Fruits of Chinatown - 01/18/2014

In my weekly shopping trips to Chinatown, I've notice there has been some interesting fruits that are in season recently. These aren't usually found in supermarkets so they're an unusual find. I don't have my camera handy but I found that the iphone do a pretty decent job.  I had to look up some of the names of the fruits I found.  Unfortunately, like a lot of stuff in chinatown, prices are sometimes not posted and I didn't want to ask and just grabbed a shot.
There were plenty of these Rambutans available and people were buying them up. These are one of the coolest looking fruits in my opinion.

I actually smelled these before I saw them. These are supposed to be prized fruits for some, but to others, they smell like a pile of rotting rubbish. I'd sure hate to live next door to a Durian farm!  The ones here look to be at least a couple of pounds each and judging by the price, I really don't know what to think of them.

I saw these and had no idea what they are so I googled and believe these are called Santol and are popular in the Philippines.  I read that they are used in cooking in Thailand.  I  also read that ingesting the seed will perforate your intestine and kill you.. The thought of it makes me not want to give these a try.

I found these Tamarinds sold by the bunch.  I've only had candied ones that someone brought back from Thailand but never tried fresh ones...looks interesting.

I actually bought some of these Dragon Eye fruit.  They were selling for $4.99 per pound and I believe a bunch like this is usually around 2+ lbs and mine came out to be $11(!) so they can be very pricey.  Luckily, the ones I bought were pretty sweet and pretty meaty.

Someone once told me about these.  They're called Sapodilla or Chico in the Philippines. They look like a cross between furless kiwi and potato. I asked the seller how to tell when it's ripe and she said when it feels soft.  I was told these fruits are really tasty so I decided to give it a try.

I got this one with the leaf on it for a better photo effect.  It was hard so I figure it wasn't ripe enough to eat yet.

After a week, one of them got soft and looked ripe enough to eat so I decided to cut it.

I can't compare the taste to any other fruit I've had, but it was really sweet. The texture was like eating apple sauce with a little grittiness and it was pretty good.  This fruit also has a vicious looking seed that I'm sure will also kill you if you ingest it because of that sharp hook in the seed.  I was very careful when eating these, but at least the seed is pretty big. I'll have to wait for the other one to get ripe before I eat it.

A coworker bought an egg fruit a couple of weeks ago.  I tried it and posted about it before but I didn't care for that previous experience because I think I ate it when it wasn't ripe.  This one was mostly yellow and seemed pretty ripe as it was soft and I could also smell the fruit.  I took this w/ the macro mode and it made it look like a small pumpkin.

After it was cut, it look more like a egg yolk so hence the namesake.  The texture was like eating an Okinawan sweet potato but sweeter.

Star Apple - 12/31/2013

I had a chance to try this strange fruit called Star Apple (Chrysophyllum cainito).  From afar, it looked like a purple onion, but from the touch, it was soft.  I'm not sure why it's referred to apple since it doesn't have any crunch. I read that it is also called the  'Breast Milk Fruit' and I'm guessing maybe because of that white stuff that's coming out of it.  I ate this when it was ripe so it was soft. It has a texture like persimmon and actually the seed is also like that of a persimmon. However, this wasn't as sweet as one. From the cross cut, it exposes the 'star' design but I think they should really call it an 'Asterisk' Apple instead.

Last 2013 Post - 12/31/2013

I figure I'd get in one last post for 2013 before it moves to 2014.  I got home early enough to check out the sunset and decided to make a greeting card. Have a Happy 2014.

Honolulu City Lights - 12/08/2013

I was able to check out the Christmas decorations at Honolulu Hale early this year. I was surprised and glad that it wasn't as crowded the day after the City's parade. I was able to take pictures of all the decorations without having to deal with crowds. I think I'll consider making this date a yearly event.

It was great weather, considering the week before it was pouring like dogs and cats.

I think this year's theme is recycling because near the entrance, there's this giant pikachu .. 

Taking a closer look, you see it's made of bottles...lots of them..

I decided to use some filter effects on my pics..

I got a few cools pics to make photo cards next year.. happy holidays!!

Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade - 12/07/2013

I haven't posted for months but there hadn't been much events for photo opportunities then finally a night parade in Waikiki. This was the memorial parade for the veterans and also the survivors of the Pearl Harbor Attack. It was dark by the time the parade got to my street and I hadn't taken night shots for a long while and had really struggled. I used my 70-200mm lens but my flash just didn't have the reach.  I had to do a lot of fixing in PSE.  

Many of the veterans of WWII walked or rode in the parade.

I learned that because my flash had a short reach, I had to time it just right to hit the subjects at the right distance.  It was a real hit or miss..then it'd be PSE fix.

My all-time favorite float.. I have no idea how they got this on the road all the way from Ford Island..It was an awesome sight.

There were these cool cars doing crazy wheelies.

The guy from Hawaii 5-0 made a guest appearance in the parade too.

My favorite pic of the night. This for me sums up how the participants and the people watching the parade felt.  I was really glad I made it to see the parade.  

Aloha Festival Parade - 09/28/2013

It seems like it's been forever since I've been to a mid-morning parade. I'd forgotten about the heat, bad lighting and did I mention the heat? I got to the parade a little after 9am, but found out they haven't even blocked off the entire Kalakaua Avenue yet. Anyway, I staked out a spot that wouldn't block anyone and was kinda shady. What I learned was that it doesn't matter if you get there early, because people coming late will come and sit right in front of you and you just hope they don't block your view when the parade starts. The second thing I learned is bring a zoom lens. There's no way you can get shots w/o tons of people in your shot. With my 70-200mm, I got tight shots and cropped out other photog that stood right in front of me. And lastly, the midday sun is horrible!! The brimmed hats, the raccoon eyes the uneven shadows..I got them all. When I first looked at my shots, I was really disappointed, but thank goodness for PSE 11 with the magic wand and shadows and higlights (in levels), I was able to recover a lot of them.  I spent an hour shooting then had to leave.  Even though it was short, it was a great learning experience.
Finally, waiting for almost 45 mins, the parade started.. This is the first time I've seen maile lei on the motorcycle patrol.

Can you spot the person NOT with a camera?  hmm.. People with all kinds of cameras and cellphones, ran into the middle of the street to capture just the right shot to post on their Facebook or Instagram.. There were some of the most aggressive photogs I've ever seen..

This is one of the few parades with real floral floats.  I love the colors of this parade.

This was one of the many shots I rescued.  My original shot was so dark under the hat I could hardly see his face.  After some simple work, I can even see the color in his eyes. I think even using a flash can't help since he was pretty far away when I shot it at max zoom.

I had wanted to have pics where the background was blurry and was told that I have to shoot at max zoom.

One of the reason I wanted to check out the parade was to see the original crew of the Hokulea.

And of course, there's always lots of marching bands.  This one is from Moanalua High School.

Most of the shots had to be close, else I'd get people in my shots.