Not Much to Say...

Last Friday a group of us from the Oahu photography meetup ventured down to Magic Island.  The goal was to photograph sunset, fireworks and full moon.  Well, the sunset didn't inspire me, and the full moon never made it's appearance while I was there--mostly, I think, because there was a huge bank of clouds at the eastern horizon, and I didn't want to stay long (late) enough for the moon to rise over the clouds.  Besides, by the time it was up over the clouds, it would have looked too small and the sky would have been too dark.

But we did manage to capture the fireworks.  The Hawaiian Hilton puts on a fireworks display every Friday night.  It only lasts about 10 minutes, but it's very nice and there are a lot of oooohs & aaaaahs. 

Photographing fireworks is always an exercise in experimentation, even if you really do know what you're doing, which, by the way, I don't.  So, hopefully, I'll get back there another Friday night and have another go at it.   Bring a chair, something to drink and a friend and you're good to go. It's not a bad way to spend the evening.

Fireworks

This isn't my post for today. I just wanted to share these with you. Yesterday, when I had to trash the idea of going to the Lighthouse because of rain, I still had to go to Honolulu to run some last minute errands. As I arrived, the rain stopped and I thought I might be able to get some fireworks shots if the rain held off.

The weather did cooperate. Just as the fireworks began it started drizzling very lightly. Since the "show" only lasts about 5 minutes, it was okay. It still didn't rain for my entire ride home, but it poured all night.

The image below is a cropped portion of the above image. I shot wider views last night because I wanted to see how the scene would look if I included some of the buildings surrounding the fireworks site. Which do you like better? the horizontal or vertical?

The image below is also a crop of an horizontal image. I shot all of them horizontal just to insure I'd get the entire firework burst.

Posted 9:45 am on Sat, April 11, 2009.

check back later to see my post for today.

By the way, I probably won't be posting Sunday's post until very late tomorrow (Sunday) or maybe not until Monday morning. So let me wish you all a happy and Blessed Easter. God is risen!

Late Post for Friday, Mar 6

Friday my friend Jackie and I spent the day on the grounds of the Hawaiian Hilton and Hale Koa hotels. It was really beautiful, so much so that we got there at 11 am and didn't leave until 8 pm. We had to wait for the Friday night fireworks, sponsored by the Hilton every Friday night. I think I've mentioned before that they only last about 5-10 minutes, but they're fun and they're definitely a Friday Night in Honolulu tradition.

This first image is of one of the sides of the Hilton. The side facing the ocean is similarly decorated and is therefore a great landmark for anyone out on the ocean.

Next, these statues greet travelers on the main street of town. They are soooo beautiful. I got goosebumps when I was there photographing them. Hawaiian dance is very lovely and these statues depict that grace in an awesome way. There is a third dancer, but with all the foliage in the background, the figures get somewhat lost. Not so in person, but the image of the three of them didn't do it justice.

Some of the landscaping around the hotel.

I wasn't very successful capturing the fireworks. Being so close, as in practically looking straight up at the fireworks, I didn't have the right lens on the camera, and they last such a short time I didn't have time to change lenses. This is one of the better images. Jackie and I will probably go back next Friday and shoot from Magic Island, which I've mentioned before.

And now.....Drum Roll Please--GRAND ANNOUNCEMENT!! I finally figured out what my year-long project will be. Tattoos. I'm not a big fan of tattoos, but I have to tell you that I've seen some truly beautiful tattoo artwork here in Hawaii. And not a single person has said 'no' when I've asked to photograph theirs. Whew, am I relieved to finally have a project theme! No more floundering around for me, at least not until this project is done and it's time for another.

Posted on Sat, for Friday, Mar 6, 2009

Come back soon to see the post for today.