Summer's Gone... Blogging Is Dead?

Summer has come & gone with barely an opportunity to acknowledge, much less enjoy it. Things around this island seem to be settling down now that the summer visitors have returned home to jobs, school and normalcy. I've been fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to travel around the state on behalf of a handful of mainland publications and racked up a few good projects for major companies doing business here in Hawaii... Hawaiian Host Chocolates, Kiwanis International and Tommy Bahama to name just a few... and of course, there's been plenty to keep me busy with my unpaid passion of relaunching and operating, along with a fantastic crew of dedicated, talented and passionate individuals, our little island community FM radio station with a global reach.

Over the past month or so, I've noticed that many of my favorite photography bloggers have all but disappeared. The best of the aggregate sites for good photography blogging, The Photography Post, has disappeared altogether. Others seem to have moved the bulk of their online activities to alternative social media sites like Instagram, Facebook and others. Having resisted it for years, even I have thrown my hat into the Instagram pool. I find Instagram far less intrusive and far less creepy than what I perceive Facebook to have become. Feel free to follow me there by clicking on the icon below:

Preparations are well underway for another project in S.E. Asia which will occupy an entire month. Bali, Java, Taipei & Taiwan are on the agenda and hopes are high that there will also be time to spend a few days exploring Myanmar (formerly Burma). Departure date is planned for October 9th. If anyone is in need of images or assignments from that part of the world, be sure to hit me up...

Casual Observation

weeds

Ceremonies of Remembrance

Late saturday evening, the missus & I packed up and headed for Lahaina's Obon Festival at The Jodo Buddhist Mission. It is here that Maui's only floating lantern ceremony is held, a favorite activity for a warm, tropical summer's eve.

Mid-Summer's Catch-Up

It's been a while since we've last met here...

Since late spring, I took some time away from the camera to indulge another passion... non-commercial, community radio. Having volunteered for the past 12 years as a music programmer at our little, local low-power FM station, when news came from above that they were throwing in the towel, there were only two options.

 Option #1: Let it die a graceful death

Option #2: Convince the powers-that-be that the thing was worthy of saving, gather a small group of like-minded comrades and save the thing.

Save we did... returning to the airwaves in exactly one month & three weeks from the night the station shut down in April. And back with a vengeance, if I may say so... from 120 watts to 1200 watts and a live internet stream every bit as solid as our air signal going live around the world. You can check out the new Mana'o Hana Hou Radio by dialing your tuner to 91.7 FM if on the island of Maui. If not, go here:

http://manaoradio.com

But I didn't completely retire the camera during the frantic past 2 months. Did some traveling again for a story to soon appear in SF-based Via Magazine, taught an all day workshop on portraiture last weekend at the University of Hawaii's Pacific New Media Center in H'lulu and caught up with old camera-buddy David Ulrich who runs the photography arm of the programming. Covered a weekend-long summer food & wine festival at an upper west-side resort and spent 6 days on the east coast searching for historic old homes to remodel while I visited with family and old friends. While there, I even discovered a billboard prominently sitting alongside Route 50 & prominently featuring a photograph I had taken last summer while working on a project for a shoe-manufacturer.

Here's a quick view of the recent goings-on in photographs...

Artist & occasional elementary school carpool-mate Susan L. Russel

We almost bought this beauty and now I wish we had...

Pele Gold

The American Advertising Federation District 13 Hawaii held the annual Pele Awards over the weekend; for the best in year's Hawaii advertising, design & editorial features. 

Oahu mega agency, LCA-Anthology, swept the awards with 18 honors in multiple categories.

Part of an ongoing advertising campaign I've had the privilege of working on over the past couple of years, the ad below received a  Pele Gold & Silver Award! 

"Shave Ice"
Agency: LCA_Anthology Group
Creative Director: April Rutherford
Account Executive: Stefani Li-Zaborski
Client: Maui Visitors & Conventions Bureau
Pele Gold Award: Spread, Multiple Page or Insert (Four-Color)
Pele Silver Award: Travel & Tourism,  Magazine-Advertising

Today's Ironic Moment

Coin Divers, Java Indonesia

Received an email today from an Art Buyer for a very slick glossy featuring editorial content of and targeted at the very well heeled. With the word LUXURY in it's title & planning a future feature on one of our island's well-known residents, the AB requested a quote for use of one of my portraits to run with the story. Pulling up very reasonable numbers from various resources, I responded with a very fair quote and fired it off in response. The reply came quickly that the budget was very tight and could we negotiate? Sure... why not? Wouldn't want to deny the penthouse dwellers, would we?

Spring Promo