Coat Of Arms

The Hawaiian Coat Of Arms adorns the gates of ‘Iolani Palace, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dried Brush

The hills behind a lookout on the Interstate H3 North, which overlooks Kane‘ohe Bay.

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

Or Happy Chinese New Year! Today is the beginning of the new lunar year, the Year of the Ox.

Kat got this shot during a lion dance at her pre-school's Chinese New Year's festivities. The boys on the left are feeding the lion li see (good luck money envelopes).

Thanks Kat, for the great shot! :-)

Stump Sitter

This lad sits atop the stump of a coconut tree at Kahala Beach Park.

Pink Rose

One of the things that fascinates me about roses, are the amount of petals in a flower. The rosebud is deceptive to the fact of the end result ... seen above.

Slide

This 20+ foot sliding board is part of a pool on the former estate that once belonged to actress Lana Turner and actor Johnny Wesimuller. The pool was built so that Weismuller could swim laps.

I got this photo during a video shoot to promote local artist Dana Queen for an art auction network.

Study Time

Several months ago, I posted a shot called "Aspiring Model", which featured Sean, whose mom hired me to take a bunch of shots for his portfolio. This is another of the shots ... in the background is Sean's mom, singer Melinda Gaborno.

‘Iolani Palace

‘Iolani Palace is where the Hawaiian monarchy lived during their reign prior to the island nation becoming a US territory, then the 50th State in 1959.

Today's photo was taken while Kathy & I had gone to check out the Honolulu City Lights during this past Christmas season.

Hail To The Chief!

Hawai‘i-born Barack Obama will be sworn in today as the United States' 44th President, and the first of African-American ancestry. The 1979 graduate from Punahou School will be honored by his alma mater's marching band. Many Hawai‘i residents have made the trip to Washington, DC to see the ceremony and attend the Hawaiian inaugural ball.

Today's photo was from the Obama summer vacation / campaign stop in Hawai‘i this past August. North American Airlines had this Boeing 757-200 specailly painted for Obama's presidential campaign. On a whim, I had shown up at HNL's south side to see if I could get a photo of the 757 (more than the candidate). Fortunately, the term "who-you-know" paid off, as I asked one of my contacts at HNL if I could shoot photos alongside local TV news videographers, to which I got permission.

In The Name Of Love

25 years ago, U2 released the "The Unforgettable Fire" album, which contained the hit single, "Pride (In The Name Of Love)". The song celebrated civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as we are celebrating Dr. King's legacy today.

A little-known fact about the song was that it was written in Hawai‘i, while U2 was here during their 1983 "War" tour. Lead singer Bono made the announcement before they did the song on their Honolulu stop in the 1985 tour, to which the crowd went wild. Those were the two of the best concerts I have ever gone to, and one of my favorite CDs.

Sunset Dinner Cruise

A popular tourist activity in Honolulu is the sunset dinner cruise. There are a few companies that offer packages that include dinner and Hawaiian-themed entertainment while cruising about a mile off-shore. Today's photo was taken during the winter, about 6pm as this dinner cruise heads toward Diamond Head.

White Hibiscus

Another of Hawai‘i's ubiquitous flowers, the hibiscus, which comes in a variety of sizes and colors.

I got this white hibiscus at Central Union Church, before I videotaped a wedding.

Taxi Into Position And Hold

"Mercury 214, taxi into position and hold on Runway 3." I got this shot as the Mokulele AIrlines E170 I was on was getting ready for take-off. This was for the return leg from Līhu‘e, Kaua‘i (LIH) to HNL, on the Mokulele Airlines media flight.

Last Minute Shoppers

Last minute shoppers scurry through the new Nordstrom's wing at the Ala Moana Shopping Center during this past's Christmas season. Kathy & I had gone to pick up one of those "what do you get person who has everything?" gifts ... while she was shopping, I found a bench to use as a rest for my camera, since I didn't carry my tripod, but I did have my four-point cross filter.

Crystal Pearl

This drop of water sits between the leaves of an ‘akia plant.

Sepia View

The shoreline and ocean fronting the Wai‘alae Country Club, which will be hosting the Sony Open in Hawai‘i. Koko Head is in the background, along with some rising storm clouds.

