Engagement Session of Mia and Roy

Roy and Mia's Engagement Session
Where: Makapuu Beach Park
When: a sunrise on a September morning

I met Mia a few months ago. Mia is an talented young makeup artist and we connected for a bridal shoot. Then I received an email full of exciting news. Her sweetheart, Roy, proposed and the two of them are ready to wed in the summer of 2010. Mia had moved back to Kauai which is where they plan to tie the knot but they wanted to have engagement photos at Makapuu Beach. It's a special place near and dear to their hearts, especially since it's where Roy proposed.

Several things made this session unique, but the time was definitely the kicker. I usually schedule sessions for late afternoons for that lovely "golden hour" of soft light. Add in the fact that I'm not the best morning person. This engagement session, however, started about ten minutes before sunrise. And no one was more surprised than me when I just absolutely loved it. The sunrise was beautiful. The couple was gorgeous. And we were blessed with a few baby clouds that softened the sun once it started to get too bright. Roy and Mia were troopers. You couldn't tell that it was sunrise by looking at them. They looked polished and alert. Me? Hmmm, I relied on caffeine until the adrenaline kicked in. I have so many I consider favorites. There were so many moments when Mia and Roy seemed to forget that there were multiple camera following them and it allowed for the sweetest captures.

And there was quite a crowd of cameras following these two. My second shooter, Joy Pishcura, was nearby scaling the black rocks to get those great shots. And Cody Canada, of Image Creations of Hawaii , was there also providing spectacular videography. Videographers and photographers have to work together since we both are looking for similar perspectives and shots and you don't want to step on each other's toes. This was the best working experience with a videographer and I am now permanently spoiled. Check out their website for your video needs. Completely professional and a breeze to work with.
(Love this one. Warning: I might say this often throughout the post)



(I just love this one. They're in their own world and they look so content, you want to walk over and join them. Good thing we didn't, though.)

















(I danced like a happy fool when I suggested "think you might want to wade a little?" and they went for it. They had a bit of fun splashing each other and I think they forgot we were there)

(I really love the first one. I can't put my finger on it but the landscape is just so beautiful...and of course, the people in it)


I didn't want to create a monstrous post but there were some hilarious photos of them playing in the water that you have to see. To see the rest of the images from this morning playing on the beach, go to http://www.keaosphotography.instaproofs.com/ and click on Roy and Mia's engagement session.

Sneak Peek: Scot and Kim Wedding

Here's a sneak peek from Scot and Kim. Kim and I had to come up with a system to distinguish our husbands (he's officially hers now) and our conversations were punctuated with my "my scott" versus her "my Scot." I chose this one because...well, it's horizontal and it's just a lot simpler to fit in the column...but also because I love how attentively Kim is listening to that handsome officiant. I was so nervous during my own wedding, I kind of just stared blankly at Pastor Ralph and I was caught a little off-guard when it turns out he was asking me for my vows. Not Kim, she's enjoying every second of her day. If there was a quiz at the end, I'm sure she would have aced it. Kim, don't spoil my husband. He might expect the same set of listening skills from me. And I'm a daydreamer through and through.

Growing Up: Senior Portraits Dylan and Irish at Kualoa Ranch

What: Senior Portrait Session with Dylan and his sis, Irish
When: Prince Kuhio Day, March 26th, 2009
8:00 am
Where: Kualoa Ranch

I have to give props to my friend and client, Bow, whose maternity session really generated more opportunities for me to photograph other beautiful people too. And by the way, Bow just gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl, Mikaela, a week ago. Note the spelling of her name, the third choice they settled on (if you've been keeping up with my posts). Stay tuned for some sneak peeks of that newborn session.

So shortly after Bow's maternity session, I received an email from ....tada....Gina. I've known Gina for a few years already, we both volunteer in the baby nursery at Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay every other Sunday. She's also a good friend of Bow's and loved the pictures. She asked if I would consider taking senior pictures of her son, Dylan, and doing a portrait session with her daughter,Irish, on the same day. Um, Gina, of course. I knew Irish because she, like her mom, also volunteers in the nursery but I hadn't met Dylan before so mom had to email me his school picture. We set the day for Prince Kuhio Day, a State of Hawaii holiday, for which I'm not really sure why. Scott is going to mock my hawaiian education, considering I went to a school only for part-Native Hawaiians, but I don't know who or what Prince Kuhio did. I think Kuhio was from the Big Island too because we have a mall named after him in Hilo.

