I'm Too Sexy

Last weekend, Ala Moana Center played host to a fall fashion workshop.  Ala Moana transformed Centerstage into a mini-runway where beautiful models strutted their stuff in clothing from the various shops found in the mall.  At this workshop, I got to learn about the current fall fashion trends as well as practice using my speedlight on moving subjects. 

The lighting situation was a bit challenging that evening.  The workshop started at 7pm and the sun had already gone down.  There were spotlights from above used to illuminate the people on stage.  But the most challenging thing was the huge projection screen that gave off tons of “weird” light.  The lighting on a lot of the photos that I took when the models were standing close to the screen came out weird.  The light from the screen reflected off the glossy runway and caused strange streaks of light on the bottom half of my photos.

At this outing, I also tried to focus on taking photographs so my subjects didn’t look all “flashed out”. Using flash is tricky...you have be able to be able to gauge how much flash you need and make adjustments quickly. Too much and the people look washed out. Too little and you won't be able to see the people's faces.  I definitely need to practice more!

ISO 800, f/5.6, shutter 1/60

ISO 800, f/5.6, shutter 1/200

ISO 400, f/5.6, shutter 1/60

ISO 800, f/5.6, shutter 1/200

ISO 800, f/5.6, shutter 1/200

Blue Moon

A blue moon isn't visually blue. It happens every two or three years and occurs because the lunar months are not synced up perfectly with our calendar months. It takes the moon 29.5 days to orbit the Earth. Since every calendar month (except February) has 30 or 31 days, occasionally two full moons occur in a single month. The next blue moon will not occur until 2015! That's why the phrase "once in a blue moon" suggests a rare occurrence.

Below is a picture I captured of a blue moon on August 31st, which also coincided with the Friday Hilton Fireworks Show. Reese and I decided to photograph the fireworks from a different perspective.  We tried to get as close as possible to the fireworks as the event staff would let us.  Since my camera is not a full frame one, I was unable to capture the fireworks from the ground up from where we were standing.  However, we were so close that we could "feel" the booms from the fireworks as they were shot up in the sky.  It was pretty cool!  :D

ISO 100, f/8, shutter 1/200

ISO 100, f/8, shutter 1 second

ISO 100, f/8, shutter 2 seconds

ISO 100, f/8, shutter 3.1 seconds

ISO 100, f/8, shutter 1.6 seconds

She's So High

For almost 4 decades, the University of Hawaii Women's Volleyball team has been headed by legendary coach Dave Shoji. He is probably the ONLY Hawaii coach ANY women's volleyball fan knows or even remembers. And he is STILL the coach because of the tremendous success he has had as a collegiate level coach.  He has won 4 national titles, amassed over 1,000 wins and has coached former and current Olympians such as Teee William-Sanders, Robyn Ah-Mow Santos, Kim Willoughby and Heather Bown.  

Wahine Volleyball is BIG TIME in Hawaii. Ever since we built the Stan Sheriff Center over 10 years ago, Hawaii has averaged over 6,800 fans per match. Nebraska, who is second in attendance, doesn't even come close! They only average about 4,500 per match. I don't play volleyball, but I love to watch it and being at the SSC to watch Wahine Volleyball is something everyone should do once in their lifetime!  It's an awesome experience!

Dave Shoji shaking hands with the Baylor head coach Jim Barnes

ISO 1600, 5 EV, f/5.6, shutter 1/160

Setter Mita Uiato during warm-ups

ISO 1600, 5 EV, f/5.6, shutter 1/200

Outside hitter Jane Croson firing her wicked jump serve. I love the expressions of Dave Shoji and Scott Wong.

ISO 3200, 5 EV, f/5.6, shutter 1/320

Triple Block - Jane Croson, Kalei Adolpho and Ashley Kastl

ISO 3200, 5 EV, f/4.5, shutter 1/320

The student section (aka the "Manoa Maniacs") and the Pep Band

ISO 1600, 5 EV, f/4.5, shutter 1/160

"Let's Go Bows"

ISO 1600, 5 EV, f/4.5, shutter 1/160

Waiting for the serve - Kaela Goodman, Jade Vorster and Emily Hartong

ISO 3200, 5 EV, f/4.5, shutter 1/320

Emily Hartong, another one of our hard hitters. She is having an awesome year and she's only a Junior!!

ISO 3200, 5 EV, f/4.2, shutter 1/320

What high hops you have - Kalei Adolpho and Kaela Goodman.  I forgot to mention that Kalei is also on our women's basketball team.

ISO 3200, 5 EV, f/4.5, shutter 1/320

The First Time

No, I didn't lose my camera or forget that I have a blog...the month of August has just been CRAZY BUSY!!!!  But now that it's coming to a close and everything I had to do is done, I am back again...photographing and blogging.

Today, Reese and I went to eat Korean food at Choi's Garden. We frequent there often, but usually get the same thing for lunch. Today, we decided to splurge and order something that I've never tried before in my life...yukhoe (some Koreans spell it yukhae). Yukhoe is seasoned raw beef...yes, RAW! It is basically a Korean version of steak tartare. The most tender part of the beef is used and is thinly julienned with the fat removed and then mixed with seasoning. A raw egg yolk is added on top and sometimes pine nuts are added as well.

A main concern people have about eating raw beef is that it may be contaminated with E. coli. Reese and I have seen yukhoe on the menu at other Korean restaurants, but because it's raw, we thought it was best to order it from a well-established restaurant to minimize the risk of getting sick.

I'll admit, I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food. However, Reese is, which is good for me, I suppose. It encourages me to step out of my comfort zone and realize that everything I think is "scary" is not so scary after all. Everyone should have at least one friend like Reese.  :)

I would have to describe yukhoe as tasting like sashimi. Even the texture feels the same. If you were to slice a piece of beef the same way you would slice a piece of maguro and put it on sushi rice, I bet you wouldn't be able to tell it was raw beef. I really enjoyed it! If I don't end up in the hospital in the next couple of days, I might just order it again soon.  *fingers crossed*

Anyway, here are some photos I took of the yukhoe.  

ISO 800, -1 EV, f/4.5, shutter 1/40

ISO 800, -1 EV, f/3.2, shutter 1/60

ISO 800, -1 EV, f/4.5, shutter 1/60

(Don't Go Chasing) Waterfalls

In my last post, I demonstrated one of the two uses for a ND filter. Last week I was able to actually try out its other use - enabling a slow shutter speed to record movement in subjects such as waterfalls and streams. 

These photos were taken at Lili'uokalani Botanical Garden in the Nuuanu/Liliha area. Even though the the garden is surrounded by apartment complexes, hospitals, schools and homes, I wouldn't recommend venturing there alone...especially if you're a female. Luckily, Reese was available for bodyguard services that day...haha.  

In order to take these long exposure photos at 3pm when the sun was still very high,  I used the smallest aperture and lowest ISO possible. Along with my ND filter, I used a polarizer to further decrease the amount of light coming in.  I also played around with the shutter speed to get the "silkiness" I was trying for. 

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 5 seconds with ND filter & polarizer

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 5 seconds without ND filter & polarizer

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 1/20
"Ordinary" snapshot (like you would take with a point & shoot camera)

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 6 seconds with ND filter & polarizer

ISO 100, -1.7 EV, f/22, shutter 6 seconds without ND filter & polarizer

I had a blast trying to capture the silky waterfall and stream. I'm amazed at what I could capture just by adding a few accessories and trying different settings on the camera. I *heart* photography!!!