View From Room 4814

Thus far, the holiday spirit has managed to elude me. With the past 8 months of studio & office construction now wrapped up, save for the building and painting of a set of steps, attentions have been fully focused on working through the wave of assignments suddenly flooding in. There has been no time to deck a hall or trim a tree. Holiday shopping has been put on hold until at least next week... so, I offer all apologies now should your gifts arrive a little late this year.

Just returned from another two day stint on the Big Island where we photographed restaurant & retail outlets. The day prior to departure spent doing the same in the south shore resort area of Wailea. A straight thru, 10 hour marathon of post processing immediately ensued, occupying all of monday. Now invoiced & ready for delivery. 

The travel was not without incident. While checking baggage at the airport, photo ID was dropped on a bag. Attendant quickly whisked said bag from the scale before I could retrieve ID, tossing both onto the conveyor belt. A futile (so it seemed at the time) search for lost ID ensued, panic set in. Without ID, I could neither board the plane nor pick up reserved rental vehicle at destination. Panic worsened as time slipped away, flight boarding call was announced and lost ID remained lost. I finally insisted that baggage be retrieved and my check-in canceled, planning at this point to slink away in defeat. Attendant retrieved bags and... there it was... the ID, sitting on top of the tripod/stand bag. Quickly reinstating the check-in cancelled just minutes before, it was a dash through security checks and a sprint to the boarding gate, just before the doors closed. Crisis averted!

Big Island location was decked in holly upon my arrival. As the work to be produced was intended for more than seasonal use, all holiday bling had to be removed, hidden or otherwise obscured from view.

Took note that both airports were extremely busy, unusual for this time of year, just before the holiday season, when the islands are usually quiet & slow for the two weeks prior to the Christmas tourist onslaught. Most hotels in Wailea currently running at near capacity and it seemed the same on the Big Island. The view of Hapuna Beach from my room revealed an unusual number of visitors enjoying the early morning stretch of sand as soon as the sun had cleared the volcano. 

Yesterday morning spent behind the microphone fulfilling customary on-air music host duties, followed by a clandestine parking lot meeting where where large slabs of exotic woods needed for props for another assignment where exchanged. Then it was off to scout for another shoot scheduled for mid-next week.

Returning to the new studio just after mid-day, it was time to set up & photograph two sets of exotic, very high-end, custom cutlery made by a local craftsman. So amazingly sharp were the blades of these knives that, quite accidentally, a bit of blood was spilled in the process of setting up the still life. This may have inadvertently appeased the lower gods as the set came together quickly... the second frame committed to pixels was the keeper. It can now be said that we are willing to give blood for our clients!

Casting now completed for the resort lifestyle shoot later this week. In between now & then, another two gigs to shoot, edit & deliver...

By the end of next week, I should be able to begin wrapping my head around the idea that Christmas will be only a few days away. At this time, I remain clueless as to what & how to gift friends & family. There have been a few furtive hints from friends that my world-famous, flour-free pecan macaroons might be appreciated.