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!