Karl Benson. Quarterback Colt Brennan was hoisted above shoulders by overjoyed fans. The Field Turf of Aloha Stadium turned into a huge mosh pit as fans celebrated with the players and coaches.

The Warriors close out their 2007 regular season against the University of Washington Huskies next Saturday at Aloha Stadium, and await an invitiation to a BCS Bowl game.

I was honored to be a part of this historic event, as one of the JumboTron videographers, and was positioned in the north end zone, where i got this shot from.

Happy Birthday!

Today's my birthday, and what a better way to spend it, but by working the University of Hawai‘i Warriors football game against the visiting Boise State Broncos. The 15th-ranked (BCS), 10-0, Warriors are seeking their first Western Athletic Conference championship today, and a shot at a BCS bowl game.

I had my photo taken with All-American candidate wide receiver Davone Bess (left) and Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Colt Brennan (right) at a Hope968 worship service last November. There's another photo of this lethal combo posted in September, at the beginning of their 2007 campaign.

Go Warriors!


Update 22:00 ... The Warriors beat the Broncos 39-27 to win the WAC championship! Warrior quarterback Colt Brennan set the a new career touchdown record of 126 (and counting), breaking the previous record held by Ty Detmer of BYU. What a birthday present & to be a part of history, as I was the end zone videographer for the Aloha Stadium JumboTron.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! May we be thankful for all we went through, and all the blessings we received in 2007.

Sanctuary

A low-angle perspective of Central Union Church's sanctuary taken before a wedding. It's one of Honolulu's oldest churches, and one of the most popular for weddings.

One of my favorite things about this church is the acoustics ... the sound just resonates here. Whether its an organ playing for a wedding, string quartet, vocal soloist, or a choral group ... it sounds awesome!

Central Union's popularity extends beyond the local wedding market, and it's one of the more popular churches for Japanese tourists who come on honeymoon packages that include a western/Christian-style wedding ceremony ... in fact, I took this before shooting a wedding video for a Japanese tourist couple.

Fireworks Departure

An airliner takes off from HNL's Runway 8L during this year's July Fourth fireworks show fronting Aloha Tower Marketplace.

Rainy Windshield

Stuck at the intersection of School Street and Pali Highway during one of our recent rainstorms.

I was on the way to Aloha Stadium to shoot a couple of high school football games. Ahh ... running up and down a football field with an 18lb videocamera in the rain ... it's all good!

Sunset On The Bay

The sun sets behind the Ko‘olau Mountain Range after the Blues On The Bay 2007 airshow. With close to 100,000 people attending the US Navy's Blue Angels performance at Marine Corps Air Field Kane‘ohe Bay, the bayside ramp was converted into a huge parking lot for cars. The base's main entry was the only way in or out, thus with everyone wanting to leave after the Blue Angels show, there was gridlock. There were cars stuck in one spot for over 30 minutes(!). I was not about to sit in my car for a couple of hours and burn gas ... especially at the prices the way they are. So I thought I'd spend some time waiting out the gridlock by joining others sitting on the rocks at the edge of the bay enjoying the sunset and the view of the Ko‘olau Mountains & Kane‘ohe Bay.

Water Lilies

A trio of blue water lilies in a pond at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Hawaiian Monk Seal

World-renown marine artist Wyland, adds detail to the Hawaiian monk seal that he painted near the main entry door of Aloha Airlines' N748AL, "Koholālele". The monk seal face was painted there to greet boarding passengers of this flying canvas.

Mosaic Tiles

I found this in a garden around town where these tiny mosaic tiles actually make up one big tile.

Tamarind Park

A night shot of Tamarind Park while shooting with Kekiinani during the Christmas lights season.

If you have ever seen the movie "Don Juan DeMarco", the opening scene was shot in this part of downtown Honolulu, pretending to be New York City. What was the giveaway? Those who live here will know ...

Rosemary Flowers

A extreme close-up of some rosemary flowers in bloom. I've seen white flowers, and this is the first time I've seen these blue ones.

60MPH Sunset

Caught this sunset driving home on Interstate H1 at 60mph.

Veteran's Day

Saluting the men and women who served (and continue to serve) our country, especially those in harm's way, as well as those (and their families) who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

If you know a veteran ... please tell them "thank you for serving our country". When you see someone in uniform, tell them the same as well, especially those who are about to be deployed, or returning from combat. Past or present veterans need to be recognized for their service to our country.

I took this photo at the "Blues On The Bay '07" airshow. The US Marines and US Navy SEALS were demonstrating extracting troops under fire with these Marines rappelling out of this CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter. To end the demonstration, several gasoline bombs were set-off to simulate an air strike.

Standing Guard

This lizard looks like its standing guard in the front yard of a house.

Frisky Doves

This quartet of doves get frisky with each other on the branch of a tree.

Feeding Frenzy

A school of tilapia viciously attack a french fry that a child had thrown into the pond next to the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall.

Bath Time

These two little sparrows takes their bath in the fountain that fronts the mausoleum at Kawai‘ahao Church.

Cows

These calves huddle around its mother in the light rain at Ku‘uloa Ranch.

Barracuda

This mean-looking barracuda patrols one of the ponds surrounding the Blaisdell Center Arena, looking for a potential lunch(?).

Orange Flower Bee

This month's theme week is the "Wild Kingdom". Leading off this week is this honey bee pollenating this orange blossom. The tree itself, had a very citrusy scent to it with it loaded with blossoms.

Rising Bubbles

Bubble rise from this fish tank's aerator, in a slow-speed shutter shot.

Seconds From Touchdown

Our Hawaiian Air Boeing 767-300ER is seconds away from touching down LAX's Runway 24R. An AeroCalifornia DC-9 can be seen departing from Runway 25L, on LAX's south side. The famous LAX Theme Building is right of the DC-9, and the LAX control tower is on the far right. The green pillars on the left are part of the entrance to LAX, and are lit up at night. LAX's Terminal 1 is between the wing's leading edge and the Theme Building, and Terminal 2 is in front of the Tower.

Salt Craters

Salt crystals form in holes of one of the boulders that form the breakers at Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park.