Hana Wedding

Saturday morning sunrise on Hana Bay, a prelude to a wonderful wedding day.



Love the look on the flower girl.



































Wedding was at the Hana Kai Resort on Hana Bay, lovely grounds and Hana Bay for backdrop.
Bouquet was a single white water lily.




The family was spread all around Hana for the weekend including the cabins at Wainapanapa. Everyone came together for the reception at Tutus on Hana Bay, great park for the kids, music and dancing and great food for all.

Wailuku town Friday night

Wailuku town is the site of Maui's First Friday celebration, strangely enough on the first Friday of every month. It is a time to share art, music, food and fun. This weeks celebration was topped off with a showing/performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the historic Iao Theater. The requisite costume of the evening calls for some form of underwear, makeup and various props to use throughout the evening.


Market street is closed off for the event and there is always something interesting happening on the street. The good folks from Kula Hoop brought some down and had everyone swinging their hips with a hoop, well, almost everyone.














The moral of this story is if your looking for something to do on Maui besides laying on a beautiful beach and enjoying the ocean there is always something going on somewhere, just ask a local, the natives are friendly.

Paradise Meets the City

Paradise Meets the City

Upcountry Maui was the site of Paradise Meets the City, a wonderful show of hat designs by the talented and effervescent Katherine Carey, proprietor and designer extraordinaire of Paradise Millinery. I wanted to share some of her designs as she prepares to embark on a journey to New York City to display her fantastic creations for the buyers at Henry Bendels. We know this will be a very special trip for Katherine and all her Maui ohana are so excited to be able to help this dream come true for her. Have a fun and fantastic trip Katherine.












A big mahalo to all the beautiful models who helped make the show possible.

The Gentleman Farmer

Olowalu Wedding

My friend Alec and and his wonderful fiance Rhea were wed at Olowalu plantation in a wonderful ceremony performed by Alec's father Harland.







It was a beautiful night with a great sunset and warm balmy breezes, can there be a better place to get married than Maui?

Clouds on Fire

Hated to remove this from the featured photo spot above, alas it is time for something new. The new feature is exotic flower grower and friend Eric from Ha'iku, love how this portrait came out.

No Fear of Flying

I love the sense of freedom conveyed in this photograph!

Maui Art

MAUI ARTIST/SCULPTOR
SPAR STREET

I had the pleasure yesterday to do some promo shots for Maui artist Spar Street. Spar is an upcountry neighbor and friend whose artwork is a favorite of mine and Denni's. We have our two favorite pieces adorning the walls in our bedroom. To show how special they are they share space with only a watercolor of Burano, Italy we picked up while there and a wonderful collage of photos of Denni and me by my favorite photographer, Monique Feil.









This is Denni's fav.










Spar's paintings are full of kinetic energy and vibrant colors. It's hard not to get pulled into their joyous expression of life.
















He has a wonderful daughter who loves all forms of flying and if you hang around Spar and his beautiful wife Johanna for a while you soon realize where she comes by this trait. In short, got to spend time doing what I love with three of my favorite people on Maui.

Zen and Isa, man and wife

Zen and Isa became man and wife yesterday on a beautiful ocean side cliff near Huelo. Isa's mom returned from Sweden for the intimate ceremony. The day was incredible and Maui showed up in all her beauty.

Memorial Day Weekend

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! It was a very busy one on this end, hula, music, parties, one at a time and sometimes all together. Spent some time in beautiful upper Kula and in Kaenae. Jacarandas and views are the draw in Kula and helping my wife gather Jobe's Tears for lei and enjoying the beautiful coast in Kaenae. Got to spend lots of great time with friends and ohana.



We really had a great time at an Auntie Mame party in Ha'iku on Saturday night. I got to wear my tux with a turban and a gold loop earring and hang out with a beautiful and ever energetic tattooed woman in a red feather headdress and boa, my wife Denni. Mahalo to Tony for taking this great photo for me.