It was so awesome for me, because Gina already had an idea of where we could hold the session and she was able to get a permit to shoot at Kualoa Ranch on the north shore. I met her, Dylan and Irish there at 8 in the morning. Poor things, having to wake up so early when you don't have school. And I was a little nervous because Gina claimed that Dylan and Irish didn't like taking pictures. If that's the case, I don't know who she swapped in for them because these two teens were complete hams. Seriously, you can never call these two shy. The location was so awesome and just fun to explore. They climbed trees and walls so I had the easy job of just chasing after them. We were done in no time at all and I LOVED their pictures.

Dylan is laid-back, his mom says always reading a book or playing a video game. Once the camera turned on him, he gave Zoolander a run for his money.

We don't have fields of wheat but I finally found a field that I could get this shot. I'm always tempted to let our yard get seriously overgrown so i can use my backyard, but I think my neighbors would glare at me.





I love this next one...I don't know why. He just looks like he's the king of the castle.

Irish, the slightly younger sister, is not shy at all. She's an avid volleyball player and you can see her every other Sunday in a room full of 2 year olds at church. She's also gorgeous, just look at the photos.

Irish was resisting the urge to play up her farmer side...she cracked me up.



I love this next shot, I wish I had taken a few more and had them pose. But Irish was just climbing up and I got nervous and had her come down. There was a significant drop on the other side.

This one...MY FAVORITE!!!


This was my first senior portrait session and my subjects are usually well over twenty or under the age of three, so I was a tad nervous. Can I just say, that was the most fun session ever!!! I had to call the hubby on the way home and just gush about the entire experience. Thanks to Gina for raising beautiful kids, and Dylan and Irish for being totally cool with my crazy ideas and going with it. You guys rock!!!

To view these pictures and more from their entire session, please visit www.keaosphotography.instaproofs.com and click on "Dylan and Irish Portrait Session."

And stay tuned in the next week for photos from Whitni's Maternity Session and baby Mikaela's newborn session.

Ko Olina: Wedding of Michael and Celeste

Yah, I am so excited to post the photos from Michael and Celeste's beach wedding. One, this batch took a little more work due to the cold and gray skies we've been having...I know, isn't Hawaii always supposed to be paradise. They traveled all the way from California with close friends and really wanted a wedding on the sand with the sun setting behind them. Celeste's cousin who acted as their wedding planner found Scott and me on craigslist and decided to hire us both, Scott for his superb officiating and me for my not-so-shabby photography. Hawaii delivered on the "wedding on the beach" half but weather didn't yield a sunset for us. Our little island is slowly freezing to ice here in the Pacific Ocean, we've been hit with quite a cold storm front. I mean, the current temperature is 64 degrees (okay, i'ts five in the morning)...but we locals aren't really made for this kind of weather(I know...I know...we're spoiled). However, this wedding party seemed oblivious to the cooler climate...the party seemed to have started long before the ceremony even began.

The second reason I'm so excited...I just have so many favorites. I don't think I've ever blogged this many. It was just such a blessing for me and my husband. I really love being able to photograph weddings that he's working as well. I love his style and I am also familiar with his rhythmn. It helps me prepare for my next shot. And everyone who came to support Michael and Celeste were so unbelievable nice. They picked a beautiful spot on the sand right next to the black rocks and blue ocean. I even got to engage in some Nikon vs. Canon shop talk while following the wedding party as they clambered over rocks. By far, my most adventuresome couple. Congratulations!!! Eight years in the making and worth the wait.

To view all the images from this day, go to http://www.keaosphotography.instaproofs.com/. (Email addresses entered are only used to notify you when the album is taken off-line)

Just me and my life-Run Lola Run

Following Scott and my adventure doing the Great Aloha Run (see Scott's blog), I was inspired.

Early sunday morning, the first morning of March 2009, I found myself at Kapiolani Park surrounded by a crowd of women all wearing pastel dry weave running tanks and black shorts. I actually used to love running, I ran track, soccer, and mostly just for fun. The only community runs I did was the Straub Women's 10K race back in high school. Fifteen years later, and 20...30...maybe 40 lbs heavier, I signed up again. I've been running a little frequently but I mix it in with a lot of walking so I wasn't sure how I'd do, but I was really curious to find out.

Sunday, March 1st 2009

5:00 phone alarm goes off
5:00-5:15 Hitting snooze alarm multiple times...even lying on cell phone to muffle sound
5:30 rushing to the car with tons of stuff for church
5:31 stopping to toss some stuff into Scott's car
5:32 In car and going going going
5:42 Pondering "I did toss my running shoes in the car, right? Yah, I definitely did."
6:10 Finding a sweet parking spot only 1/4 mile from the race start
6:10 Sitting in my car realizing that I maybe didn't bring my shoes after all

Yup, I'm sitting, all decked out in my workout clothes...and my black rubbah slippahs. Hmm. I called Scott and woke him up all distraught. Even in a deep sleep, he was able to offer insightful advice. He thought I should go to the officials and ask if I could borrow their shoes. He was really serious. When I didn't jump at the idea of asking strangers to lend me their shoes, he volunteered to jump in the car and bring me my shoes. Yah, Scottie, my hero!!!

