Sunset Clapper Hat

Diamond Head Sunset

Here's the quintessential view found in Waikīkī, O‘ahu, of Diamond Head Crater a few minutes after sunset. The air was slightly voggy today contributing to the warm, pastel colors this evening.

Sunset Anne

Here's another capture today I really liked. Anne's blouse complements the sunset colors nicely. She was actually laughing at me as I was leaning way back into the sand to get more of the sky in the shot.

Chasing Sunsets

I wasn't the only one out there capturing the sunset on Duke Kahanamoku Beach. It really was a gorgeous sunset that pictures could not possibly do justice.

We got some coffee after catching the sunset at the beach. Anne is very adept at making origami balloons, which she fashioned out of her receipt this time. I love the way the date is showing on the front.

Bokeh Balloon

Despite O‘ahu's beautiful sunset scenery, my favorite capture of the day is Joe making a creepy face while thanking Anne for the "Danish clapper hat" he received as a Christmas present.

Yes, you read right, a clapper hat.

It has what can only be described as puppet hands attached to the front of a baseball cap with little pull strings to make them "clap" together.

Creepy Face

What interesting lives we lead when a clapper hat is given as a gift.

Beach, Dinner, & Driving Range

Of All Places
Galaxy Note 3 rear camera

Alright, I officially missed my first, and hopefully last day, thanks to a 24-hour bug of some kind. (I still took pictures, but I just didn't post anything.) Part of the purpose of this blog is to not be so hard on myself, so instead of feel bad about it, I will just accept it and move on.

Today was a very fun-packed day. Went to the beach for the first time in I don't know how long and had fun playing with the functions on my new Galaxy Note 3.

The coolest feature by far is the new strangely named "Drama Mode," which is essentially just multiple exposures made easy. On a phone. It's ridiculously fun to play with.

Jump!
Galaxy Note 3 rear camera, Drama Mode

As we were leaving the beach, I spotted this very out of place sunflower just chilling next to an ironwood tree. There are sunflower fields on the North Shore, but to see a sunflower in Waikīkī is just odd.

How Did I Get Here?
Galaxy Note 3 rear camera

After a lovely dinner at Kimukatsu with some awesome friends, we all went to the driving range. It was their respective first and second time having gone to the range, but they both did very well for their first time.

Today also marked the first day I actually performed well with my driver! I was consistently hitting straight drives between 150–200 yards. It was such an amazing feeling, that my practice was finally starting to pay off, that suddenly, something just clicked on and made sense.

Definitely what keeps you coming back for more.

Tomorrow: Sandy's and research meet-up.

Golden Waikīkī

Oh my goodness, a post in the actual date of the photo I've taken! It's amazing! I've done it!

Illusions of Perfection
50mm @ f/16, 1/125, ISO 200, LR5 post.

Here's the Ala Wai Harbor, home of the Waikīkī Yacht Club. Beautiful at first glance, and like most harbors, is certainly quite pretty and serene during sunsets and golden hours like this.

In the bottom right corner, however, notice a construction area. This is quite near the site where a man fell into the water shortly after the infamous sewage spill of 2006. After multiple amputations he unfortunately ended up expiring from septic shock courtesy of multiple flesh-eating bacterias.

Ever since, this spot and directly across the harbor have been kind of "blocked off" by what just looks like makeshift construction areas. They're currently constructing a condominium in the empty lot next to the harbor, and I just wonder what this area will look like once it's completed. The Ala Wai Canal empties directly into the harbor and still remains very contaminated to this day, nearly eight years later.

They keep dumping sewage in the water every now and then as a quick-fix for infrastructure failures, so, you know, it's like a thing here.

It's an unavoidable black spot on the recent history of Honolulu, and on the entire history of the Waikīkī Yacht Club. Yet, no one seems to be interested in actually addressing the problem of the contaminated canal water, despite its continual recreational usage.

Being a resident of Waikīkī, I just wonder if our city and county will ever get it together enough to get the canal cleaned once and for all. Of all the technological feats that have been accomplished in the past few decades, I can't imagine that de-polluting a contaminated canal is high up on the list of difficulty. Complex and requiring intricate logistics, sure. Impossible? Definitely not.

Nothing is ever as perfect as it seems, and the yacht clubs are not always better on the other side. Good to remember.

Great clouds today, though. They poured rain on me the moment I decided to head for the bus in true Hawaiʻi fashion. Love it!