Water Drops - 07/30/2013

I saw this youtube video on how to do waterdrop photos with regular household equipment and was inspired to try the same. I didn't even have some of his gear like lights and tripod so I had to improvise with my pop-up flash and hand holding. I just shot a sink filled with water w/ a dripping faucet. It is a lot more difficult to focus for max sharpness with hand holding but I did manage get some 'interesting' shots..these are my first try but definitely will try again.  I had to do some PSE fix to get the lights and shadows of the water drop.

My nephew did these w/ his point and shoot at max shutter speed.

This one is pretty cool and I reworked it in PSE which added some color..

He decided to try w/ lego drop .. it was really a hit and miss....

This one was a hit and came out sharp.. pretty cool..

Moon Over Kalihi - 07/21/2013

The super moon was a few months ago, but the full moon this month is also quite large and I saw it tonight.  The moon was quite high up before the sunset.

This was taken with the Lumix DMC-ZS25 at max zoom set to sunset mode and exposure set to -2.0.  The reddish/yellow tinge comes from the sunset mode.  This is really sharp considering the Lumix is a small point and shoot.

Miniature World - 07/21/2013

I got a chance to try a Lumix DMC-ZS25 that is a newer model of my Lumix.  It comes w/ Creative mode that takes pictures in Miniature.  This feature is so cool and is all done in camera. I decided to take some pics of the Golf Course near by.  I waited for a Sunday so there'd be more golf carts in view.  They came out really cute, just like those you see in a toy train set.

Pics with people don't look as cute so I did have to do some photoshopping to remove a golfer.

I'm not sure what the technique is, but to shoot correctly, you need to keep the subject you want in the focus point, otherwise, it'll come out blurry.

This kinda reminds me of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood...

Then I decided to try the swimming pool below.. 

Some car lot near by.. It was great fun.. As long as I get to play with that camera, I'll try and look for more miniaturized opportunities.

Pan Pacific Festival Parade - 6/9/2013

The Pan Pacific Parade commences the festival each year. This year, the parade was shorter than the previous years but it still had many lively and colorful costumed performers from different countries. This year, I wanted to travel light so I used my lightest lens, the 50mm. Although it has the F1.4 for low light later, on the other hand, since it didn't have zoom, so what I see is what I got.  Thus, I got the chance to practice trying to frame the shots.  We found a good spot w/o anyone blocking us, but as the sun was setting, I got a lot of flare from the sunlight which really threw off the metering.  I tried my best to rescue the signage shot in PSE.

I practiced being patient by waiting until the people came into my frame and that's pretty tough.

I think the most predominant color of this parade was red.

And.. Purple..

OK... I didn't know Texas was part of the Pan Pacific, but it's nice they were able to come to Hawaii to participate in a parade and they were dressed in Aloha attire too.

Sometimes I got lucky when they stop to perform in front of us so I got several shots.

As the sun was gettng lower, the trees blocked the direct light and I got better lighting.  These guys were great and they posed for me.

This shot came out really cool as the light came thru the trees at just the right time.

And the finale, the giant float.. these guys looked exhausted..

I caught the back of the giant float.  I did have to crop to get a better closeup.

On the walk back, I spotted this Mango tree, can you imagine, in the middle of Waikiki..full of mangoes so I had to take a shot.

Colombian Naval Tall Ship - 06/10/2013

I saw photos in the Star Advertiser of the Colombian Naval Tall Ship ARC Gloria's arrival to Honolulu Harbor, but unfortunately, I am now back to work so I couldn't go and visit. Luckily my good friend was in the area and took pics to show me so that I could be there via osmosis. These photos were shared with me by "Aunty" Shirley and she graciously gave me permission to post them. These are those times that it really doesn't matter what you shoot with but it's the photos that tell the story. She took these w/ her iphone 4S and sent to me via email. I just adjusted the coloration a little in photoshop to bring out the colors.

She went on Monday to the pier at Aloha Tower and was able to go on board for a free tour of the ship. 

She found info and went to check it out again on Tuesday when the ship was preparing to leave for the next port.  This was what I was wanting to see.

And as amazing as their arrival looked, the sailing crew got on the sails.

Then they sailed off.. what a beautiful day and a beautiful sight.  I'm glad I got to see it, even if it was only in picture thru someone else's lens.  I hope they come back next year.  I'll be sure then to take off and see them with my own lens. :-)

Recuperating with the South Shore Big Surf - 6/5/2013

I've been home most of the past week but felt it would be good to go out for a short walk. Being that there would be the rare big surf on the south shores today, I had to take my camera with me. I took my trusty Lumix since I'd need quite a zoom and walking w/ a large lens on the beach makes me feel weird. When I got to the beach, I saw other guys w/ long lens trying to capture surf, etc. 
It seemed like it was high tide so the waves looked even larger to me.  Lots of people were out and I decided to go closer to the water at the Groin at the end of Kapahulu Ave .   

The waves were so high, even the walkway was wet.. I was hesitant to go to the end since I had no intention of getting wet.

There were mostly body boarders but I could see a few surfers out there. I was out around 3pm and the sun was still beaming so it's difficult for the camera to meter correctly and most of my surfers/body boarders came out dark.

This was the best shot I got of a body boarder.

Kids love to jump off as the waves roll in and I waited and waited for him to take the leap.. 

The jet ski was out for rescuing.  With so many out there and the large waves, I don't see how they can see those in trouble. The news paper said there were 126 rescues today..wow..

I was watching this group sitting on the edge catching the large waves as it crashed all the way up to the walkway.  I tried not to get wet as I was taking the shot.  I saw others photogs trying for the same shot.

Some people came right in front of me.. then I realize she's w/ the Star Advertiser!  To my surprise, she was going after the same shot I was.. I heard her say something about the water got really blown out.  It's so cool to know that even real Professionals have the same problems too..I've been checking the site to see if I can see her final pics..

I was trying to get the surfer, but my shutter press is a little delayed so I got a wipeout instead..I thought it was pretty cool anyways.  As I was standing around, I got a wipe out of sorts when a large wave hit the walkway.  I got all wet and so did my camera.. I quickly wiped it w/ my shirt and was happy that it still works.

Sushi Closeups - 05/21/2013

Another birthday celebration brings us back at Sushi Bistro Shun. This time I tried to get in different angles while trying to take pics inconspicuously because it was rather crowded there at the sushi bar and I didn't want to bother the other patrons. I tried for extreme closeups this time, and again all of these were shot with the Panasonic Lumix ZS6 which I've had for over 2 years.

This was behind the glass right in front of me.

I can't believe I ate all that!!

We got to share the birthday cream puff with whipped cream dessert. The lightly sweet puff sure hits the spot. Yumm!