urban waters collide

i sat, peered into the ocean, and reflected on the juxtaposition between the collision of ancient hawaiian traditions and modernity

Sippers & Motorcycles

while most wear leather boots, hawaii locals wear slippahs'

(photo taken out of the car window, amused)

{copyright 2011mainlandgirl.com}

Silent Night - Koko Head City Lights (photograph)

A view of Waikiki and downtown from the top of Koko Head. Warmest wishes as you close 2010 and welcome the New Year!

{copyright 2010 mainlandgirl.com}

Sandy Beach (Honolulu)

It's still like summer in Hawaii. Put away those east coast fall mittens, and foggy northern state wool caps...Sandy Beach offers year round surfing--though dangerous and nick named "broke neck beach" for a reason. Nice respite away for East Oahu residents. (My local beach for a midday break.)

Hawaii Snap Shots (Photographs)

I left my camera on the mainland--purposely--to take a break from all activity of the year. But everything is so gorgeous here that I ended up buying the cheapest point-and-shoot pocket camera I could find at Costco. A pocket camera has its limitations in creativity and clarity but nonetheless, Hawaii's beauty speaks for itself.

{All rights reserved Copyright 2010 MainlandGirl.com}

Fireworks - Photography Tips

It's 4th of July this weekend! Check out your local area for fireworks display. Aloha Tower, Ala Moana Beach Park, and the Hawaii Kai harbor are great places for free community displays. Food booths paired with good weather, family and friends make this a great way to spend the holiday weekend!

{Some 4th of July photos 2008} and a helpful email I got in an email:

Tips for Shooting Fireworks:

• Bring a tripod and flashlight to the fireworks display. It's dark and you'll need longer exposures, so use the tripod to avoid blurry pictures. The flashlight will help you adjust your camera settings in the dark.

• Set your camera to Fireworks mode (if you have that feature), which will automatically take care of the settings. If you don't have Fireworks mode, set your camera to Manual mode: ISO 200, aperture f/8, and shutter speed between 5 and 15 seconds. After you take a few pictures, take a look at how they are turning out, and adjust the shutter speed accordingly (leave the ISO and f-stop alone).

• Include a landmark in the photo, such as a statue, stadium, park, lake, or whatever the surrounding area includes. As the fireworks explode, they will light up the landmark beautifully.

• Take a lot of pictures! You can take over 100 pictures and only keep 2 great ones. The more pictures you take, the greater chance you have of capturing the perfect shot. Be a ruthless editor; you only need one or a few photos to frame andshare!

• Remember that fireworks come fast and furious during the finale of the show. Therefore, you may need to decrease your shutter speed. 15 seconds will likely be overexposed during the finale. Try 5 seconds instead.

Canon eStore

"Boo." But first, it's about time that Canon actually allows customers to buy products directly from them. It's surprising that their website didn't allow online purchases to be made. The allowability for this via the new Canon eStore is a good addition to the online market. Yet, the eStore is limited in what they sell. It's market is for the consumer, not the professional. The items for sale fall in the range of pocket cameras (point-and-shoot), printers, and photo paper. No SLRs and no new lens for sale. For this I say "boo" but maybe in time they'll expand their market to include pros and prosumers alike.

Starting a Small Business - Entrepreneurship as Fun

It's said that good photography alone will never sustain a successful business. Artistry is valued at nothing if one cannot run the business end of a small company. The fun part of being an entrepreneur, in my opinion, is the challenge of balancing both the the art and the business aspects of the profession.

Before filing the paperwork for my business license in September, I spent the months prior reading books on running small businesses. I spent equal amounts of time reading law books to understand the legal side of owning a company. The Hawaii State Library had sufficient information on both of these topics of which I was glad to find.

I also made appointments to meet with three photography entrepreneurs to learn about their experiences, gain words of advice, and understand the photography industry as a whole. I'm grateful to Nely, Mike and Garrett for the presence of their company and the time and wisdom they shared with me.

The fun part of it all was choosing a business name, thinking about logos and branding, learning how to build websites, and designing business cards. Once the formal paper work with the State was done, I couldn't wait to get this part of the business rolling. (...well, building websites was semi stressful--a whole new world and high learning curve for me). After spending a couple months building up my portfolio, I'll be using this month to meet with a tax attorney and launch my official website. The early part of 2009 will be dedicated to completing my Ph.D. (hooray) and thereafter I plan to market my company in Hawaii and Southern California.

