Tag Archives: North America

The Lanikai Pillbox Hike

Posted on January 5th, 2015 by

Every Time I Visit Oahu

If there is time, and usually there is, I do a morning hike to the Pillboxes overlooking Lanikai. It’s an easy hike, as far as hikes go in Hawaii. I wouldn’t suggest taking any little ones up unless you are confident of their skill. There are points that can be treacherous in muddy conditions and plenty of opportunity to plummet to your death if you don’t take reasonable precaution. Make sure to have reasonable shoes, though I have seen everything from hiking shoes to flip-flops. One trip, I was passed by a man doing sprints up the path, he was wearing trail runners.

The mountain has little opportunity for shade, so it can be exceedingly hot at times. The best part is the beach waiting below. Lanikai beach is my favorite beach in Hawaii. The black sand beach in Maui comes in close, but it’s not quite as comfortable and further away by car from where you will inevitably stay. After a hot hike, there is nothing like the calm waters of Lanikai…it’s what they mean when they call Hawaii, heaven. I can’t think of a more perfect morning.

The Lanikai Pillbox Hike
The Lanikai Pillbox Hike

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Wine Corks in San Francisco

Posted on December 18th, 2014 by

Different Perspectives

We visited some of Pamela’s relatives in California. Before heading over to the family festivities one morning we stopped for a Starbucks which I have finished by the time we arrived for our visit. One of Pamela’s aunts asked if I would like her to rinse out and save my cup for later. I tossed it in the trash thinking I didn’t want to be a bother. I could tell Aunt Jan was a bit beside herself, but I didn’t realize why until later. I was trying to save Jan work, but she was trying to save waste. A different view of resources exists in California than in the mid-west one that might well be more conscious there than here.

Wine Cork Recycling

These wine corks in San Francisco were both decoration and headed for recycling. There is a consciousness of the scarcity of cork in a land where cork is essential to the wine business. I keep thinking of saving my cork here, but where in Missouri, would you even take used corks?

Wine Corks in San Francisco
Wine Corks in San Francisco

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Neon Grove Soda Sign

Posted on December 11th, 2014 by

Unknown Location

I sort of know where this sign lives…I found it one year in Austin, Texas when visiting for SXSWi. Where exactly, it’s located in Austin I actually have no idea. If you happen to know a GPS local I would love to add a more specific local! I always get caught by signs like this. Neon is from such a bygone day and I love all the wire and rigging needed to keep these signs from falling down. As you can tell, today is also another experiment…I have a few more planned never fear!

Neon Grove Soda Sign
Neon Grove Soda Sign

Photo Technical Info

  • Aperture: ƒ/4
  • Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Taken: 11 March, 2012
  • Focal length: 35mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Shutter speed: 1/400s
  • Title: Neon Grove Soda Sign

Volcanic Plain

Posted on December 8th, 2014 by

Parts Unknown

I had never been here before, WE had never been here before. The terrain was unfamiliar and looked to me like something from an African Safari. It’s strange how things strike you when your surrounding are not automatically known to you. The mind tries to conjure up something that makes you feel safe even though there was no danger here. We were in the heart of one of Oahu’s most popular destinations, Diamond Head Crater. A long dead head that became inactive some 150,000 years ago.

More Experiments

Today’s photo was another experiment in which I have been dabbling more and more on Battered Luggage. It’s a triptych of sorts, but the images are presented in a nonsensical sort of way. It’s a very basic abstraction, but I found myself enjoying the way my mind spins around then looking at it. I wonder where these photo experiments will take me. Do you enjoy them or do you prefer a more straight forward photo when looking at my work?

Volcanic Plain
Volcanic Plain

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House of Body Art

Posted on December 4th, 2014 by

I spend a lot of time wondering what IS art? What makes something worth attention. What makes it worth looking at, and does that matter in today’s world where Kim Kardashian has 25 Million followers on twitter. I keep thinking back to a post Trey Ratcliff wrote about snapshots. I’m not sure the photo hits the mark in that case, but the sentiment is all too familiar, at least for me. I wonder if what I do matters to anyone, then I wonder if I really care if it does or not. Art is medicine for my soul, but it never seems to quell the questions or the doubt.

On a happier note, today’s photo is from DISNEYLAND! I really enjoyed the Cars area in Disney California Adventure. It’s true you can see everything there in a day, but its a great time and I luckily had the park hopper pass so I could bounce around freely. It’s something very easy to do at the California parks, but almost impossible in Florida!

House of Body Art
House of Body Art

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Kauai Sunrise

Posted on December 1st, 2014 by

One morning I followed the beach around away from the resort on Kauai and found this wonderful beach to watch sunrise. I met a WONDERFUL character who was here fishing and also photographing sunrise. We chatted about life and his feelings of Kauai and Oahu and discovered his family lives in Missouri…but that is perhaps another story (ask me sometime).

After parting with my new friend, I photographed a bit longer. I was so enamored with the sky, I forgot the importance of elemental balance, the ocean was all but too kind to remind me it too is a powerful force. I ended up completely soaked on my right side. I just got off this photo before yanking my camera to safety!

Kauai Sunrise
Kauai Sunrise

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Lonely Contemplation on an Oahu Hawaii Cliff

Posted on November 3rd, 2014 by

Diverse Landscape

One of the main reasons I love Hawaii is the diverse landscape. This location is actually very dangerous and there are many places you could easily fall into the ocean! It an extremely wealthy part of Oahu and I couldn’t help but think the whole time if you wanted an ocean fortress that was not susceptible to normal beach problems…this would be an ideal location. I was struck by this woman sitting all by her self, it seemed someone else thought this a good place to be alone with your thoughts.

Lonely Contemplation on an Oahu Hawaii Cliff
Lonely Contemplation on an Oahu Hawaii Cliff

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A History of Fighter Planes at Pearl Harbor

Posted on October 27th, 2014 by

Fighter Planes at Pearl Harbor

It’s no secret I love planes. I have always known I was not cut out for a military life, but many of the men in my family have served. My father in particular was in the U.S. Air Force and might be much of the genesis of my love of flying machine. For me planes are all about transportation. Hop aboard and as if by magic you are transported half the world away. There is of course another line of work these machines are employed by and during my visit to Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, I visited the Pacific Aviation Museum. They have a wonderfully and lovingly restored collection of military flying machines through the ages. This particularly awesome specimen is an F-111.

A History of Fighter Planes at Pearl Harbor
A History of Fighter Planes at Pearl Harbor

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Sunset on a Lava Rock Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

Posted on October 20th, 2014 by

After Glow

After the sun sets with its magical rays and the light starts to fade, some photographers pack it in. The sunset watching crowd, all the time complaining that the people and their electronics don’t really SEE the sunset behind those gadgets, start to wander home. I tend to stay around and see what’s left very often there is a surprising calm or a last burst of light that makes your trip. Maybe that’s another of those good life mottos, stick around you never know what you will find.

Sunset on a Lava Rock Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
Sunset on a Lava Rock Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

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Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii

Posted on October 13th, 2014 by

A Grand Canyon

Waimea Canyon in Kauai, Hawaii has been called by some (people say Mark Twain, but he never actually visited the island of Kauai) The Grand Canyon of Hawaii. I always hate it when that happens because to me it seems to insinuate this is a lesser version of something better. I have never seen The Grand Canyon (possibly next year), but it I have never seen color like Waimea in a similar landscape. It was, like all of Kauai, impossibly lush, even in its barrenness. This place is special and unlike anything I have ever seen and deserves to be know by its own merits.

Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii
Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii

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