Fun in Haleiwa 2/17/09

It was a great day for a drive to Haleiwa and for spending a fun time w/ fellow photog enthusiasts Celia, Jalna and Erick.
We headed down to Haleiwa Beach Park. It's so bright, I really think I should invest in a polarizer.There are a lot of these little creatures in the rocks..hmm, wonder if they're edible.I'm fascinated by bridges and I took a whole bunch of shots of this bridge, including one w/ some suspicious looking tourists. :0P
Here's a demonstration of the risky Camera-on-a-stick technique (only recommended for those who trust their tripod).We checked out the surf store and some surf board art.
The lines were really long at Matsumoto Store for the shaved ice but it was worth the wait.I'm amazed how round they were able to form them. They're more like snow cones.And it was devoured in a few minutes..yum!
We headed back to the car and found something else to shoot...
these kids who were also having a fun time in Haleiwa.

Aloha Tower Sunset 2/15/09

The Queen Mary 2 left the islands for America Samoa on a world cruise and I happened to be there to see it pull away from the dock and left the harbor. It's amazing how quickly this huge ship was able to maneuver it's way out of the harbor.
We stayed to watch the sunset, but the sun was well hidden behind the clouds. So I ended up taking some shots of the harbor at dusk.

Chinatown 2/14/09

In our continuing search for the perfect day took us to chinatown. What started out a rainy day turned out to be a great day for shooting and for discovering something new in something old.
The Maunakea Marketplace with statue of Confucius and the chinese clock.I've never seen these before..wonder how does it taste?We found lots of colors in the foods and products sold in the open markets.My friend calls these chinese 'wedding cakes', but I've known them as 'old wife cake'.We found a place that sold yummy bubble drink.We even found this 'mini' bar.. :oPWe ended up at Waiola Store for some shaved ice..my favorite!

Queen Kapiolani Garden 2/10/09

I must've past this place hundreds of times but never really 'stopped to smell the flowers'. So this afternoon on my day off, I decided to check it out. There used to be roses, but now there are mostly hibiscus. There are many different colors and varieties and I was fortunate to visit when they were all in full bloom.
It looked like it would rain when I left my apartment, but turned out to be a really nice afternoon being a little overcast. The overcast actually helped because the colors of the blossoms did not get blown out w/ too much sunlight. I was able to take all of these using my 16-35mm wide angle lens and the results came out really nice.

Aloha Tower 2/10/09

I went down to Aloha Tower on my day off to play tourist for a day. The tower is open from 9-5pm daily and is free to go up the elevator to the 10th floor observation deck. It was a very nice day, but a little too bright by the time I got there around 10am.The Princess Cruise ship, Golden Princess, was docked. It's a huge ship. (Darn...dust in my camera!! Argh!)Here's the 'A' of the Aloha on the tower looking thru to Sand Island.I was even able to see a plane take off from the reef runway.
I actually saw a picture like this on the wall of my orthodontist's office but never knew where it was taken..and now I found the spot...at the Aloha Tower. Go see for yourself :o)

Pro Bowl Festival 2/7/09

We checked out the Pro Bowl Festival in search of a "perfect day" photo. It was a nice day, but I didn't take very many shots. We ended up taking in some time at the zoo.
There was a lady on stilts.There was this huge football to mark the festivities.There was also the Kraft Dinosaur taking pictures w/ kids. Here the 'trainer' is talking to the peep hole inconspicuously placed on one of his spots. :0DMom's resting near the fence..that darn fence!! AAAAAAAARGH!!I managed to get a shot of Rusty the orangutan thru the very dirty green plexi-glass.I was finally able to make my camera take a nice flower shot w/ large enough aperture that made the background blurry.