Shop a Lea @ Ala Moana Center - 03/25/2012

I had so much fun at the last fashion show at Ala Moana, I was excited to try again at this event. When I arrived, I saw a row of photographers all with huge zoom lens! I was nervous to join in that professional looking crowd. But once the fashion show started, I totally forgot all about it and started clicking. They had shows at the top of each hour and each lasted a quick 10-15mins. The lighting was uneven with bright spots causing me to have blown out or dark shadows shots. As the afternoon sun shifted, it was a lot better and I started to get used to the quick walk of the models.

I went on Saturday night to practice a little and got to see Michael Costello who was 3rd place on the Project Runway All Star. I didn't get to practice shooting models, but did get some good fashion tips.

Through the madness of the quick pace shoot, I did get some runway walking shots.

I discovered that I shot mostly portraits the whole time...I think I was subconsciously aiming for the look of a magazine page.

It took me a while to get the rhythm of the pattern of their walk and when the models pose.  But then it was all over in a few minutes.

Earlier in the afternoon, I had a hard time getting closeup shots as they would be right beneath the sunlight and I'd get dark shadows.   I had to recover the shot using photoshop element.

The best lighting came from the last show when the sunlight was no longer harsh so I was able to get some decent closeups.  It was fast and furious and time passed so quickly that I totally forgot that I had been standing for more than 3 hours!

Honolulu Festival - 3/3 - 3/4/2012

This year, the Honolulu Festival was one week early and it worked out better for me so I was able to attend some of the events. There's always the entertainment from different ethnic groups at the convention center.  I also got a chance to practice shooting for sharpness.

This year they had a group from Alaska.

This group of women were able to demonstrate dressing themselves in kimono without help in record speed.

I always enjoy the Descendance group from Australia.  This dancer was depicting a kangaroo.

There are always lots of hula dance groups from Japan.

This troupe Sugaren showed a brief memorial video of their leader and singer who's also this speaker's mother.  She spoke of last year, when her mother was given only several months to live.  She had come to get some rest time last March, but decided to return early back to Japan to help w/ the Tsunami efforts.  I can feel that they performed w/ a heavy heart last year as well as this year.

Nonetheless, they expressed their dance to the fullest.

I also caught a floral/musical/fashion show.   I had taken a lot of shots but decided to post this one..

On Sunday afternoon, there was the parade that started from 4- 7pm.  The weather was iffy and it drizzled several times but it didn't dampen the spirits of the marchers as well as those watching.

I finally got my 16-35mm lens back from repairs and decided to use it for the parade.  It was good mostly for capturing large groups.

There's the usual lion dance.

Since it was overcast and lighting was pretty constant from everywhere, I decided to move around to get different views of the parade.

I have no idea what he instrument he was playing but it looks pretty cool.

These kids were awesome when I saw them at the Convention Center, but it was too dark to capture the action.  I'm glad they were performing on the street so I got a second chance.

This balloon started pretty high and then it started to droop and then was more like a snake that slithered from side to side.. quite a funny sight to watch.

It got darker so I started to use the flash.. I had a hard time w/ the settings so it looked super dark and worked best w/ something that was lighted like this float.

Finally, another chance for me to take the fire breathing dragon.  I followed it down the street to get these shots.  The fireworks gave that weird red glow that looked almost like a cloth, esp. in the 2nd shot.

After the parade there was a large firework on the beach of Waikiki that lasted around 15mins.  It started to rain when I left my place so I decided to leave my newly repaired camera at home and take video w/ my point and shoot.  I haven't figured out how to edit and post it .. maybe some day I'll get it to my blog.

Finally, this is not a good shot, but i thought this was so cool. Instead of handing out parade schedule, there are people walking around w/ the QR code on a sign that you can use your phone app to scan and get to the website w/ the schedule. Too bad I don't have an iphone, else I'd try it out..

The Other Side of the Sunset - 2/10/2012

I've been taking a lot of sunset shots since there's been so many beautiful sunsets.  I also started to add Photoshop effects to make them different. I'd put on some texture effects..

On Friday, there were many sail boats and it was really beautiful to see.

I didn't know there was a lens flare effect in PSE.  I decided to add it to this lone surfer shot.

What you don't see in the sunset shot is just to the right of the sunset, this really large ship that's been out there to take the sand from the ocean floor in use to replenish the sand on the beach.  In all of my shots, I manage to avoid it or crop it off.

I took this shot and put some effects making it look more like some work boat used by oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and nothing like the paradise tourists see.

Martin Luther King Day Parade - 1/16/2012

The annual Martin Luther King day parade usually brings together different groups representing their message. There aren't flowery floats or marching hula dancers, but always interesting to see the different participants. I missed the group name of these riders but they gave great poses as they passed by and I got many great shots. It was quite bright but I still managed to get great lighting.

There were different religious groups and different human rights groups.

Their message were draped across their decorated vehicles.

The parade ended w/ this huge float of the Hari Krishna group.