Family Night at Kite Beach....

Beats Cable TV Every Time

About two years ago we disconnected our cable TV...and we haven't missed it one bit. Yes, we rent DVD's so we can watch what we want to watch, when we want to watch it...but there's no more wasted evenings spent channel surfing. Fact: turning on the TV and flipping through the channels looking for something to watch will never be as good as stepping outside and looking for something to watch.

Saturated

Red Velvet, Wailuku

Needles threaded with gold

Fishing for the last bit of sunlight before it sinks away

Wild Pagoda, Lahaina

Land of the Free, in full-color

Saturated: to be filled with something until no more can be absorbed.

As in color. As in my schedule.

Over the past few months, my work schedule has become saturated with long-term projects, need-it-done-yesterday to-do's, complicated responsibilities and more. It's been sucking the energy out of me...even when I'm out of the office. My saturated calendar is starting to bleed into other areas of my life and I want to stop it before it leaves a permanent stain.

But know this: I'm not looking for a pastel life of muted colors. I'm all for saturation...always have been. Black and white's fun...it's cool...but I like color. I love color. Rich, bright, vibrant colors that take your breath away. I want to paint my life with colors that bleed out of the lines...I just want to be careful as to which colors are doing the bleeding.

I want the colors of work to stay in the lines....but I want the bright, cheerful yellow-orange of family life, the soothing, life-giving green of church life, and the comforting-yet-powerful blue of confidence...to run wild and spill into all the areas of the painting called Me.

Easter

Early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone. His face shone like lightning...his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him.

Then the angel spoke to the women: "Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here...he has risen, just as he said he would. Come, see where his body was lying. Now go quickly and tell his disciples he has risen from the dead!

RIP (Random Image Post) #3

A hot spot from the past, Door County, Wisconsin

Island hopping...

Whimsical ivy

Carpe Noctem: Seize the Night

If only...

RIP (Random Image Post) #2

Flowers for sale, Pike Place Market, Seattle

Coastline fence line, Pescadero, California

One of those...there

Capitola, California

A child's bouquet, Maui

For the first Random Images Posts, click here and here.

...and the valley was calm

We rushed to high ground in response to a tsunami warning today that, alas, turned out to be little more than a one-foot tidal change. But as is typical of island life, everyone pulled together and did what they could to help each other out.

Maui's known as the Valley Isle...and today, the high points of the valley (home for us) became a safe haven for many. As the the Civil Defense sirens blared throughout the morning, more and more cars arrived in our neighborhood: family, extended family, friends, and co-workers...all living near the shoreline, came seeking refuge. And as the streets lined with cars, the same scene replayed over and over...residents walked out to cars to embrace those looking for solace. Weary faces emerged from their vehicles, some with luggage in hand, and were led into homes by understanding hosts. As the morning played out, it became clear we'd been spared the predicted devastation...but what did roll across the island from shore to shore, was a wave of community, a flood of support, and an ocean of love.

Believe

"Faith is a process of leaping into the abyss not on the basis of any certainty about where we shall land, but rather on the belief that we shall land."

-Isabel Carter Heyward

The Sound of Silence

click picture for larger view

Spent a couple of days on Lana'i. Some would say there's not much to do there. I say that's what makes it perfect. The Simple Life...in living color.

Well Made

I just finished putting up cellular shades throughout our home. I didn't buy the best...out of my budget...but hey, they're folded pieces of fabric...how difficult can it be to make them? Evidently more difficult than I thought. I've had to exchange several due to sloppy workmanship and/or poor quality control at the factory.

Tonight we took the kids to the playground at Waihe'e School: not only to enjoy the great play structures, but to soak up the beautiful surroundings, and cool, misty air. As I was walking across the school's lush green field, I passed a small palm and saw what cellular shades look like when they've been constructed by Someone Who Cares.

A Day in the Life

From postcards to vacation brochures, much of the Hawaii the rest of the world sees is focused on the beaches, the whales and the luaus. And though those things are a part of our island life, there are the everyday sights that touch the residents and remind us we truly live in paradise. Sights that still take our breath away...even if they'd never make the cover of a travel magazine, or grace the pages of a guide.

Last night I took the family for a walk at Keopuolani Park. We were treated to the view above as we got back to the car: a lush baseball field with a backdrop of the setting sun...giving us one last dose of warmth, filtered through the 'Iao Valley, just before dipping out of sight.

A Walk in Paradise

Went on a photo hike today. Though I've lived here over a decade, I had never been to Twin Falls...so today I set out to change that. What a beautiful hike. I know there are several pool and falls to explore, but I was pressed for time. That, and the fact I was wearing $2 slippers from Longs, while stepping on mossy rocks in deep creeks while carrying camera gear, limited my exploration a bit. But remember my previous post about getting the family out into nature more? This will be one of our next adventures.

