Thursday, December 31, 2009

Silver Wave


Closing out 2009 is a black & white photo of a wave I shot back in June ...

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Where's Diamond Head?


A couple of weeks ago, O‘ahu got hit by another vog attack when the southerly winds blew volcanic ash up from the Big Island. This attack was pretty bad ... I snapped this shot from Lagoon Drive, by the airport, while I waited to get the arrival shot of a US Airways Flight US807 that was arriving from Charlotte, NC. It's US Airways' first flight between the East Coast and Hawai‘i.

Ironically, the vog has returned this week ...

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Stuck In A Tree


I hate when this happens ...

Monday, December 28, 2009

Beagle Pup


While shopping along the north shore, we came across this Beagle pup which its owner had leashed it outside the shop.

This is also the blog's 1100th post ...

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Lavender


Kat & I found a real cute lavender plant at Home Depot ... and this was on of the stems in bloom.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Lahaina Christmas Tree


The Christmas tree outside the Lahaina Cannery Mall during our Thanksgiving weekend trip to Maui.

To all those in Canada ... Happy Boxing Day!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!


Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

The Reason For The Season


The main and only reason why we celebrate Christmas ... the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

This is one of the other panes of stained glass at St. Peter's Episcopal Church ...

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Ornament


One of the ornaments on the Christmas tree at New Hope Leeward ...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Cupcake Tree


This was one of two cupcake Christmas trees at the New Hope Leeward Volunteers Christmas Party. We all got to eat them at the end of the party.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Rippin'


This surfer takes advantage of waves on the south shore.

At this time of the year, the surf switches to the north shore where surfing contests are held, and waves can reach 40-foot faces.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Big Cloud


An ominous cloud seen through a fish-eye lens ...

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Stained Glass


One of my favorite works of stained glass is at St. Peter's Episcopal Church. It uses colored glass fragments that are puzzled together to form the images. My favorite panels are seen above with the wave and palm trees. All of the panes are beautifully done, and the colors are quite vivid!

I took this photo before videotaping a Japanese tourist wedding a few weeks ago,

Friday, December 18, 2009

Eating Shave Ice


A group people enjoying their shave ice outside Matsumoto Store. The good thing is ... people in Hawai‘i can eat shave year-round.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

White Uki Uki


A bunch of white uki uki (Hawaiian lilies) in my aunt & uncleʻs yard.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Funnel Cloud Over Hālawa


Five years ago on November 4, 2004, this funnel cloud hovered over the Hālawa area, near Pearl Harbor and ‘Aiea. I had gone to the airport to photograph a rare airliner that made a stop at HNL. While waiting for him, I noticed this funnel cloud, and had to get a shot of it. I submitted the photo to KHNL, the local NBC affiliate, and was on their website until recently.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Car Wash


One weekend, Kat & I decided to take our cars to a nearby car wash. I always wanted to take photos while going through a car wash, and this shot shows the spinning brushes at the entrance of the tunnel.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Haleakalā From OGG


During the Thanksgiving weekend, Kat & I took a trip to Maui ...

Upon arrival to the Kahului Airport (OGG), the skies were clear, and Mount Haleakalā was quite visible, and welcomed all those arriving that day.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Kaena Wave


A wave breaks on Kaena Beach ...

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Front View


Wrapping up this month's theme week is a head-on view of the Mriya.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Tow Bar


Due to its immense size, the Mriya carries its own tow bar. I was told that the tow bar is stored in the nose. When the Mriya arrived at HNL, the aircraft stopped on the taxiway, opened its nose cargo door, kneeled the nose gear, removed the bar, then closed up before attaching the tow bar to the nose gear. After the process is completed, the An225 can be towed to its parking spot.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Cargo Hold


The cargo hold of the An225 held ten shipping containers which each held an electrical generator supplied by FEMA.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Flight Deck


Inside the cockpit of the An225 ... all of the wording on the instrument panels are in Cyrillic ...

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Left Side View


Today's photo shows the left side of the Mriya on HNL's north ramp

Monday, December 7, 2009

Nose Shot


The bulbous nose of the An225 can open to load and unload cargo, the nose landing gear can kneel, and the ramp will unfold.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Мрия


The theme week for December is the Антонов Ан225 Мрия, or Antonov An225 "Mriya (Peace)". The largest aircraft in the world paid a few visits to Honolulu International Airport during October. The Mriya was used to ferry electric generators and other relief supplies to aid the earthquake and tsunami disasters in American Sāmoa, Sāmoa, and the Republic of Tonga.

Today's photo shows the An225 parked at an angle because its huge size. The behemoth actually took up three parking stands, and had to be towed in. Had it been parked normally, the tail end would have encroached the taxiway where the edge of the starboard (right side) wing tip is.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Red Velvet


Kat made a batch of red velvet cupcakes ... oh, were they yummy!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Press Corps


Members of the local news media photograph and videotape Hawaiian Air's newly modified 767 fitted with Blended Winglets. We were aboard a hydraulic lift to get us up to the level of the winglet. Hawaiian Air CEO Mark Dunkerley is seen on the far left in the light blue aloha shirt between TV interview segments.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Les Champions De 2009 Coupe Grey


The Montréal Alouettes are the 2009 Canadian Football League Grey Cup Champions! This past Sunday, the Alouettes beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 28-27, with a game ending 33-yard field goal by Damon Duval.

This year's victory breaks a four-Grey Cup losing streak since 1977. The current incarnation of the Alouettes came out of the US expansion experiment in the early and mid 90s as the Baltimore Stallions. A bit of sports trivia, the Stallions, in 1995, are the only US team to win the CFL Grey Cup.

Today's photo shows my Alouettes mini-helmet I got several years ago.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Blue Iris


Kat had picked up these blue iris flowers to decorate the house.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Salt Air


While Kat & I were driving on Kamehameha Highway along the north shore, the air was filled with salt from the high surf and high winds.