Beard

Sans Beard

*Only three people have ever cut my hair that I can recall. My Grandfather (once), My Father (until I was 16), and Myself.

it. was. phenomenal.

We had decided to participate in Mutemath’s budding VIP experience (Free t-shirts, albums, first-in-line passes, etc…), and one of the perks allowed me to acquire a photographer’s pass to the show. The VIP tickets also let us into the venue 30 minutes before doors opened. As a result, we got awesome spots up front.

Now back to the phenomenal part; Mutemath puts on an incredible performance. It’s a team of very talented musicians, sound and lighting engineers, stage hands, and event coordinators working together to put on a show that’s nothing short of cinematic. As a musician, I can attest to the practically perfect performance (yea alliteration); the few errors that did occur were seamless and handled with creativity.

Below are some of my favorite photographs from the show. If you want to see the full set, check them out on Flickr.

Here are my photographs from our last day in Hawaii on the island of Kaua’i.

The last two days of the cruise where spent at the island of Kaua’i. Of all the days and locations on the trip, I enjoyed Kaua’i the most. If you ever decide to take a trip to Hawaii, I would highly recommend Marriott’s Kaua’i Beach Club. It’s located on the beach of a beautiful cove with access to great surfing, and a smattering of fun shops and vendors.

The main reason I appreciated Kaua’i was the dynamic terrain. A tropical mountain island with a large canyon branching out through the center. Dusty ridges accompanied by jungle valleys. Waterfalls, beaches, cliffs, and winding roads. Lots to see in such a small place.

Here are some photographs of our trek around the island.

On the 5th day of our trip we docked in the port of Kona. At Kona, a friend of a friend of a friend of my father’s had boat and took us out to find dolphins and go snorkeling.

This species of dolphins are called Spinners because they tend to do lots of acrobatic displays when they jump out of the water. Despite the fact that they did this often, it proved difficult to photograph, as the jump only lasted 1 second, and it was hard to predict where and when they would leap from the water. Here’s my best effort.

This is a collection of interesting flowers and plants I saw while in Hawaii. I’m not sure of the names of any these plants, but they do look good.

Several days into our trip, we hiked through the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Our half-day adventure took us down into the Kīlauea caldera. Many of these pictures are in and around the cladera.

Purple tendril uncurling.

The trail into Kīlauea.

Fissure

The only thing growing up through the lava bed was ferns and this pretty flowering bush called Ohia Lehua.

Smoking sulphur from the Halema’uma’u Crater.

Kīlauea Caldera.

Part of our hike took us around the rim of the caldera. During parts of the trail, we walked along this section of abandoned road. It was no longer in use because large sections of it had fallen into the volcano during eruption.

Part of Kīlauea Caldera with the Halema’uma’u Crater smoking behind it.

Thorn bush.

Hardened lava flow.

A rusty hand rail.

We’ve found sand! We had to walk a mile from the ship to get to this beach.

First morning in Hawaii. I was still used to central standard time (-6:00 GMT), so by 4:30am in Hawai’ian time (-10:00 GMT) I could no longer sleep and got out of bed; the sun didn’t rise until about 5:50am.

My brother Merritt thinks it’s early…

This past June, my grandparents took my family, my aunts and uncles, my cousins – and themselves – on a cruise around the islands of Hawaii. The occasion of this trip was their 50 years of marriage, and all of us were very excited to celebrate with them (who wouldn’t?).

This first set of pictures was taken as we landed at the Honolulu Airport and boarded the ship.

My Brother, Skylar.

My Mother.

My Uncle.

This year has been filled with many events and responsibilities – Full-time employment, school, graduation, trip to Hawaii, marriage, moving – all of these are great; and all of these have helped contribute to a backlog of several thousand, unsorted, unedited, unblogged photographs. Over the last month I have removed the un’s from the aforementioned photographs, resulting in over one hundred that I’d like to show to you. These photographs are of my trip to Hawaii, my marriage, honeymoon, and various other things that I have seen during the last 6 months.

Starting with this post, I am going to begin posting several photographs every day; making up for all the posts I should have made earlier this year.

Don’t be shy – I welcome your thoughts, critique, and compliments – I’d love for you to comment.

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Now, enough of the shameless advertising. Here’s one more photograph…

This is my friend Joe Derse, and his mother; he graduated this May.

Hawaii’s Volcano National Park:

The Kīlauea Caldera.

I decided on the Continuous Garden Gate design and bought the narrow wedding band to use as the engagement ring. When I presented Alyson with the ring, she was surprised and ecstatic. For the wedding ring, we choose the same style with the addition of a 1/4 caret diamond. As you can see below, it’s pretty stunning. (Alyson, purchased me a wider ring, of the same style, with no diamonds.)

I really appreciate the helpful, friendly service and the incredible artistry of the people at Reflective Images.

Below are some quick shots (the close-ups are reverse macro) I took before the sun set. I’ll probably borrow a friend‘s light box/tent sometime in the near future and use it to shoot some super sharp pictures of the rings.

Fresh Mango Salsa

1 ripened mango - chunked
1 medium tomato - chunked
1/4 of a medium, mild-tasting onion - minced
1/4 to 1/2 of a red bell pepper - chopped
1/2 of a lime - squeezed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh minced garlic or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. habañero pepper (optional)
Small amount of chopped cilantro - to taste (optional)

The mango can be substituted for 1-2 ripened peaches or 1 papaya.