While waiting, I jumped in line for the bathroom at Kapiolani Park which took forever...scott actually had drive from Kaneohe to Waikiki before I got to the front of the line...and that's even with the women taking over the men side as well. Much to the dismay of the very drunk weird guy who kept yelling "what? You got to be kidding me!!!" even as he patiently stood at the end of the line. And Scott got there five minutes before the starting gun went off, bless my bestest husband ever.

As I stood in the crowd of maybe a couple hundred women and waited nervously for the race start, I started to get the feel that perhaps I'm a little behind the times. All these girls that these earbuds with cords that disappeared into these cute little miniscule white mp3 players on armbands or in some pocket.

Here's my music player of choice:

I can't believe these are out of style already...I finally made the big switch from a walkman to the discman a few years ago. Scott and I hosted a dinner at someone else's house and the host apologized that the stereo system was broken but offered IPOD speakers. Scott and I had to scoff a little and say "IPOD? We don't have IPODS."

I also can't stand having things in my pockets. So, guess what was clenched in my sweaty hand for 6 miles.

And let's face it, I'm not in the best shape. Check out these chubby legs. Do they look like capable of speed? I think not. These babies are meant for sitting on the couch watching Top Chef.

During the run, I tried to pace myself but I pushed myself too hard in the middle section cause I died at the end. I had to start walking at the end but then people kept stopping and encouraging me to run with them. So, when I crossed the line, I felt like I was going to throw up. And they have volunteers that form a tunnel and channel you to the middle of the park. They were waving their hands in my face and I pushed through them praying "please don't throw up on them...don't throw up...don't throw up." Thankfully I finally calmed down and got my breath back.

I'm so proud of myself and I want to keep going with this.
Final Time ~ 1 hr 7 min (10.8 min/mile)

Troy and Bow-A Valentine's Maternity Session

Who: Troy and Bow a.k.a. "Expecting Parents"
Where: Their beautiful hale on the shore of Kaneohe Bay
Oahu, Hawaii
When: February 14th, 2009, 9 am

A year or two ago, Scott and I were filmed in this little skit about couples and love life with another couple from our church, Troy and Bow. One 2 minute ditty and I still see pictures from that clip at church everywhere I turn. Now a few years later, and Troy and Bow are just a few weeks away from their first little blessing. Bow is a petite woman and I was really worried about getting too close to her due date and having her feel too uncomfortable. I didn't have to worry...she climbed on piers and sat over the water for me. She was such a trooper. And I had to be careful to pose her to show her belly because you couldn't even tell she was pregnant from a lot of angles. She photographed beautifully...absolutely beautiful. I think I have my model for any portfolio building.

I had asked them prior to the session what they planned to name their baby daughter, but I wasn't sure what the exact spelling. I was still confused when I arrived because I hadn't heard a definitive answer, and I found out why. They are still on the fence with two alternative spellings for the name. I didn't want to pressure them to make a life-long decision in the next ten minutes so...if you see multiple versions of the same shot...that's why!! And their property is right on Kaneohe Bay. Gorgeous. And windy. So when a gust of wind tossed my reflector over the wall onto the shore...I jumped over a little too hastily to retrieve it before it rolled into the water. Big mistake. Apparently, the "shore" was really just a dry crust over thick swampy mud. Oi!!! I sank to my ankles. I had to wave off Troy, the gentleman, who was moving to jump down to help me. I'm Big Island. Mud don't scare me.

Hah, I really love this one...


See, can YOU tell that she's pregnant?
I
I almost forgot it was Valentine's Day (Scott and I are such the romantics) until I saw all the balloons Troy had set up everywhere for Bow. Aw...and he made us both breakfast.

This is them just being cutesy while I was trying to get my camera set up.

Look, they had such fun locations on their property.





Look, A DOCK!!! They said I could use it anytime....sweet.








These are just my favorites. To see more images and pick your own favorites, go to www.keaosphotography.instaproofs.com

Your email will not be used except for one notifying email when the album is taken off-line. To order a digital negative/image, click on "0 x 0" size and add to cart. In the shopping cart, click on "enhance print" and choose digital image. Sorry so confusing, but I'm still trying to figure out how to let people order digital images. You can always email me if you're interested in purchasing digital images or if you have questions..