Trying to recreate a photo from Farrah’s childhood. We’ll need to go back to Hawaii and try again.
On our last trip to Hawaii, Mia and Farrah tried to recreate a photo from Farrah’s childhood, circa the late 70’s early 80s. Mia wasn’t as cooperative for the photo, unwilling to stand on her own. This just means we need to go back to Hawaii to retake this one day soon.
Mia enjoying a malasada
I am so behind in posting photos that I have taken this year. I hope to rectify this by posting a photo album every three days until I am caught up. I was going to post an album a day, but that seems a little too ambitious.
The above is a photo of Mia Izobel taken by Farrah on her iPhone 4S at the Waikele Shopping Center. Let’s just say she enjoyed the malasada.
We came back from our trip to Hawaii this past Thursday. I wanted to post a few photos I took during vacation. What’s interesting about these photos is that they were all taken with the iPhone 4S. Yup, I left my Canon 7D at home. We did, however, bring the Canon S90 with us, and I had a Sony NEX-5N at my disposal. Those photos should be up on the photos page sometime this week.
What I found interesting was that we (Farrah with her iPhone and I with mine) were able to capture moments effectively with our iPhones. There were a few missed opportunities, but none I regret in not having my Canon 7D with me. I’m sure if there were more nighttime or low-lit moments to capture, I would have failed with my iPhone. But most of our activities were in the daytime, making the iPhone a perfect vacation camera.
I also tried out the new version of the Path app. The app has been recently updated for the iPhone and Android. The updated version of Path makes it more intuitive than its previous incarnation, but there is still one thing lacking: people I know using Path.
I have a few co-workers using the app, but I would really like other family and friends to use it as well. Honestly, I don’t think many will do so, only having time for Facebook and, perhaps, Instagram. It’s understandable. I found myself posting more to Path (as a test) and Instagram than Facebook directly.
I’m thinking my time on Facebook will become more limited to pushing data from other sites/apps than direct interaction with Facebook (e.g. logging in and actively posting, commenting, etc.) There are only so many hours in the day. I’m finding that Facebook is taking a significant chunk of that free time I rarely have.
Here are a few photos in a slideshow format:
A few photos from our first day in Hawaii. The first day was mainly getting Mia acclimated to the new time zone, and for me to recover from my Dramamine hit. Oh, but plenty of good food was eaten yesterday. What’s on the menu for today? We shall see.
Merry Christmas everybody!
I wanted to jot down a few things to remember this month, besides the wedding. Most of these events happened in Hawaii, so I guess it still involves the wedding in some way.
Remember…
I’m sitting in //Starbucks again as Farrah finishes some Christmas shopping. Last night my mom left back to California, arriving safely home early this morning. We head out on Monday, spending Christmas with those remaining behind. Doug headed out to Japan yesterday. I didn’t have a chance to talk to him before leaving.
Today Ann treated everyone to //Sam Choy’s Breakfast, Lunch & Crab off the Nimitz. Farrah had the French Toast Platter while I had the Papa’s Beef Stew Omelet. Hmmmm….good!!! Two different people actually told me to try the Beef Stew Omelet, and the recommendations were sound. I couldn’t finish the omelet portion, but I did finish the stew.
I’ve taken quite a bit of photos, so it will take a bit of time to process and post the photos. This is what I plan to do when I get home. Check my //Flickr account for any updates.
It is official! Farrah and I our now husband and wife!
We took our wedding vows on the lagoon lawn at the //JW Marriot Ihilani yesterday afternoon. The weather was very nice, except for the gusting wind - which blew at about 15-20 mph - but that didn’t really make a dent in the day’s events. It’s only worth noting because today is such a calm day at Ihilani. But like I was telling Farrah, “That day was our day”.
Pre-ceremony photos ran a little behind, but it didn’t push our wedding start time back. We actually started on time at 4:30 PM. The wedding started with me walking my mother down the aisle to her seat. I then made my way back to the groomsmen where we walked in order behind the Pastor. We took our positions and waited for the bridal party.
