Spanish Lavender

A selective color shot of Spanish Lavender at the Ali‘i Kula Lavender Farm in Kula, Maui.

Film Truck

This film truck had two second unit cameras and crew shooting a car chase scene on Lagoon Drive for an upcoming episode of "Hawai‘i Five-0".

Boogie Boarding Toddler

This little guy rides a tiny wave on his boogie board with his big sister alongside.

Wedding Cake

Jeff and Farrah's wedding cake seen through a fish eye lens and Lightroom effect. I photographed their wedding a few months ago as a referral from a close friend.

Tailgunner?

This Ilyushin Il-76 of the Russian Air Force was brought over President Dmitriy Medvedev's limousine and entourage vehicles for last month's APEC2011 Conference. Many of the cargo aircraft built during the Soviet-era had navigator's windows in the nose, and gunner's ports in the tail cone. It appears this IL-76 had its guns removed, but looks like the station can still be manned.

Cookies

A selection of locally-made cookies seen through a fish eye lens, from one of the vendors at the Made In Hawai‘i Festival.

Paddler

This man paddles in the waters around Ala Moana Beach Park ...

Firehouse Door

A close-up of the Hawaiian tribal artwork on one of the three sets of doors for the Honolulu Fire Department's Station 1 in downtown Honolulu.

Makiki Rainbow

A rainbow hovers over the Makiki part of Honolulu.

Royal Palm Drive

In the Central O‘ahu town of Wahiawā, is Royal Palm Drive. This street is lined with royal palm trees from begining to end. Above is the view looking down hill, with the Wai‘anae Mountains in the background.

M-I-C-K-E-Y ...

We had a chance to get our photo taken with Micky Mouse, while he and Minnie hung out by the pool area.

Floating Glass Ball

In the ‘Ama ‘Ama Restaurant, there is this small pool with a running spigot and a floating glass ball. The ball moves as the wind blows. Lagoon 1 "Koholā" is in the background

Splashdown

This girl is seconds from ending her slide ride at one of two Aulani's water slides.

USS Arizona Memorial

Taking a break from our theme week to commemorate the 70th anniversary on the attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base. At 7:53am, waves of fighter-bombers from aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the naval base and neighboring Hickam Army Air Field. The attack resulted in over 2,400 killed, and several battleships sunken while moored at Ford Island. Other military bases on O‘ahu: Wheeler Army Air Field. Bellows Army Air Field, ‘Ewa Marine Corp Air Field, and Kāne‘ohe Marine Corp Air Field were also attacked.

We pause to remember those who lost their lives on the "Day of Infamy". To this day, there are still sailors and marines who are entombed in the sunken hulls of those battleships. Over 2,000 survivors made their way back to Pearl Harbor to mark this anniversary. The Hawaiian name for Pearl Harbor is Pu‘uloa.

My mom told me that a Japanese fighter plane was shot down and crashed a couple of hundred yards from my grandparents' house in Wahiawā, as planes were attacking Wheeler. My grandfather, on my dad's side, was at work near the naval base when the attacks began.

Poolside Dance

Minnie Mouse and one of the Aulani cast members lead hotel guests in a dance at poolside.

Pool Area

The Aulani pool area with the east tower in the background.

MIckey & Minnie

The theme week for December is our lunch outing and stroll at the Disney Aulani Hotel & Resort.

Leading off, is Mickey and Minnie Mouse, decked out in aloha wear, strolling down one of the walkways at the Disney Aulani Resort. Several Disney cartoon characters make appearances around the grounds of the new resort.

Paradise Cove Chapel

An exterior shot of the wedding chapel at Paradise Cove in Ko Olina. I took this photo for the packaging of their wedding DVD I shot for Chason & Emily.

Neon On Water

Neon lights reflect off of the water's surface.

Instagrams 3

December's Instagram collage ...

Row 1: sunset clouds behind Norfolk pines; end zone view; homemade pizza; hand-held TV camera for a volleyball match; Ko Olina Lagoon 1; clouds

Row 2: pink mannequins; morning traffic; sunrise colors; sand dunes; BC Lions cap logo; guppies

Row 3: rainy side-view mirror; cheesesteak from Chicago Eatz; guppies in waterlily; Disney Aulani glasswork; orchids; waterlily

Row 4: Tetsuo Harano tunnel (Interstate H3); polished turbo shells; Chinese lion dance; EVS remote controller; succulent flower; 9/11 Memorial at Honolulu Hale

Sit Down Paddleboard

These two women use stand up paddleboards as kayaks, as they check out the stage for the 2011 Lantern Floating.

Hawaii Theatre

The Hawaii Theatre is one of the premier entertainment venues in Honolulu. The 90-year-old landmark hosts a number of theatrical and musical performances.

Footprints

My footprints in the sand along a beach ...

G-Shocks

Kat's Baby G and my G-Shock watches that were birthday gifts to each other ...

Carry Shot

THis Japanese tourist wedding couple does their carry shot pose at Magic Island Park.

Underside

An American Airlines Boeing 757-200 passes directly above me as it departs for Los Angeles. I wanted to get a photo of the Air China 747-400 taking Chinese President Hu Jintao back to Beijing, after the end of the APEC 2011 Conference that was held here in Honolulu.

