Purple Silk Music w/ Lumix - 6/24/2012

I happened to be at Ala Moana and saw people gather around the centerstage and wonder what everyone was waiting for. Then I saw this group dressed in traditional Chinese clothing w/ traditional instruments.  This group of students from the Purple Silk Music Education Foundation is from Oakland who lives in high risk neighborhoods and the program teaches them music through traditional Chinese Instruments.

I only had my Lumix so I thought I'd test it out on this usually difficult lighting shoot. I was shooting and checking my shots that my camera battery got really hot. It was a tough shoot, but I managed to take a bunch of shots and with some editing fixes got these shots.

Some played the Erhu.  The teacher explained that they choose instruments based on the student's ability to hear music.  Those who are able to hear music pitch well will play string instruments and those who likes to talk will play woodwind instruments because they can't talk and play music at the same time. 

Most girls play the Pipa.  I'm not sure what that round instrument is called.

They played the mouth organ. It sounded really cool..kind of like cross between an accordion and a harmonica.  Most of my pics came out dark and I tried to increase the ISO or EV settings, but it didn't help.   My camera info was showing shutter speed 1/40 for some of the shots so movement was not good to shoot.  

I wanted to get pics of others in the back of the orchestra so I went upstairs.  Although a good vantage point, I had to avoid people's heads as they went up the escalator.

I tried max zoom to see how close I could get..  I was able to get some closeups but they were a bit grainy.  There's just not enough light in the stage area.

I tried to shoot some of the players in the back row and did some cropping.  I had to lighten this a bit since the metering on the Lumix made this really dark. 

The little girl performed 'Somewhere over the Rainbow'

These two sisters played some kind of dueling piece on the Guzheng, similar to the Koto but have 23 strings.

Again, I tried max zoom.. pretty noisy.

This guy actually sang a mandarin Chinese song.  He's supposed to be dressed as a famous Chinese Judge, Judge Bao, who is supposed to have a crescent shaped birth mark on his forehead.

He played a Hawaiian song w/ this leaf.  I wasn't sure I would get a good zoom shot of the leaf but I managed to get one.

I found this guy playing some Chinese bell instrument.  Overall, It was one tough shoot but I managed to fix the level and added some color saturation back in PSE.  This is one of those times I wish I had my Canon.. or better yet, if I only had a Canon 5D Mark III.. ha!

Pan Pacific Parade - 6/10/2012

The Pan Pacific Parade is the closing event of the Festival. I got to the parade a little later this year and picked a spot that faced the beach so that I wouldn't be taking shots w/ the McDonald sign again. As the sun was setting, I got a lot of glare. While some shots didn't work well, this shot was one that worked.

I'll have to practice the metering more.  I was able to recover some shots using PSE. While editing my shots, what I noticed were all the smiling faces of these participant who were really having a great time.

I was able to get a LOT of smiling faces.

I was able to get a good angle of the synchronized dancing from where I sat.

It was good that we could see the groups as they were coming down the street.

This group performed a dance about rice planting.

It is true.. I just learned that the afternoon sun really makes the gold color shine. 

As this group of taiko performers were coming up, I could see the final float arriving in the background.

The parade seem shorter this year, or maybe I was enjoying the parade too much to realize all that time has passed.

After we had dinner after 8pm, we saw lights and music coming from the Waikiki Beach Hula mound and decided to check it out.  We were lucky to catch one of the final performance of hula groups from Japan.  It was really dark w/ large spot lights that lit the stage of performers.  I was lucky I was able to shoot this w/o a flash.  At the end of the performances, everyone joined hands and sang Hawaii Aloha.  What a perfect way to end the Festival.  

Pan Pacific Festival - 6/9 - 6/10/2012

The Pan Pacific Festival always provided lots of color to photograph.  I was lucky to make it to the late Saturday afternoon performances. I checked the schedule and found a Traditional Wedding ceremony and musical performances.

While the groom seem comfortably dressed..

The bride was dressed in this antique kimono and heavy head dress that seem way  uncomfortable.

There was taiko and music performances.

This group actually performs yearly in front of the Emperor of Japan with their bamboo reed instruments and traditional music.

This year, they again performed another dance w/ elaborate costume.  I'm not sure what this is, but its eyes are really creepy.  Also, the red/orange costumes really threw off my metering.

These soldiers were performed by women and moved in synchronized steps.

State Capitol Walkabout - 5/31/2012

After picking up the photos from the State Library, I still had money leftover in the meter..so I decided I would make the most of my 50 cents I spent on parking...HA!  First, I found the Korean and Vietnam Memorial that I've never seen before...how did I miss this in my previous photo walks? 

I found this tunnel thing that I have no idea where it goes and there were no signs.. hmm..  I didn't feel like going down the stairs to find out.

Last time I visited the state capitol, this mural was still being repaired.. it is now back to its original state.

I wanted to go across the street to take a closer look at the Eternal Flam Memorial, but I figured I had only 50 cents in the meter..:-(    I'm ashamed to say that I had to google to find out that this is to commemorate the Pearl Harbor attack.

Honolulu Hale in the reflecting pond..

Queen Liliuokalani Statue looking as if she is reflecting on the "State" of the Hawaii seal..

Walking back to my car I never realized that the back of the Iolani Palace looks exactly lie the front of the palace.

I shot this w/ the max zoom (cropped) from the parking lot of Iolani Palace.. pretty good for a Lumix..The money in my meter had run out by the time I got back to my car and it was a great 20+ minutes well spent....