On Saturday I drove past the Makawao Veterans Cemetery as they were beginning to set the American flag on each grave. There are so many men and women who gave their all for us, fighting for their country and families even if they sometimes did not believe in the cause. My uncles who were my namesakes, my parents both had a brother named Jack, gave their lives as bombardiers in WWII, one was lost in the Pacific and my fathers brother is buried in the giant Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Alvo, France. I hope to make a journey there someday in the not too distant future. Blessings and appreciation to all who have served including my sons Bud and Terry, may our future be one of peace.

Upcountry Jacarandas

The Jacaranda trees in Makawao, Haiku, Pukalani and Kula are in full bloom and the color is spectacular! Take a drive from Hana Highway up through Ha'iku to Makawao, then along the Old Haleakala Highway out of Makawao and finally the road to Ulupalakua. You won't be disappointed, lots of great roadside spots for pictures. The colors and views along the upper highway are spectacular. The blossoms are starting to fall and look like purple snow beneath the trees, don't miss this if you get the chance.

Upcountry Fun

Yes, there really is night life in upcountry Maui. Two Ha'iku (ha-e-ku) fun lovers, Omar and Shareen, are hosting Zodiac parties at various venues and they have been a blast. People here seem to like any excuse to dress up and party. Omar and Shareen are in the photos below. Omar has formed a new band called Omar and the Soultones and they have a pretty good cover from jazz to rock n roll.



The parties have featured the belly dancing of Mariyah and her fiery troupe and the aerialist thrills of Nastassia. Below are Mariyah and one of her dancers.



The band also has a beautiful young singer named Isa accompanying Omar on vocals, below are two photos of Isa in action.



Did I mention Isa is a belly dancer too?




I've had a lot of fun shooting these parties, covered the Pisces and Aries parties to date and I'm looking forward to the next, whatever it is, I'm still working on remembering the zodiac calendar signs.

The Papparazi

The crew above is my PUG (Pictage User Group). Our group leader Mike Adrian invited us to do an engagement shoot for one of his bridal couples, Dale and Monica. Six of us followed them around Lahaina town snapping away. Everyone thought they were celebrities because of the attention of all the photogs. We had a great time and I think we wore Dale and Monica out posing all over town.






They were a great looking couple and a lot of fun to work with.








Mike giving a little direction, sometimes a little direction is a good thing.



The Directors shot.



























A good time was had by all followed by dinner at Kimo's on the waterfront. Mahalo nui loa Dale, Monica and Mike.

Winter on Maui

Winter on Maui can mean big swells and strong offshore winds on the North side, just like the Ho'okipa picture above I took today. Everyone seems to be attracted to the beach to see the waves when they start getting this big, can't blame them, they can be spectacular! Temperatures are in the high 70's to low 80's, not quite as cold as what people in the Midwest and East are experiencing right now.

I've been lagging in putting up some photos of my daughters twins so here are a few from around Christmas including their first Santa encounter. I had the pleasure of having these guys sleep on my chest as newborns, not much that can compare with the pleasure of that.





















This is Max and Dom seeing what kind of trouble they can find and not seeming to find Santa too big of a deal.

HAU'OLI MAKAHIKI HOU!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! What a rush this holiday season has been. Spent the 2007 holidays in Toledo, Illinois, population 1200. I have to tell you that even with the birth of my daughter's twins with all the ensuing hulabaloo it was calm compared to this 2008 Maui Christmas season. I forgot about all the holiday parties and get togethers with friends and ohana and we still have about another week to go. I'm really not complaining, just trying to make an excuse for not getting in any blog entries. I was reluctant to start a blog in the beginning but find myself missing it if I can't squeeze in time to share whats going on here.

At Paul Janes-Brown's Upcountry Christmas party I had the pleasure to meet Tom Sewell, the gentleman who's picture appears below. Had a great time talking about new camera gear, one of my favorite things, and also talking about the great exhibition Tom did on Maui's own sugar industry. His name is linked to the website where you can view the video of the exhibit, a very wonderful presentation of the incredible works of men, amazing things going on around us every day that pass unnoticed by most.




















The Sunday before Christmas I had the pleasure of recording the wedding of my friend Wendy and her new husband John. The wedding was near the beach where Maliko Gulch makes its way to the sea in beautiful Haiku, the reception followed at Haiku's own Studio Maui.