Paparazzi

This New Year's season, I was again part of the Japanese TV news corps waiting to interview Japanese celebrities as they exited Foreign Arrivals at Honolulu International Airport. After a season hiatus, I was back in the trenches, working with renowned celebrity reporter Masaru Nashimoto. Normally, I have a BetaCam videocamera, but this time I was assigned this Sony PD-150 DVCam camera (above). The good thing was the camera is light, and extermely light (5 lbs).

It's a semi-paparazzi assignment, but controlled, as the reporters asked if the celebs would take a few minutes to be interviewed. The only celebs I knew of by name were orchestra conductor Seiji Ozawa, and singer Ayumi Hamasaki (a couple friends like her music). There were a couple others which I've seen on Japanese TV before, but don't know their names.

Pine Branch

A branch from Kat's mom's Christmas tree ...

Pee Wee Football

Football at Aloha Stadium is not only for the high school, college, and the pro levels, but even the youngest of players. Each Sunday in November, Aloha Stadium hosts Pop Warner football tournaments, which range from six-year-olds playing flag football to 14-year-olds playing tackle football. It's fun to see the awe in the eyes of the boys and girls as they walk onto the Aloha Stadium Field Turf, as if they were walking on hallowed ground. The 50,000 seats also catch their attention. It's also fun to see a boy get tackled by a girl, or a kid break a long run in full pads for a touchdown.

These kids play tough! In one game, we had seen a quarterback get knocked out on a middle linbacker blitz. The QB was down for about 20 minutes, but the one thing they were concerned about was a neck injury. I was doing replays, and saw in slo-o-ow motion the linbackers helmet catch the chin of the quarterback, and neck snap back before being drilled to the turf. He was taken off the field by an ambulance. I heard a week later, that the only injury the boy suffered was a case of whiplash.

One thing these games allows us to do in my department, is to cross-train on other aspects of video production, like doing replays, or directing the cameras, or refreshing on the three different camera positions.

Today's photo was taken during a game between the Wai‘alua Bullpups and the Makaha Ali‘i a couple of months ago. The Bullpups, seen here, seem to be quite small, playing in the stadium, and the equipment seems to be larger than the child inside it.

Soccer Pitch

Soccer is one the "other" sports Aloha Stadium hosts. Though not a frequent occurence, the stadium can have a soccer field in its confines. When it was in baseball configuration, the soccer field fit right in with ample space around the pitch. Since the stadium was put in "permanent" football configuration, a soccer field can be put in, but the sidelines and corners are rather tight.

In 1977, Team Hawaii became a franchise of the North American Soccer League (NASL), and the team lasted for one season. The biggest draw of the season was when the New York Cosmos came to town with Péle on their team, and the Cosmos won. We had seats in the north end zone for the Cosmos / Team Hawaii game.

In the mid-90s (1994-97), the Hawaii Tsunami was part of the United States International Soccer League (USISL), a minor league pro soccer league. The Tsunami took the Northwest Division in 1996. Although there were many unknown players, the Tsunami had a number of local players, and was quite a treat to watch.

2005 saw the DC United and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer play a pre-season match, which featured 15-year-old Freddie Adu (DC) and Cobi Jones (LA). DC won 1-0, before a crowd of nearly 15,000.

The most recent soccer event was last year's Pan Pacific Championship Cup, which featured Gamba Osaka, Sydney FC, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the Houston Dynamo. The biggest draws were David Beckham, and Brian Ching (from Hale‘iwa). Gamba Osaka won the tournament. Today's photo was taken during the first night's games.

Baseball

Aloha Stadium was originally built as a multi-purpose stadium, that could be configured for baseball or football. The 2006 season was the final season for baseball at Aloha Stadium, as the mechanism to move the grandstands became too costly to maintain. The Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) used Aloha Stadium for their weekend games, as they usually had a double-header on Fridays, and triple-header on Saturdays. Unfortunately, the crowds were quite sparse, as the outfield seats were closed, and the most I had seen was maybe a couple thousand fans turn out for a game. Since the 2006 season, the stadium was left in football configuration, and the cut outs for the base pallets still remain on the Field Turf.

