Surf's up!! The rainy windy and overcast conditions didn't keep these guys out of the water!!. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.. :)

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas Eve.. :)

OK ~Annie~ here it is ..... Just for you!!!! I can't believe that I actually went back and looked at this icky thing... YUCK... I am not a bug macro person NO WAY!! Looks really funky like this!!! :) :) He is wishing you a Merry Christmas.... HA.... Really I can't even stand to look at this thing!! Oh my gosh!!! :) :) :)

I have been in Calif once again but am now back here in Hawaii for the holidays. My daughter is home as well. Annie my Hawaii photo shooting friend was also in San Francisco attending a conference...so we got together and went out one day for a few shots. Wishing everyone Happy Holidays. Aloha

Today at Foster Gardens in Honolulu.. I have never macro'd a bug but this preying mantas was fun... ok well interesting at least. But when you view it in Photoshop it feels like they are crawling on you... Kind of icky!! :) :) It was a rainy overcast day and not a lot of flowers.. so I thought I would post something totally different. :) :)

Sunset clouds over Diamond Head, Sunday Evening.

Makapu'u Lighthouse, Oahu
The lighthouse was built in 1909 and automated in 1974. A 2-mile paved trail leads to the lighthouse and a fantastic view of the entire coastline and the island of Molokai in the distance.
The Kaiwi Channel (26 miles Molokai to Oahu) runs past Makapu'u Lighthouse and is an excellent spot to watch Humpback whales as they travel the channel between December and April. (info from Hawaiiweb.com and other sites) Have to admit I just couldn't come up with all of these facts!! :) :) It is a wonderful, fun, easy hike and the views are awesome.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Rainbow Tower and Waikiki Beach lights.. :)

Flower that I found when I was in California. I know I had better start taking photos around home again!! :) :) I haven't been out and about since I returned to Hawaii but perhaps tomorrow if it is not storming. :) :)

This is another morning in California. Rainbow Bridge, Folsom, CA. shot with my favorite fishy eye lens :) :) That lens is tons of fun to play with. :) :) The Rainbow Bridge was built in 1919 across the American River.

Since there really are no fall colors here in Hawaii I went out looking for some in California on my recent visit. This was about all I could find. :)

Found this interesting pokey weed/flower? in Colorado. I have no clue what it is but I think fresh fallen snow can make just about anything amazingly beautiful... :) :)

When I was in Denver everyone was celebrating the Rockies making it to the World Series. Downtown at night they put the Colorado Rockies Logo on the building across the street from where I was staying. Too bad they lost tonite. Guess there is always next year. :) :)

Last nite was a huge full moon. Kind of hidden in the clouds just around sunset, but was fun to watch rise. Annie and I stopped near Sandy Beach and was it windy!! Tons of salt spray in the air!! Which means not real clear images and major camera and tripod clean up when you get home. Oh well it was worth the stop. :)

Up above Golden Colorado at Lookout Mountain. Amazing weather. 70 degrees and clear on Saturday and freezing , windy and snowy on Sunday. It is a beautiful place.

Today was a walk around Chinatown afternoon with Annie and her friend Elizabeth. A quick shot of a bunch of flowers from one of the many lei shops in Chinatown. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. :) :)

I am finally back in Hawaii. One month off to take my daughter to college at Univ. of San Francisco... sniffle sniffle... :) :) Staying in Calif for the month was lots of fun but not much for photos since I was busy with my parents and of course visiting with my daughter and her dorm friends.. But I guess like everything have to get back to the routine.... maybe I can find a shot to post... Thought I would just say HI!!! Aloha, Renee :) :)

Lilies with a busy bee... :) :)

Thought I would post a hula image since it is Friday.. :) :) Hope everyone has a wonderful Aloha Friday and a great weekend!!! :)

Taiko Drummers from the Manoa Bon Dance. :) :) They are a little loud but tons of energy and a great crowd pleaser.. :) :)

Bon Dance this evening... As you can see it is a come as you are event.. anything goes even jeans and a t-shirt. Main thing I learned at the bon dance... You have to come to have fun, which they all do... and they line dance to "Elvira" How funny is that!!! :) :) :)

The DOG Signing!!! Ha ha ha ha ha :)