Capturing the brides and bridesmaids as they prepare for the ceremony is a favorite part of the day for me.















The bride emerges from her cocoon with the help of the bridesmaids.
















Rev. Gary Canier performed
the ceremony. A very Hawaiian celebration of the blending of two souls, the aina (earth) and ohana (family).


























Another favorite wedding moment for me is the bride and grooms first dance as man and wife, hard to find a more special wedding moment than this.






After Christmas


My friend Ku'ulei's daughter was home for the holidays, taking a break from acting school in L.A. I had the pleasure of doing some head shots for her portfolio and the one I share here is my favorite B&W . A beautiful and sweet young woman she was a very easy going subject and we had a good time shooting around Wailuku town and in the Iao Valley.












Denni and I ended the year with our traditional quiet evening at home alone. We were awakened by the ever increasing crescendo of exploding fireworks as the hour approached midnight. We watched the exploding fireworks, wished each other a happy new year and went back to sleep to rest up for the new year to come.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and we wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year!

The O.C.

It's been a crazy, busy month. My wife Denni and I flew the red-eye to LAX and drove into the OC to spend Thanksgiving with my sisters and their husbands. I have four sisters and I am the second oldest. It's been a while since we were all in the same room together and it was great to spend time with all of them. My sis Patty above is facing a health challenge right now and I know she would welcome your prayers.

The handsome older gentleman below is her husband Joe, he lives for golf and of course, Patty.



















This young couple are Steve and Alex, Steve and I were buds and neighbors from Junior High. We spent a morning with them at the Starbucks on the circle in the city of Orange. This is a wonderful place with a great little downtown area. It is so great to get together with friends you haven't seen in a long time and just get caught up on life. Wish I could talk some of them into moving to Maui, you'd think that would be an easy sell.


I took a lot of photos while I was there and I had all the best intentions of getting a shot of me and my four sisters and one of the four of them together. Seems with all the goings on I never got those shots, guess I could have used an assistant with a shoot list.


My sisters have all the old family photographs going way back. You'll never guess who this good looking cowboy is. Some traveling photographer had a good day with this setup, there are photos of all of us on this pony

As great as it was to see friends and family it's good to be home on Maui; L.A. and the O.C. are just a little too intense for me after four years here. Looking forward to the Christmas holiday and a chance to spend time with Ohana here. I miss a white Christmas but I'm getting used to Christmas lights on palm trees, I'll post some of those as soon a I can get to the south side.

Mele Kalikimaka from Maui.

Haiku Weekend

When the weather is this beautiful it's hard not to just pull over to the beach and stay for a while. That's just what Denni and I did after a leisurely breakfast at Charley's in Pa'ia town. We made it as far as Ho'okipa where we stopped to enjoy the sights and people. I spent some time capturing the comings and goings of the beach goers and Denni sat at the picnic tables chatting up Ray while he made a fishing net.

Denni can talk to anyone and
doesn't often pass up a chance
to practice her art.











There was a good crowd sharing the great weather, wind surfers, surfers, swimmers and sun bathers. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

Halloween

.





What a great Halloween night,
saw so many great costumes all
over the Island. These are
my favorites next to my grandsons,
I'll post some of them as soon as
miss Nikki comes through.






These are my ho'o mo'opuna, Mai and Leilei, grandchildren of my friend Holly, thanks to their Mom Jasmine for sharing them on Halloween.

Makena Cove Maternity Shoot

Had the opportunity (barely) to do my first official maternity shoot this weekend. The lovely Mother to be is Andrea and she is due on Halloween. We have been trying to schedule this shoot for a while and finally came to the realization that if we waited another week it would be a newborn session. We were scheduled to meet up at Starbucks in Kihei at 08:00 so we could shoot at the beautiful Makena Cove at early light when there are usually few people around.

Andrea came with her birth coach Wendy and mom Sherry and we had coffee (Andrea had a Jamba Juice) and set off for Makena cove. There was a large cane burn that morning and while the wind would have usually carried the smoke right to our location we were blessed with Kona winds that carried it to the other side of the island. The morning was beautiful and clear with a slight overcast to diffuse the morning light.