Acknowledgments
I can't recall the exact day or moment when I decided to take a risk on this venture. All I know is that one day I simply had the confidence, courage and faith to take a risk on living out this dream and putting action toward setting things in motion. I couldn't have done this alone however. There were key people who helped to support and fuel this dream along the way:

I'd like to acknowledge Shelia and Jon for their early subtle nudges (you didn't know you planted the seeds, did you?!), Andrew (especially) who was there from the start and who fueled enthusiasm along the way. Andy was particularly helpful in helping me to get my first paid gig only two weeks after my company was in business and generous in offering subsequent Event Photography opportunities thereafter. Garrett has been an amazing mentor in the wedding industry. Working with "the legend" himself is a gift. (Can't believe we did three weddings in seven days.) Christian never laughed at my vision and provided incredible support as my personal web teacher (mahalo for the late nights). Dave gave early words of encouragement (whether he knows it or not), and Chris continues to offer generous interest and support of my work and has been instrumental in connecting me with leads in Commercial Photography. Julianna was my first model years back; I'm grateful for friends who patiently allow me to develop my Portrait photography skills along the way. (Thanks for being generous subjects.) Last, my parents and family have been cheerleaders and staunch supporters each step of the way and deserve steep recognition.

I'm also grateful for the photography community in Hawaii (special shout out to Terry, Alicia, Willy, Cindy, Abby and Austin) and Irvine (a special hello to a new friend and fellow entrepreneur, Stacy).

Mahalo!

Fashion Photography & Studio Lighting

Last Tuesday and Saturday I took two helpful photography classes in Irvine.

Saturday's class focused on Fashion photography and involved learning to pose models, the use of negative space created by arms and legs, and how to use lighting to capture mood and drama. To accomplish the latter we used three, two and once lighting sources. It was a fun half day adventure.

On Tuesday I learned the basics of soft boxes, umbrellas, the grill, power sources, backgrounds, and remotes. We learned simple set ups to create Rembrandt shadows on the face, background lighting, and simple studio lighting set ups.

I'm looking forward to my two portrait photography shoots tomorrow night and Thursday where I'll put into these lessons into practice!

My First Wedding to Photograph - Lori & David

Lori and David were so much fun to work with--Lori's bubbly personality and easy going nature plus David's clam and down to earth demeanor made my first wedding experience as a photographer a blast. Here are some highlights of their day...

Photography - Foster Gardens

Today's shoot was to practice macro photography. The cloudy and drizzling weather forced me to adjust the white balance settings which made a huge difference in the coloring of the foliage and flowers. I borrowed a heavy duty pro-tripod with fancy leg and neck settings that allow one to get very close to the subject matter. It was heavy and alot of work to set up each shot. I prefer taking macro shots by hand.

Photography - Abstract Flowers

I used a macro lens to shoot these flowers with a bit of creative abstraction. Some of the flowers were rather tiny but it made the process all the more fun.

Photo Flea Market

Professional Photographers of Hawaii Association
is holding their annual flea market

Oct 19, 2008
10am - 3pm
University of Hawaii Art Building

Buy pre-owned camera lens, tripods, bodies, lights, and anything you can think of.
Hosting your own booth is $20 for members, $25 non-members.

Photography - Food

I don't know why, but I love taking photos of food! (Maybe it's because I love to eat so much.)

Photography - Local Flowers

Photography - Ihilani Resort

Photography - Zoo

Photo Geek - Composition Tips

Photo Geek Tips - Composition

If any of these composition terms makes sense to you, you are a bona fide photo geek. If not, the words are self explanatory, just implement them into your shots:

Rule of Thirds
Symmetry
Birds eye view
Close up
Diagonal
Leading lines
S- curve
Repetitive lines
Reflections
Animals & People
Portraits
Story
Shadow Art
Wide Angel
Low Horizon
High Horizon
Low Perspective
Group
Products

Famous Photographers

I attended just one of Foresberg's $200 photography class at the UH and knew within the hour that I needed to get a refund. It was horrible. Perhaps the instructor was a good artist, but she was not a good teacher of art. Her mind ran in abstract circles that were un-followable. She could not teach, explain, and break down terms, was administratively disorganized, and painfully struggled to facilitate a class discussion. By the break many students were frustrated and I knew that I had to drop the class. What did come out of attending the first class was a list of these famous photographers. I figure at some point I should study them for each of their contributions to the field:

Bruce Davidson | Gary Winogrand| Robert Frank | Minor White
Uta Barth| Alex Webb |Peter Beard
Diane Arbus | Gerd Ludwig| Philip Lorca di Corica
Sally Mann | Hiroki Sugimoto | Chuck Close
Sylvia Plachy| Nikki S Lee

I did use Nikki Lee's work in my Asian American Studies course when I devoted a lecture to the role of Art and Artists in building, sustaining and empowering this panethnic community.

Photography - Practicing People

Some formal & informal shots from the Summit:

In attendance: National Futurists, Senator, State Rep, CEOs, Non-Profits, Architects, Designers, Military Leaders

All down to earth people whose presence and conversations I enjoyed.