Diamond Head

Happy Thanksgiving!

An ocean view of the world-famous Diamond Head from the open ocean.

Curved Palms

A fish-eye lens view of the palm trees at Sans Souci Beach Park, at the east end of Waikīkī,

Boat Cam

One of the hand-held cameras for the Lantern Floating event is wireless TV camera on this twin-hulled canoe.

Orange Clouds

With the help of a Lightroom preset, I turned the late afternoon clouds more orange than the actual color temperature.

Stacked Rocks ... 2

Another rock stack I made during one of our beach jaunts to ‘Āweoweo Beach ...

Tailgaters

Before a recent game, University of Hawai‘i Warriors fans' tailgate parties get into full swing in this section of the Aloha Stadium parking lot. Tonight, they face the Fresno State Bulldogs. 

Air Force One

With the end of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference, APEC2011, in Honolulu, President Barack Obama, left town for Australia in "Air Force 1". Today's photo shows the presidential aircraft lifting off of HNL's Runway 8L.

This Boeing 747-200B is one of two that are identical that carries the President of the United States.

Sea Wall

The sea wall that runs in front of the Waikīkī Aquarium, with the hotels of Waikīkī in the background.

Sun And Plumeria

A wide-angle lens photo of this plumeria tree with several bunches in bloom, with the sun in the background.

Wilson

At the bed & breakfast we stayed at, there was this Wilson volleyball lying on the grass. I though that it reminiscent of the Tom Hanks film "Castaway".

Roast Duck

A grandmother and her granddaughters wait for their order of Chinese roasted duck.

From The Ocean

Looking out toward Mokule‘ia and Kaena Point from the ocean ...

Shoppers

Additional merchants were located in the neighboring Blaisdell Arena. The booth on the left were giving away juice samples. Photo taken with a fish-eye lens.

Waikīkī Natatorium

On this day, we honor all veterans of the US Armed Forces who dutifully served our country, and to those who laid down their lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy.

The Waikīkī Natatorium War Memorial stands at the east end of Waikīkī, as a memorial dedicated to those from Hawai‘i that were killed in World War I. Built in 1918, it featured an ocean water swimming pool and concrete bleachers. Duke Kahanamoku, Johnny Weismuller, and Buster Crabbe were among the notables who raced in the 100-meter-long pool.

The memorial pool has been closed to the public for years, due to the eroding concrete. It has been the subject of intense debate, on whether to demolish the entire Natatorium, or preserve some, or all, of the 90+ year old structure. Currently, there is work being done to preserve the west end seawall.

Christmas Ornaments

Christmas ornaments made from sea shells, and taken with a fish-eye lens.

Crowded Aisles

In the opening hours of the festival, hundreds of people line the aisles of the Blaisdell Center's Exhibition Hall to look over the goods the merchants have to sample, and for sale. Today's photo taken with a fish-eye lens.

Cake Pops

One of the vendors had these decorative cake pops on display, and photographed with a fish-eye lens.

Pidgin Overdrive

The Pidgin Overdrive booth is one of the most popular booths at the Made In Hawai‘i festival. It sells products with Pidgin English (also known as Hawaiian Creole) words on them. Today's photo was taken with an ultra wide-angle lens.

Waiting In Line

The theme week for November is the "Made In Hawai‘i Festival". It's a product expo of Hawai‘i-made products held every August at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. For this theme week, I also shot every thing with either a fish-eye lens or a ultra-wide angle lens.

Today's photo shows the line of people waiting to get in as opening time approaches, along with the sun peeking though the top of the tree, shot with a 10mm fish-eye.

Coming Home

The Lifetime Network recently taped an episode of their series "Coming Home" at Aloha Stadium. The soldier in his BDUs is also a member of the University of Hawai‘i Warriors marching band, who was deployed to the Middle East. The producers of the show brought their crew to tape this homecoming that would take place during halftime of the season opener against the University of Colorado. The episode is due to air sometime this season.

Engine Table

What happens to an aircraft engine that's reached its end-of-life? Most are sold for scrap metal. For this DC-3 engine, most of it was re-painted, and will be made into a conference table.

Pet Deer

During one of our drives around Up Country Maui, we came across a property that had this deer as their pet. The run the deer had was pretty big, and included a shed for it.

Cloudy Day

Clouds extend from the Ko‘olau Mountains to Ke‘ehi Lagoon.

Instagrams 2

The November Instagram collage ...

Row 1: H3 tunnel (1 sec exposure); lavender flowers; high school football; king protea bunch; Indigo forks; old-liveried Hawaiian Air miniatures.

Row 2: Ailana Shave Ice sign; robot at Nordstrom's; moon through palms; Island Air Dash8; serial killer?; boarding pass and camera for a media event.

Row 3: guppies; Hawaiian Air A330; Baldwin Avenue (Makawao, Maui); "Eat The Street"; frog fountain at Indigo Restaurant; Kat's mom's birthday cake from Roy's.

Row 4: Udom Blue Angle orchid; musubi from Tanioka's; stuck in traffic ... ; corner of Nu‘aanu Ave & Hotel St; red rose bouquet; Old Glory.