We had the place to ourselves until a small wedding party arrived and they set up on the other side of the cove to give us room and clear background. The wedding professionals on Maui are a thoughtful and considerate group and I've seen as many as five sunset weddings sharing this little cove. The morning light was really good and Andrea's skin was almost flawless which I really appreciated at editing time; do all pregnant women have skin like this? I really appreciate the help they gave me on this first shoot and the ideas I got from a few maternity photog sites I visited.
A big mahalo nui loa to Andrea, Wendy and Sherry.

Makena Cove Wedding

Shot a wedding at Makena Cove, one of Maui's favorite beach wedding spots. The cove is small and secluded with great views and spectacular sunsets. The wedding was for a local couple, the bride Joana is from Lithuania and the groom Sayeed is Nigerian/ Pakistani. With all the weddings I have done on Maui this is only my third for a local couple and they have been some of my favorite weddings.
















The bride had a beautiful gown with great satin accents that really added to the B&W photos.

Hana Hou!

Monday nights you can find us hanging out at Haiku's own Hana Hou Cafe at Haiku Marketplace. Great local cafe with music most nights and wonderful food; Monday highlights one of my favorite local duets, The Hula Honeys. The Honeys are Ginger Johnson and Robyn Kneubuhl and they are accompanied on bass by Jonathan Drechsler.

You never know who might drop in to add to the nights music. Robyn's mom, the beautiful Emma Veary and uncle Henry Allan were recent guests. Robyn always adds a great hula to the nights performance. If you want a little local flavor make a visit to Hana Hou some evening, you won't be disappointed.

The Long Weekend

Spent most of the weekend shooting for the Maui Kidney Foundation fundraisers. Friday night was a great Flashback Fantasy party, I'll let you guess the theme, at the beautiful King Kamehameha Golf Club. The clubhouse is a wonderful Frank Lloyd Wright creation with spectacular views of Maui. Maui's own Jimmy Mac and the Kool Kats provided the music, the food was great and a good time was had by all.
Saturday was The Maui Cadillac Invitational golf tournament. It was a beautiful day temperature wise but the trades had disappeared and the Vog (from the Big Island volcano) set in really thick. Had fun shooting the golfers and being chaffuered around the golf course by two lovely young ladies. They finished off the day with a banquet at the Maui Prince. A great weekend of fun and a lot of money was raised that stays here for the Maui chapter.

UP AND RUNNING!!

My web host Blu Domain gave me a nice surprise by getting my new website live tonight. It was 2:30 in the A.M. in Colorado, I hope their not running some kind of website sweatshop. My web address is the same so check it out and let me know what you think. Mahalo to Blu Domain for the great template and support in getting me live.

WEBSITE READY !!!!!!!!!!!

After a long night and day I finally finished up my new website but I'll have to wait until Monday to get it published. I still have some music and color tweaking to do but I can do that a page at a time as the site evolves.
Just received my granddaughter Meghan's Senior picture today, not too bad for a school portrait Studio but hope I get a chance to do some for her, I'm ready for a trip to California. I can't believe she's a Senior this year.The photo above is one I took of her two years ago.

New Website

Hope everyone is having a great week! Working hard to get my new website up, received the wrong template on the first go round and spent most of Labor Day weekend working on it only to have to re-do everything. I'm really liking the flexibility of the new admin site and all the great things I can do so simply. My new site has lots of options for music, client viewing, galleries, shopping cart and of course links to my blog. I can't believe I have a blog, it will take me a while to get up to speed with posting slideshows and music but I will get there. I have already received permission to use some great music (yes, I try to get permission for music and photos). L.A.'s Molly Marlette is my current favorite, check her out, a very talented young lady.

Maui Music

When I'm not shooting anything else my favorite thing to capture is musicians in pursuit of their passion. One of the best things about this little rock in the middle of the Pacific is the great variety and availability of music. Here are a few of my favs from recent shoots. Check out Anastasia's music, I love it. Photos are of Anastasia at Barryfest and Joi at Cafe Marc Aurel.