Sushi Bistro, 8/23/12

My photo friends treated me to a birthday dinner which was so much fun as well as so deeeeelicious! The sushi chef tried not to laugh at us as we took pictures of his creations. Uggh, I should have gotten a picture of him. Here is a link to Shun Wah's blog - she used her Panasonic Lumix and got lots of pictures. Thank you very much Erick, Shun Wah and Sookie. 

(My birthday is actually 8/22, it is so neat because I have a cousin-in-law who has a similar name as mine and we have the same birthday - although not the same year)

Heather Toshiko workshop, 8/12/12

Thank you Lance with Eyes of Hawaii for this fabulous workshop with Heather Toshiko. Here is link to her website. 

There were 2 models. We learned to use natural light to captures these images.

Besides being clear with your model what you want, it is also very helpful to show them your pictures - feedback.

She is viewing her picture.

Heather you were so energetic and willing to share how to do a model shoot. I really appreciated not having to use any lighting equipment nor camera flash.

Fire Dancers at Kakaako Park, 8/9/12

Wow, what a fun evening it was as members of Hawaii Photographic Society enjoyed an evening of watching fire dancers. This is possible on Thursday evenings.

At first I was disappointed that my tripod was not working. So Shun Wah suggested we get creative and I left happy that my tripod did not work. Thanks again, Shun Wah. As you can see, I actually moved my camera.

 What is that? A led hula hoop.

 What is the other thing on the right? It was led lights dangling from a rope and swung in the air.

Lots of experimenting with shutter speed and ISO.

Dragon Boat Race and Model/Lighting, 7/28/12

This was my first time to watch a Dragon Boat Race - thanks Lance. 

Excerpts from the internet

“Dragon boat races are an ancient Chinese tradition designed to ward off evil spirits, and we have merged this exciting competition with free family activities,” Carlisle said. “This is also the Year of the Dragon, so the festival should be extra fun.”

Paddlers from around the Pacific will compete fiercely in traditional dragon boat races, which this year will include visiting teams from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Each dragon boat team consists of 16 paddlers, a drummer, flag catcher and steersman.  There are two race categories: the open race; and division, which consists of teams competing for an industry trophy

 Exhileration...

There were 2 starting and finishing points. The above picture was in the middle area of Ala Moana Beach and as you can see the other area was the Diamond Head end of the beach.

Why was the flag catcher bored? In this heat the paddlers had mistakenly moved in front of the starting point and therefore had to turn around.

This drummer's hat was pretty cool.

As with any water event, a safety team is required.

Later, we met up with Erick and I learned what it takes to do a model shoot.

I think the lighting added to the reflection of the water upon her skin. 

Wow, our model was very gracious, Erick did his homework and the support crew was terrific!!!