"You Can Run but You Can't Hide"... A catchy name for a book.... LOL LOL LOL .. :)
Oh my gosh... I never go to events like this so sorry to bore my blogging friends with this story. As I sat this evening chatting with my mom on the phone (she is on the mainland) I was laughing at an article in today's paper which said Dog the Bounty Hunter wrote a book and would be doing a book signing this evening at 7pm at the local mall!!! I couldn't believe it... I mean really a guy that calls himself "DOG" oh please.... My mom on the other hand thought that was way cool... I couldn't believe that either.... So she said that she would love a signed book.. I told her she was crazy and why would you want that book... well it seems that Dog the Bounty Hunter is a big hit on TV... I knew that really I did... :) :) He is occasionally on the front page of our local paper since he does live here in Honolulu, but have never watched his show I must admit... So just to make my mom happy and to satisfy my curiosity about this Mr. Dog off to the mall I went.. and to my dismay so did hundreds.. I mean hundreds of other people. I was stunned, amazed, couldnt believe it... (I don't think Dog could either.. Bet he wished he was out tracking down criminals vs signing books for that crowd.. I wouldn't have blamed him at all).. But he hung in there for 2 hours....Anyway, I went to purchase a book for signing...... the bookstore said they were sold out!!! Can you believe it!!! But... maybe... perhaps they might have a few copies left downstairs where the mass of humanity stood flashing their cameras and awaiting a signature from Dog.... When I finally located the portion of the mall that was selling the books they were SOLD OUT, but I could purchase one of 3 DVD's... Hmmmmm I pondered a moment and thought Nahhhh.... Sorry mom.... so I went and did the next best thing that you can do at the mall.... Go shopping!!! :) :) So after I purchased a new outfit .. darn mom see what you made me do...... :) :) :) SO, then... I figured on the way back to the car I would wonder back to middle of mall to see how many people where left.. OH MY GOSH.. there was still quite the crowd.. but I figured I could perhaps, just maybe, get a shot of him and send that to my mom to substitute for the book!!! A poor substitute I know!!! :) :) Well, as I was slowly creeping my way towards the stage that he was set up on, I was stopped almost right in front of him,, that was as close as I was getting since of course there is always those who tend to push you aside...Anyway,,, as I stood there and waited for someone to move the girl that works for the bookstore stood right in front of me blocking my view and said: "I have two copies of the book left"... I could not believe what I heard.... How amazing is that!!!..... I said, I would love one for my mom and the guy next to me gobbled up the other copy.. I was stunned to say the least but had to laugh.... So, I got my mom her signed copy... By the way he signs.... THE DOG....... I will be mailing it off to her in the morning. Have you heard of The Dog??? His real name is Duane "DOG" Chapman. (Not sure that the Dog part is real but that is what the front cover of the book says)!!!... He seemed like a nice enough guy but looked totally exhausted. I know I would have been after all of the books that he signed!!! It turned out to be a fun evening after all.... :) :)

A fish eye view of Waikiki from Ala Moana Beach Park, Magic Island. I still love playing around with that fish eye lens. One of these days I will just have to break down and get one of my own!!!

An overexposed moon... Oh well I took it super quick from my lanai... :) :) Saw the moon from the kitchen window and ran out to the lanai, darn the tripod was in the car.. Shucks... :) :) Then snapped a few shots before it went up into the clouds.. :) :) Have a great week..

Moli’i Garden, a terraced garden overlooking a 125- acre ancient Hawaiian fishpond, the largest and most well preserved fishpond in Hawai’i. Located on the Windward side of Oahu.

OK I am tired of all those sunsets and perhaps just a bit tired of landscape shots but alas another landscape... Now you have to use your imagination a tiny bit but really this is Diamond Head at sunset... .OH NO another sunset shot.. darn... with a lot of camera motion... I mean lots!!! HA... Have a great Wed.. Aloha, Renee :)

Another sunset shot from Magic Island - Ala Moana Beach Park from last week.... Check out ~Annie~ "Annie photo a week" link to the right for a closer view... Go Annie.. Love your shot better than mine!!! :) :) :)

Magic Island - Ala Moana Beach Park Sunset :)

Prince Lot Hula Festival- Moanaulua Gardens -
Photo of Halau "Pupukahi I Ke Alo O Na Pua" Kumu Hula Michael Casupang. With a little artsy feel to it :) :)

A little about the Festival that I found ..........Prince Lot, who later became Kamehameha V, King of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872, was noted for his energy and strength of will. One of his interests was to promote and preserve Hawaiian culture, especially the hula. He did this by holding hula performances at his cottage in Moanalua. In appreciation of Prince Lot's efforts to preserve Hawaiian culture, the Prince Lot Hula Festival was established in 1978. Each year na halau (hula schools) come to the festival to perform at Moanalua Gardens in Honolulu

A little stormy looking out on Thursday evening at Ala Moana Beach Park.

