November 29, 2012

The countenance is the portrait of the soul and the eyes mark it's intentions. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Forecast Calls For Snow

It's been brisk here on the mountain for the past several days. Rains, strong winds and the first signs of winter in Hawaii have kept things on the cool side. So cool, in fact, I was forced to wear shoes on two consecutive mornings and you know how much I hate that.

Yesterday morning, a seasonal snowfall occurred in-studio. The outtake above an avalanche, in fact, brought on by some overenthusiastic family members enlisted as snow pelters. 

Many thanks to JC (no not that one) for the snow! You turned a young man's morning into a winter wonderland and added yourself to the Honor Roll.

Wednesday. November 7, 2012

In a matter of just over a week, so much has happened. So much has changed. Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest sent a small tsunami straight at my island home, forcing the mandatory evacuation of coastal dwellers island wide... across the entire island chain. Early predictions warned of the potential of tidal wave surges as high as 5 ft. Sizable enough to get serious about protecting life & limb, pets and a handful of valuables. In the end, a small surge arrived at our shores, moving a visible waterline of debris a foot or more along certain beach areas, no damage to be reported. Evacuations to higher ground, for the most part, conducted in an orderly & timely fashion. Another bullet dodged.

Three days later, the East Coast is ravaged & flooded by Sandy, leaving millions without power, homes & businesses either destroyed or badly damaged. In a matter of days, two humbling reminders that life is precious, sometimes fleeting and that security is a transitory state of being. Word from family & friends back east is that recovery is underway, most of my closest escaping the worst eventualities.

Other than the brief scare & excitement generated by the tsunami potential, island life goes on unabated. Inundated at the moment with projects to occupy the bulk of my time until year's end and then some...

A wave of island & mainland support alike, perhaps not of tsunami proportions, swept over the national political scene, leading to some serious nail-biting moments last evening as the first few returns began rolling in from closing polls in the east. I was certain we were in for a long night, probably having to wait until this morning or longer for the final results as the presidential candidates swapped leading positions almost by the minute until the polls closed on the west coast. By 8pm it was all over, the sitting president handed another four years as conservative pundits gnashed teeth, snarled, denied, broke down, soiled their panties and continued shaming themselves well into mid-day today. Definitely MUST SEE TV!

Spent most of last week hunkered down in a semi-luxury Waikiki Beachfront hotel photographing remodeled suites & amenities. Assistant Niki proving to be a valuable, not to mention enthusiastic accomplice, fine traveling companion, independently motivated and low-maintenance. What more could I possibly ask for?

Subject guest suites etc. nicely appointed and fun to photograph. Resort staff very much on the program and very helpful for this outing. Weather held gorgeous throughout the three day shooting, providing crisp, blue ocean views thru each portal to the outdoors.

Adjoining architecture from Waikiki's glory days

Instantly upon arrival home, I assumed the new mantle of official Program Director at the small, listener-support non-commercial FM radio station where I have been a weekly volunteer program host for going on ten years now. I am now referred to as Herr Direktor by a handful of the staff after immediately beginning to institute some much needed ship-tightening policies. Overall, support has been surprisingly, well... supportive, given that for at least the past five years, we have remained in operation and on the air with NO management. Just getting up to speed with staffing & scheduling issues consumed the better part of the weekend. You can tune-in here on the island at 91.5 FM. Those of you unfortunate enough to live elsewhere can tune-in via live streaming over the intertubes here:

http://www.manaoradio.com

Preproduction in full swing for the ongoing print campaign for an island tourism authority, a pro-bono shoot for a a young wish recipient for the Make-a-Wish Foundation is in the planning stages, an outreach campaign for the island's arts & performance center begins on Sunday, next week monday we shoot new wines & products for the island's only vineyard and begin planning for the Maui & Kauai legs of the same resort project that took us to Waikiki last week. Tomorrow it's down to a south shore resort for an afternoon of scouting for another print campaign - a new client also providing a complimentary night of luxury. The Mrs. will be quite happy to join me on this one and she deserves it after bearing down through all the disruption, noise & dust of Project Phases I & II. 

In between all of that, it's back to the Big Island and another Maui location to capture the visual essence of two Tommy Bahama island outlets

Back at the farm, Phase III of the construction project is coming to a close. Interior is now taped & mudded, primed & textured and the first coat of paint goes on tomorrow. By early next week, I should be installing the flooring & baseboards. My better half should be in the position to take up occupancy by the following weekend, just as childhood friends & family arrive from the mainland and descend upon my home to assist in the annual turkey massacre. 

Best wishes & thoughts going out to east-coasters still suffering from storm ravaging. Congratulations going out to our president for handily winning another four years to continue the monumental tasks at hand.