Major League Baseball had proposed a week-long pre-season series featuring four teams that would have taken place the week prior to the start of the 2007 regular season. MLB had even offered to pay for the cost to move the grandstands into baseball and back, but the stadium felt it was not worth risking the move, nor the integrity of the mechanism.

In 1997, the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres played a three-game regular-season weekend series. My friend Nick & I went to the Saturday double-header, with our seats in centerfield near the North Tunnel; the Cardinals swept the double-header 1-0 and 2-1.

Aloha Stadium was also home to the Hawai‘i Islanders, a AAA Pacific Coast League team that played there from 1975 until 1985. The Islanders won back-to-back PCL championships in '75 and '76.

Today's photo was taken from high above centerfield as two high school teams warmed up before their game.

Great Aloha Run

The Great Aloha Run is an eight-mile fun run from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium that is held every President's Day. The proceeds raised from the entry fees goes to a few local charities. Over 15,000 participants run the race, that bridges many age groups. This year will be the 25th Anniversary of the Great Aloha Run.

Several units from the US Armed Forces run in formation, and has drawn cheers from other participants, especially with many of them returning from deployments. One of the most endearing sights of last year's race, was a US Army veteran who lost a leg in combat, and ran the race with a prosthetic limb.

Today's photo was taken as race course marshalls put the finishing touches, in the pre-dawn darkness, on the Aloha Stadium Field Turf®.

Swap Meet

Every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday the parking lot surrounding Aloha Stadium is converted into a swap meet from 7am to 3pm. There are vendors of all kinds selling Hawaiian made products, foods, plants, and clothes. And there are some kitschy touristy stuff as well. Usually for University of Hawai‘i Saturday football games the swap meet will not open, but will be open during high school games played on Saturdays. The cost to get in, is a mere dollar per person. It's a great walk around to shop for all kinds of goodies.

Scoreboard

Aloha Stadium's Matrix Scoreboard (left) and the Sony JumboTron® video screen are in the north end zone. The Matrix displays the score and other game info, and the JumboTron® shows the live game video, replays, and commercials. The windows above the clock are for the scoreboard control room.

Today's photo also shows a game slate for ILH high school baseball game that was played in 2006. It was the final season for baseball at Aloha Stadium (more on that later in the week).

Pre-game Warm-ups

Kicking off the 2009 theme weeks is "Aloha Stadium" for this month. As one of the videographers for the JumboTron® video screen, I have the opportunity to get paid to watch football, and sometimes get close to the action (though at times get really close, and once, too close). Of course, Aloha Stadium is not only about football, but soccer, baseball (no longer), a running race, and other sports. The parking lot hosts an open-air swap meet three times a week as well.

Today's photo was taken during pre-game warm-ups for a University of Hawai‘i Warriors football game in which they hosted the Washington State University Cougars. Yes, it was a cold, windy, and rainy night. I was on a perch, assigned to Camera 1 (the game camera), and bundled up with BDU pants, a turtleneck t-shirt, my stadium polo shirt, and a windbreaker. Anytime the temperature drops in the 60°Fs, it's considered cold by Hawai‘i standards. The Cougars must have felt right at home, though they got thumped by the Warriors, 24-10.

With the win, the Warriors qualified for the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl, which most fans thought it was a long-shot, since all of the offensive weapons from the 2007 season graduated (or went pro), and there was a new head coach.

Pink Plumeria

Plumeria are some of the most ubiquitous flowers around Hawai‘i ...

Kāhala Sunrise

A summertime sunrise at Kāhala Beach Park.

If this looks familiar, I had a similar shot posted a while back ...

Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

May you all have a blessed and prosperous 2009!

Downtown From Above

Downtown Honolulu from above while departing for the mainland.

Fern

A herringbone-like fern I came across in a garden ...

Blackout

About 90% of the island of O‘ahu was plunged into darkness Friday evening when an electrical storm apparently knocked out one of the four main power lines that supplies the island. Electricity was restored in stages, with the last few percent getting their power back Sunday morning.

This was the view from my apartment as cars passed by in the darkness.

Calm Stream

An off-shoot of the Nu‘uanu Resevoir serenely flows past the Nu‘uanu Pumping Station on Old Pali Road.

