Pride

The Child of Ko'olau

Diamondhead is a huge volcanic tuft cone on O'ahu. It was created half a million years ago when O'ahu was still over the hot spot in the pacific plate that feed our islands. O'ahu is thought to be made from two large shield volcanoes, Wai'anae and Ko'olau. Ko'olau is the volcano that fed this tuft cone. The Hawaiian name for Diamondhead is Le'ahi, which means the brow of the Ahi tuna.

Gotham Taipei

Which crime-fighting animal-themed caped crusader protects this city? Is that person the one Taipei wants, or the one Taipei needs? Taken from Elephant Mountain, or Xiangshan, this small mountain overlooks Taipei and specifically Taipei 101, which I chose to omit from this shot. If you've seen photos of Taipei with the 101 in it, you know it's a vastly taller building than the other buildings, and if shot at a perspective like this, can overwhelm the composition. So, I booted it.

Blue Jelly

My first visit to the Waikiki Aquarium. They keep their glass very clean, making it easy to get photos of these guys. From my experience, it takes clean glass and relatively thin glass to take good photos of aquarium sea life.

Two Lilies

Their pads breach the oily liquid, but are content. It's only the budding flower, which is delicate and vulnerable, that reaches for the sky and transforms. A scene from Kadoorie Farm in Hong Kong, a magical place to visit.

The Bird in the Courtyard

In the Kenninji garden, a lonely girl sits and waits. Her name, Kuchisake onna. Will you tell her she's pretty?

Kannon Overlooking Kyoto

A monk, named Kenshin, had a dream one night. He dreamed of a man dressed in white leading him to a spring in the north. We awoke and ventured to the north, discovering a pure water spring upon Mt. Otowa. There, he met a hermit who introduced himself as Gyoei-Koji. He lived near the spring and said to Kenshin, "I've been waiting for you. Please carve this tree into a statue of the thousand-armed Kannon to guard this sacred place of Kannon.” Soon after, Gyoei-Koji disappeared. Kenshin concluded that Gyoei was none other than Kannon, the Bodhisattva of compassion, a revered, enlightened teacher known well across Asia. There, a temple is constructed, called the Pure Water temple, or Kiyomizu Dera.

Trust Me

During our second shoot, I asked Misato to lay down near a drop and a waterfall. This girl who knew nothing of me did it without hesitation. Damn <3

Shing Mun Lights

This is the Shing Mun river. It flows through many towns as it makes its way to the China sea. Throughout the day, it is filled on both sides with pedestrians looking for a beautiful escape from the monotony of living in a concrete jungle.

The Battle

Pele and her sister, always at it. Kalapana ocean entry, Hawai'i.

Mong Kok Warp Speed

This is a revisit of another shot that I took awhile ago of Mong Kok. The city is the most densely populated place in the world, and the traffic that moves through it, even here at around 10PM, reflects it.

Dense

The tightly packed roofs here house the many many people that live in Taipei. I always found it interesting how much it contrasts the Hong Kong horizon, where buildings are different heights, while the urban buildings in Taipei are generally the same height. It's like an ocean of roofs.

Lion Peaks

Tokyo is not the only place with eerie, red sunsets. Hong Kong's rolling mountains occasionally steal the show, when it's not being completely overrun by haze.

Hokulani

A fierce dancer takes the stage at the Merrie Monarch hula festival in Hilo, Hawai'i. Elaborate dance, passionate expression, and beauty.

Shanghai

The flower of China, Shanghai is the home of 24 million residence and is the largest financial center in China. The epicenter of this power is called the Bund, an area of promenades, tall buildings, and hordes of tourists.

Blood Fuji

A blood red sunset, something I had only heard of in stories, or maybe witnessed as a render in an anime. I had never dreamed I might see one, certainly not over Tokyo with Fuji-san silhouetting in the distance. It was, dare I say, emotional. Roppongi Hills, Tokyo.

Kegon Falls

Nikko is a beautiful place. Ever since I've learned about it, I've wanted to travel there. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site because of it's beauty and cultural significance, as Tokugawa Ieasu's remains are located within the Tosho-gu shrine grounds. Kegon Falls is fed by lake Chuzenji, and offers an immaculate view during all seasons. It also is a notorious suicide spot, made famous when a young poet carved his final words in the trunk of a tree before plummeting to the rocks below.

Who You Are

Locally, this converted lighthouse in Kapoho is riddled with legends and stories. All I know is that the sky out here is magnificent. 3 shooting stars, the Milky Way, and the Andromeda galaxy all in one.

Nijo and the Snow Goddess

Nijo castle grounds in Kyoto, Japan, with a light bit of snow in the surrounding mountains.

Ballet in the Fog

Sara's tenacity as a dancer has always attracted me and my camera. Every shoot is something amazing.

Crust

Lava is a funny thing to watch. If you watch it while it already is starting to cool and has a black surface, the molten rock moves like molasses and as the surface cools, it begins to crack off.

So What

Perhaps my favorite photograph taken. This was a raw shoot, in the pouring rain while lying on the filthy dirt. It was.... awesome.

Obake

This is a shrine connected to the Fushimi Inari shrine path, which is a very iconic walk in Kyoto. We decided to travel it at night, to avoid the crowd and heat. While the lighting made it quite hard to capture something interesting, the entire area was home to maybe hundreds of cats that scurried through the small shrines at night, giving the strange feel of something supernatural. While no cats are present in this image, the movement of the sakura and the lit lanterns reflect a ghastly atmosphere, doesn't it?

Neon

Hong Kong and Kowloon separated by a slice of water, called Victoria Harbor. All night this city shines. In the left, you can see the ICC, one of the tallest buildings in the world. Center is the IFC 2 tower, and of course anyone who has played Sim city will recognize the Bank of China tower on the right.