Haleiwa morning

Boarding at HNL. Leaving you with this morning's image from the harbor at Haliewa. Aloha.

Token Sunset

Last evening on the North Shore. This is my fifth trip to Oahu in the last 18 months. Yeah, rough, I know. But you know what? Until this trip, I bet you I didn't take 48 hours off to relax, total, four trips combined. This time, had a scant three extra days, which felt like hitting the lottery. All that, and you think I'd have been fired up. Right? So much to see, so many photographs to chase. For a guy who likes nothing more than to go, it was GO TIME.

But this evening the sun was getting low and I just wasn't feeling it. Had a great day. Up at 5, watched the full moon set over Waimea bay, enjoyed sunrise on the beach (latte in hand, natch, and lemme tell you they make some bad-ass coffee here at the coffee shop in the Foodland in Pupukea), swam in the ocean, biked most of the North Shore, visited the Thursday market. By 5pm I was just ready to be done, you know? But Suzanne, God bless her, pointed out (as only someone that knows you, better than you do, can do) that we weren't finished. Deep inside I knew she was right. Hell, my conscience was screaming. There are certain things, no matter how you feel, certain things you don't miss. When you're 2500 miles from home, no matter what brought you there, if there's a breeze in the palms, if the sun is setting into the ocean, well, you gotta show up. 

The late Galen Rowell put it more succinctly, "You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day and you only get so many days on the planet. A good photographer does the math and doesn't waste either."

But by now you get the point. There are No Token Sunsets. 

So we went out. Got to the beach with, like, two minutes in hand. Fortunately I already knew the first, safe shot. See where it goes from there. 

Here's the shot you expect. Sun hits the horizon, all warm and fuzzy. Get it. But move on.

Sun's down. But you're not done. Frame up something simple. Warm up the white balance, crush the blacks and keep shooting. (Note: you don't need more dynamic range, you need less. But we'll get to that another day.)

Always dig a little deeper. You can decide later if you regret it or not. I haven't decided yet. That's ok. Just push. (That's your cue, btw, to fire off in the comments and let me know your favorite.) 

North Shore evening

Spent the day hanging out on the N. Shore of Oahu. Unbelievable breakfast burrito at Kono's, strolled a lovely but surprisingly photography-unfriendly garden,  visited Clark Little's gallery, dinner at Cholo's. Then caught the sunset on the beach. 

Wonderful surprise to meet Kuhina, a 250 lb adult male Green Sea Turtle, resting on the beach. He is fortunate to be watched over by Malama na Honu.

Kuhina contemplated returning to the sea, but instead elected to hang out with the rest of us on the beach and enjoy the sunset. It was an excellent choice.

2013 WestVet Intern class shoot

Every year, typically on a long June evening, I try to get the WestVet Intern class out for a shoot. Typically we head downtown Boise, but this year we did something different. The group this year is really outdoors-y and took me up on the idea of shooting somewhere along the river. One of the great things about Boise is the opportunity to get a really "outside" feel just a few steps from town, and we took full advantage last night. One of the things I love about shooting in the evening is that, for better or worse, the light changes fast! It's a great opportunity to shoot natural light, strobes, all the lenses, the works. We pulled together several different shots and I hope the group loves them.

Chevy City

A couple of weekends ago, CBP participated in an auction for a children's charity at a local car show. At stake was an evening shoot with yours truly. A wonderful Boise couple won the auction (and contributed to a nice haul for a great cause). We settled on an evening this week and began watching the weather. The clients were a little concerned when a rain shower rolled through the area just about an hour before the scheduled shoot, but not to worry (if you don't like the Boise weather in spring, wait 10 minutes!), the weather cleared and it was ON! "By the way, would it be ok if we added the blue '57 Chev to the planned '69 Camaro?" Sure! 

I don't know what's more fun, picking a location and shooting these awesome hot rods, or cruising between locations listening to American-made pushrod V-8s rumble down the road. 

We ended up having a super evening out in Boise, and got what I think are some pretty fun images. The clients were wonderful and were completely cool with sharing, so have a look!

Classic Cars

A couple of weeks ago, had the opportunity to spend an evening with friends and several of their gorgeous classic cars. We headed out for a couple of hours just as evening turned in to dusk, quickly cranking through several "looks".  

My goal was to really highlight the gorgeous cars, but also to show a little bit of the environment too. We cruised around town, hit several cool locations, and shot like mad. 

Have a look! Which one is your favorite? I have a million more ideas to work out, looks like it's going to take another shoot or three! 

Checking gear, charging batteries, and loading up the car - headed out momentarily to shoot another really special car tonight. It's a secret for now, but tonight's car is a fantastic color. Can't wait to see what images we come back with. Hope to share more soon. But for now, recent work!

An afternoon with Katy and Justin

Last weekend, spent an afternoon with the wonderful Katy and Justin. Being Memorial Day weekend, we were certain to encounter some weather. Sure enough, it was raining most of the morning before the shoot, and we were running the windshield wipers as we headed out of town, straight into the dark greyness of a stormy spring afternoon. Had a good feeling about the evening, though, and sure enough, the clouds parted just long enough to hit several fun locations. Worked light and fast, and had a fantastic time! Just as we wrapped up downtown Boise after 10pm, the skies opened and it poured again. When you're lucky, you're lucky. We'll take it!

Big thanks to fellow shooter and all-around amazing gal Christina Hoskin for fantastic assistance.