//Cory Oliveros, the acoustic guitarist/singer we hired, started to sing “The Road that Never Ends”. I must admit when I heard this song and saw the bridesmaids line up in the distance, I started to tear up. The bridesmaids started about 30 yards away from the ceremony spot, walking on the lawn through the palm trees. I first saw Kayla, who made me smile so much. Then Kay, Kristel, Fina, Michelle and Yen.
Then off in the distance, from the starting point 30 yards away I saw Farrah and her parents. Cory then started to sing “The Hawaiian Wedding Song”. This really got me going. I couldn’t believe the amount of emotion I was trying to contain, not wanting to breakout in a full cry. I was very very happy.
The whole ceremony went off as planned. Pastor Curtis Fong conducted a wonderful ceremony. The only hiccup was the lei ceremony we wanted to be done. We conducted after the ceremony, at the wedding certificate signing table. So it wasn’t a big deal it didn’t take place in the main ceremony.
Farrah and I took more photos with the bridal party, and by ourselves, after the ceremony. Derek Wong was very meticulous in directing us during the photo shoot. I really liked the fact he was paying attention the everything in the shot - from items or people in the background to lighting. There were times where I wish shots could be taken quicker, but if you really want the photos to come out right you need to take some time. I really appreciate the pressure a wedding photographer must endure. I have faith that all the photos will be great!
The reception started almost on time in the Ocean Ballroom. Rodney Villanueva, our emcee, really had the crowd going. Rodney really had our guests laughing and the reception moved along smoothly with his guidance.
Wonderful dancing was provided by //Iwalani’s School of Dance and The Philippine Dance Group during dinner. Heartfelt toasts were given by Yen and Doug, and Lotte’s words about Farrah and I meeting were very touching.
After the professional looking slideshow was done by //Aloha Friday Productions was completed, we started the cake cutting and dancing. Farrah and her dad danced to “Butterfly Kisses” and Farrah and I danced to “Songbird”. I wanted to dance with my mother for a song, but time seemed to be slipping away.
The evening ended with everyone on the dance floor. We stayed for a while longer, but the full day had taken it’s toll on our energy. But it was a full and lovely day. Everyone who helped make this day happen cannot fully know how thankful we are for their support. I will post photos when I can. I just wanted to write this out while I had the chance.
I don’t think Farrah and I could have imagined a more perfect day.
We checked into the condo on our tour of Hawaii. More in a bit.
The morning found us having Kim Chee Fried Rice with two eggs over easy for breakfast. We knew today we had two important meetings, so it required a special breakfast.
The first meeting was at Ihiliani with Terri at Ihilani to work out some final details. This went by without any major concerns. We then had a lunchtime meeting with (Pastor) Curtis Fong, who will be performing the wedding ceremony. He was very informative and brought along years of experience to share with us on how we should conduct ourselves before, during and after the ceremony.
I also had a chance to post more photos from yesterday when we went to go get our Marriage License.
There were a couple of photos of us taken by the lady who took our application, but they didn’t turn out. It seems I didn’t have the Nikon on full automatic, so the photos turned out blurry. Oh well.
Farrah and I took a quick trip to Hawaii last week, from the 9th to the 13th. We were meeting vendors and looking at other items to use for the wedding. Boy, it’s only a couple more months away!!!
We took off on Friday night and landed in nice humid Honolulu. The first thing I noticed when we got our rental car were the gas prices they were charging. If you wanted the car rental company to fill up the tank, it was $3.15/gallon. If you didn’t choose that option and they still had to fill it up, it would be $4.63! The average they posted for the island that day was $3.33! Boy, I thought prices were bad here!?!? By the time we left regular gas prices jumped to $3.60/gallon to as high as $3.99/gallon depending on what island you were on. Crazy.
We arrived at auntie’s house greeted by everyone. A yummy dinner of ahi poki and beef stew and I was off to bed. Farrah stayed up with Ann and auntie gossiping, and with the time change only got 3 hours sleep. Funny thing is she wasn’t that tired the next day.