Waikiki Hotel lights and Diamond Head just a little after sunset... Used Annie's fish eye "thank you Annie" to be able to catch those last few fisherman still out for that last catch of the evening :) :) Click on image to view larger version!! :) :) :)

Pink Ginger. We always called it Torch Ginger but when I looked on the internet for confirmation it showed a different ginger plant. Oh well. :) :) It is of the Ginger Plant Family I guess you could say and is used in lots of flower arraignments since it lasts a long long time. :) :)

Windward side of Oahu from Makapu'u Lighthouse.. :)

A late Saturday afternoon walk thru downtown Honolulu. It is amazing the different types of architecture that you can find within just a few blocks. I know it is a weird combination of images and colors...Oh well... :) Thanks Jeff ( http://zenweek.blogspot.com/ ) for my middle shot... I know I stole your shot!!! :) :) I am sure that yours turned out much nicer... :) :)

The end of another day.... OK I know everyone is getting tired of sunsets!!! :) :) Have a wonderful Aloha Friday.. :)

A small fruit stand on the windward side. I was thinking of b & w or sepia but then when I tried it I just thought hmmmmm.. SOoooo, I went with the color version since driving past that is what really catches your attention... It is soooo cute and the fresh fruit that you can buy is out of this world. Literally ice cold papaya ... Oh how refreshing was that!!!! Fresh coconut macaroon cookies... YUMMY!!! The lady that runs the stand is soooo nice.. :) :).. Really, where else would you find fresh picked bananas hanging from an extension cord!!!! Fresh pineapple, shell lei, local fruit jellys, hats, along with dream catchers for sale. It was sooo fun to stop by!!!

Water Lily at the Macadamia Nut Farm on the windward side. OK.. I know this is not a mac nut.... :) :) :) Didn't bring out my trusty polarizer cause I was just to lazy to walk back to the car!! :) :) We didn't want to pay the $12.00 for Ali'i grand tour... So it is water lily's vs Mac... :) Nuts!! :) :)

Sunset this evening out at Ko'olina Resort.

Chinaman's Hat or Mokoli'i Island - This island off the coast at Kualoa Beach Park (Windward side of Oahu) is known as Chinaman's Hat because of its shape. It sits about 600 yards offshore and it is about 12.5 acres in size. It has a lovely little cove with a tiny sandy beach that is privately located on the opposite side from shore. The island has three small palm trees, is cone shaped but it is not a separate volcanic cone. It is part of the old Koolau volcano that was separated form the main mass by erosion and left standing as a tiny island or sea stack. It is approximately 37 acres in size and about 213 feet tall at its highest point.

Hawaiian legend tells a different story about the formation of Mokoli'i Island. Pele's younger sister Hiiaka encountered a lizard like dragon called a Moko when she was traveling on the windward coast of Oahu. She fought and killed the dragon. The flukes on the dragon's tail is suppose to have formed Mokoli'i Island. Info gathered form various web sites. :)

A Maui Sunset. If you look really really close you can just barely see the outline of Molokai on the horizon just below the sunset.. :) :) Wishing everyone a wonderful week.. Aloha, Renee :)

Lots of Blogs had red today so I found something red and decided to post it just for fun.!! Kind of weird I know!!!! :) :) I also noticed that today was Canada Day.... SO... Happy Canada Day!!!!!

Honolulu and the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. Taken from Punchbowl lookout. :)

The Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaii - Manoa Campus.
The buildings that house the Center for Korean Studies were designed by two Korean architects, Chong In-guk and Na Sang-gi, with modifications and final blueprints by two Hawai'i architects, Jo Paul Rognstad and Vernon Kim. Ground was broken for the start of construction on July 1, 1974. The building was completed in December 1979. An extensive exterior renovation was carried out from 1998 to 2001. Above is some of the detail in the top portion of the building. The designs and colors are amazing.

Lanikai Beach looking out to the Mokes. I know.. I know the footprint is centered. But I thought it looked cool with the fisheye!!! :)

Waikiki just before sunset... A very nice evening out... :) :)

King Kamehameha Statue. Every year in honor of King Kamehameha the statue is draped in lei. It is amazing how long those lei are and how beautiful they look... This year again the sky was cloudy and overcast. Darn was hoping for some nice puffy clouds behind the Statue.. Oh well..It was still a beautiful site. Aloha, Renee :)

Graduation Hawaii Style. It was a fun evening on Monday nite at my daughter's graduation (middle of the front row). The last image is after the graduation ceremony when you receive lei from friends and family.... As you can see you can end with lots lots lots and lots of lei... Oh my gosh... They can really get heavy after awhile so we had to take them off her several times since they just kept piling up.. It was just tooooo funny...
AND...Thank you everyone for your well wishes and kind comments. It is nice to have a free moment to say HI and post again. Aloha, Renee :)