With Gratitude

My mom came to visit at the end of November. It was a dual-celebration...Thanksgiving and a pre-Christmas shindig. To make it feel like Christmas from the get-go, we put up our tree in mid-November, and though it felt a little early at the time, that tree has been a cornerstone of the season. There's something about it, despite the fact it's fake. It's almost 10' tall, it's just the right circumference...not enormous, but not too skinny, and it's so real-looking that people lean in and smell it just to be sure. We plug it in first thing in the morning as we drink our coffee, and the minute the sun starts to set, we plug it in again. The cats have found the base to be to coziest home ever, the kids stare at the ornaments with a refreshed wonder every day, and my wife and I get lost just looking at the lights....it's as though they block out the worries, and take us away to a place where everything is OK.

We're having some friends over for a delayed holiday celebration this coming Tuesday and they asked if we'd keep our tree up for the event. It wasn't hard to say yes. What will be hard is taking it down afterwards. Like I mentioned in the post on New Years, this past year took it's toll, and though we've been blessed beyond description in so many ways, we're still entering 2010 somewhat weary from battle. This tree has been our mental respite, and more than ever, the magic of a Christmas tree, has carried us through the season.

It is said thatMartin Luther cut a fir tree from his garden one wintry evening and placed it in the nursery of his home for his wife and children. He wanted them to envision the snowy dark beauty of the night of Jesus' birth, and he decorated the tree with lighted candles to represent the stars in the sky.

To this day, those lights still mesmerize...and I'm grateful. Though it's already January 2nd, let me wish you and yours, one more time, a most wonderful New Year.

It's Time to Get Ourselves Back to the Garden

I'm far from new-agey, and I'm anything but hippie...but I have made a New Year's Resolution to get my family outside and into nature more. God has blessed us with a beautiful home, and we spend countless, priceless, hours there...enjoying time, and enjoying each other. But He's also blessed us with life in a paradise, and it's a goal of mine to get the whole family out of the house and into the island even more this year.

Then can I walk beside you?

I have come here to lose the smog,

And I feel to be a cog in something turning.

Well mabye it is the time of year,

Or maybe it's the time of man...

but we've got to get ourselves back to the garden.

-Woodstock, Joni Mitchell

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou #2

It was exactly one year ago that I started this photo blog with a post wishing everyone a Happy New Year. In that post, regarding the blog itself, I said "let's see where this goes..."

Well I'm happy to say I stuck with it. Some months I posted more than others, but all said and done, this my 103rd post. I'm excited to see where it goes in 2010.

The New Year's celebrations were in full force tonight in our neighborhood. I think the struggles of 2009 have taken there toll, and people are ready for a fresh start. There were more Christmas lights up this season than I've ever seen on island, and tonight there were more fireworks than I've seen in the last several years combined; dramatic aerial displays were launching from every other driveway. The display above was two doors away.

It was hard not to get a little choked up tonight. You could feel the human spirit celebrating the hope for better year. Perhaps a positive side-effect of this past year has been a renewal of community. Oscar Wilde once said, "What seems to us as bitter trials, are often blessings in disguise."

"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is to live inside that hope."

-Barbara Kingsolver

I wish you all a very Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Luminescent

Plumeria

To me, plumeria is the scent of the islands.

A Natural Alliance

"An optimist sees only light, a pessimist sees only shadows,

but a photographer sees both and appreciates the relationship."

-author unknown

The Color Purple

When you think of upcountry Maui, it's easy to think of green, but there's another color that flavors the sides of Haleakala, and it's various shades are seen in the lavender in Kula, the jacaranda of Pukalani, and the agapanthus of Keokea.

"I think it pisses God off when you walk by the

color purple in a field and don't notice it."

-Shug, The Color Purple, 1985

Self Portrait

Queen Anne, Seattle, Washington

(click the pic...I'm in the bumper)

RIP (Random Image Post) #1

Young students from Pomaika'i School show their island pride.

Old and abandoned...but not forgotten. General Store, Wailuku.

Streetside Music, Pa'ia.

Coastal structure, Discovery Park in Magnolia, Seattle.

Change is Good

I'm still here, I just got buried in life there for a bit. It's all good, but I feel like I've been playing catch-up for awhile.

A benefit of time away from something, is it gives you a chance to reflect on what you're doing. I started this photography blog close to a year ago and I've had a lot of fun with it (a big thank you to all who've visited along the way....it's appreciated!) When I started the blog, I liked the name. The concept was "pictures about island life for anyone who's ever pictured life on an island," and that was fine...except that I started to feel guilty anytime I posted something "un-tropical."

So in the spirit of change and evolution, from here on out I'm just going to post a variety of pictures...whether the were taken here on Maui, or anywhere else my travels have taken (or will take) me. If there's a "theme," it's simply pics that I like and that I hope you like, too. I just want to celebrate photography.

Hope that makes sense. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Sleepless in Seattle

When you're used to island life closing up shop around 7pm, it's quite the experience to spend time in a city with a real nightlife. Seattle is a beautiful city during the day, but it's downright magical at night. It wasn't insomnia that kept me up...it was just the desire to soak up the magic.

Eighty-Seven Years Young

The Maui County Fair as seen from the Ferris Wheel

The ingredients to a great County Fair are pretty much the same anywhere you go: scream-inducing rides, a colorfully lit carnival atmosphere, a 4H tent that smells like the farm, sticky cotton candy, live music, educational exhibits, blue ribbon awards, cheap food, and great people watching. Maui's had it all for 87 years.

Niu