We ran errands here and there, meeting our vendors the following days. Most of the meetings were very positive, so it looks like everything is moving forward very well. We did manage to eat at several good places. We had very good malasadas at “Leonard Jr’s Hot Malasadas & Espresso”; kim chee fried rice with two eggs sunny-side up for breakfast at the “Kapiolani Coffee Shop” (Roger had the Oxtail Soup); and another visit to [Kua’aina] for a burger. Yum! We didn’t make it to the North Shore or to Zippy’s, or even the mall! Later this year will hit those places though.
On Tuesday it was Tiana’s birthday (and Tessie’s as well). We celebrated Tiana’s birthday at auntie’s house that night. The big party was still going on when Farrah and I left. I managed to take about 100+ photos before I left the party though. The excitement didn’t end there as we ran into problems in the check-in line. It seems our frozen goods weren’t packed to the airline’s specifications. A call to the house brought Roger and Francis running to the rescue. We managed to board the plane with about 20 minutes to spare.
The flight back was a little bumpy, but very quick. We parked at [ParkSFO] for the first time, since I had a two-day free coupon. It was pretty convenient and I think cheaper than parking in the long-term lot.
Overall, we accomplished a lot on the trip and got to enjoy a mini-vacation as well.
Taking Pictures
This was my first use of the DSLR on a vacation, along with the [Wolverine FlashPac] to download photos. It was very nice experience using both on the trip. I shot about 3GB worth of photos and downloaded most to the hard drive without problems. I was a little worried if they were actually on the hard drive, since it doesn’t have a screen. But when I loaded it on the computer, I didn’t have a problem accessing the files. Whew!
I got a lot of good shots of Tiana (mostly) and others at the party. I think, no I know, I relied too much on the auto focus again. I need to go to manual focus as some of my shots were off the mark and I wasn’t pleased with the results. Practice. Practice. Practice.
The Photos Gallery
The photo gallery is back up! Yeah!!! Ok, so here’s what you need to do because there was a database problem. First off, the photo gallery is [accessible here] or by the side link that says [Photos @ Janella.com]. You will notice that some of the albums are public. For the private type albums that are public, you cannot view the full photo unless you are logged in. Clicking on the photos will only make it look like the thumbnail. All photos are about 640X480. The login link is at that bottom.
Ok, so the database with passwords got corrupt. This means you will need to go through the steps to reset your password by clicking the recover password link. Enter your username and it will send an email to the email address I have on file. Follow the link in the email sent.
If you have any problems getting a new password, let me know either by email or by phone, ok? As always, if you see a photo of yourself or someone you know and don’t think it should be up, please send me an email and let me know what photo. I’ll take it down. Cool?
Ok, that’s enough writing for now. I’m sure I’ll make more changes to the Photo Gallery in the coming months, as well as the site.
The photos below are posted on my Flickr album. You can see all the photos in the new [Photo Gallery] mentioned above.
I like this shot I taken front of the blowhole of the inflatable whale.
This photo always makes me smile. She’s actually posing for the camera!
man, it’s october and i’m still talking about our hawaii trip that took place back in august!?!?!?! well, my memory on specifics is fading (yeah, it comes with age, huh). this might be the last time i write about the trip. most of the pictures are posted. just a few more from the last days we stayed. anyway, on with the story….
sandy left oahu on saturday afternoon. for the rest of that day we relaxed. we picked up jane, then had a late dim sum lunch with ann, who was working. we might have went to [ala moana], if not that day i’m sure some other days. but after lunch we did drive to the north shore from shave ice! some time later that night we went to circut city - i needed to figure out how to download the photos i had since the ipod wasn’t accepting my camera’s connection. this is where the photo below was taken:
uncle johnny and auntie linda treated all of us to sunday breakfast at [anna millers] . in the afternoon we headed to russell and majorie’s house, in mililani for an late lunch/early dinner.
russell tried his best to bbq, taking care of most of the food. when it came to the beef he delegated that task to sim.