Lei On Nose

One of the lei that graced the nose of Mokulele Airlines' Embraer E170 (N868RW, "The Spirit of Kaua‘i") during the blessing ceremony held in November.

Hawai‘i Bowl

This past Wednesday featured the Christmas Eve bowl classic, the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl. The University of Hawai‘i Warriors were matched upagainst the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This phot was taken a few hours before kick-off, while I was on my way to set up one of Aloha Stadium's video cameras that feed the JumboTron.

The Fighting Irish pounded the Warriors 49-21, before a Hawai‘i Bowl record crowd of 45,718. Though Aloha Stadium is the Warriors home field they were the visiting team for this game.

Mele Kalikimaka!

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus!

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
— Isaiah 9:6

Big Bunch

Twin stems from my big orchid plant form one big bunch of flowers ... I did not realize that these types of shots were called fine art shots, I just thought it looks nice to have a flower shot with a solid color background.

Surf & Sail

A pair of sail boats cross behind a bunch of surfers taking advantage of a southerly swell.

Billowing

This column of smoke was from an apartment fire several blocks from my place, on Friday morning. I happened to look out my bedroom lanai door to see the smoke, just after dropping off Kathy at work.

Fortunately, firefighters had the blaze under control in ten minutes, but the family of ten was displaced, and no one was hurt.

Farewell Old Friend

Two weeks ago, I sold my 1991 Nissan 240SX SE, a car that had served me well since June 1991. After 17+ years, and nearly 120,000 miles I put on it, I bid a fond farewell to my old faithful chariot. Thanks for the memories ...

Magenta Orchid Blooms

Kathy's mom gave this orchid plant, and it produced these beautiful flowers.

The sad part was that a second stem of buds was snipped away by a bulbo, who also happened to eat a few buds from this stem as well. I was upset at first, but at least I still had these flowers to be blessed by.

Wax On

I saw this surfer waxing his surfboard on the shorebreak fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the public parking lot of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, and thought of the movie The Karate Kid, where Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel chores before karate. "Wax on, wax off" ... which how I came up with the title.

Pink Streaks

One of those God-moment and inspired shots taken a few weeks ago after a long day at the j-o-b. With these cloud formations and colors you know that had to be something only God can create.

Sun Behind Palm

Today's photo was captured during a walk around the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, one day after our church service.

Chair Decoration

This chair decoration was from a oceanside wedding I videotaped a while back ...

Fire Pit

For my birthday, Kathy took me out to dinner at Romano's Macaroni Grill at Ala Moana Center. While we waited for our reservations, there was a small fire pit at the bar, which provided me an opportunity to take a few shots ...

Kat, thanks for a wonderful birthday! :-)

Happy (Belated) Birthday Tiff!

A Happy 18th Birthday to my daughter Tiffany! Well, it was actually this past Thursday ... Welcome to adulthood!

Today's photo was taken during her high school graduation party.

It's amazing how fast time has flown since I had first met her as a seven-year-old, and she has grown into a fine young adult.

Wave Force

During a southerly swell, three-to-four-foot waves pounded the breakers at Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park. Some of the waves were so strong they went over the little concrete wall, and soaked half of the width of the walkway.

After A Water Cannon Salute

As part of the Mokulele Airlines E170 media flight, we were treated to a water cannon salute by two fire trucks from the Līhu‘e Airport Fire & Rescue Department. We received the salute right as were taxiing to the gate. The water drops on the window were taken seconds after passing under the arcs of water.

I have seen these salutes performed from the outside of the aircraft, as most people have, but this was the first time I had been in an airliner during a water cannon salute. It was like going through a car wash, and sounded like it too.

A film factoid ... The Līhu‘e Airport was also used in the final scene of the film "Don Juan DeMarco". It was pretending to be the Papa‘ete Airport in Tahiti. The giveaway was the artwork on the exterior of the terminal building facing the flightline. If I remember correctly, there might have been a cameo appearance by a jet of one of the two local inter-island airlines as well.

Swirling Falls

Water swirls caught at the bottom of a wedding chapel's waterfall display.

Rising Up

I got this fountain shot while walking around downtown one day while my car was in the shop for repairs.