Hi'i lani Ho'okipa

Mahalo my sweet friend, thank you so much dearest Blair!

Mahalo dearest Bela, thank you my sweet friend!!

Mahalo sweetheart, I am happy you enjoy it!!

Mahalo dearest Hank, thank you so much!

You have so kindly sent me several pleasant inquiries within the past couple of days, and asked me questions on my equipment and techniques with my work and also for translations. This may be the only letter I have the time to write this morning, so I will devote it especially for answering your questions.

If you are going to purchase equipment, I do hope you may get the very best!

I favour Canon equipment and, my dream camera is
Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III
(someday soon I hope I hope….) , It has a 45 point AF system with 21.1 megapixel full-frame Canon CMOS sensor!

‘Ae! Kahe ka ‘ae o ka waha!!!!

The sky is the limit once I have one! How I wish I could! It is one of the reasons I am hoping to make sales on this site, to finance the purchase of upgrading my equipment. Have a look at the features, it is so outstanding!

Mark III Features

I am currently shooting with “Canon EOS (SLR) Digital Rebel XTi”: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=14256

It is 10.1, some say 10.3 MP. It is okay. I do the best I can with what I have to work with. :)

I purchased the camera body only and purchased the lens separately. I have several lens and love shooting macro, yet I favour and use primarily
Canon EF 28-135mm Ultrasonic with Image Stablizer

shooting most often in AV creative mode and rarely do I use automatic settings, and almost never use the flash. I love natural light.
.
I also often use a 72mm Circular Polarizer PL-C. When I use my tripod, I shut off the stablizer. This lens is wonderful, I love it, and it has a wide range of capabilities.

I am so sorry I have not answered you until now. It is only a matter of time, as I am out and about on the island with many projects, and am online often for only brief moments each day or evening, sometimes for only a couple of hours. I am feeling inadequate, as I have an enormous ‘friends and fans’ base on another website with over 3 Million Views and climbing, one which I am in the process of transferring my work to this site, and there is not enough time to respond to everyone in a timely manner, as within my inbox it is always raining mail, yet I do so cherish every single message and try and answer everyone as best I can. Thank you for your patience!

On your question of the Hawaiian translation for ‘Friends Forever’ or Friends for Life’, there is no translation, as it is a term Kanaka do not use and/or native Hawaiians and locals do not use. The closest I may translate for you is:
“For a friend as close as a relative “hale aikane”
And the word ‘forever’ translates as:
Mau loa, i ka wa pau ‘ole
kau a kau
nalo loa
So you see, it is difficult to translate for this expression of friendship.

With this particular image I made adjustments in Curves to reveal the colours, setting the white balance and black point to enhance the depth and dimensions in the clouds above and the sunset colours and sky reflections in the tide pools, and details on the lava rocks in the foreground. It really isn’t that sharp, but I am pleased everyone is enjoying it. I set my standards so high, and think to myself, it really isn’t that good. But I upload it anyway because I like it. And when someone enjoys it, I am so surprised and delighted with the wonderfully warm and positive feedback. It is empowering and validating, and very encouraging.

Working with Curves is a process I call ‘bending’ the image. I am not sure if you understand what I mean when I say that. It probably is not a ‘real’ term, but it is a term I coined, or created.

For me that is what it seems like, or what it feels like aesthetically, and so I call it ‘bending the light’ within the photograph, as in the process of revealing the data, as if by magic. The power of Curves is an amazing tool!

It is important to note I never touch my original photographs, even so, or when I sometimes create panos, blending and stitching two or more images, sometimes using components of as many as seven photographs to create matrix and panoramic images, and/or collages with my digital art. Once you touch the image, it degrades the data and pixelates the image. Even if you ‘undo’ your steps, it can never be restored to it’s original quality. Some artists use other artists work to create their art, and in doing so, they create derivative works of art. I only use my own photographs and therefore own 100% full copyrights on my images. When I do create a composite, I explain in the commentary, so that my viewers will know if they are viewing one of my photographs or one of my works of digital art. I believe it is important to disclose the digital art composites.

I find it is great fun to stitch brilliant Alaska skies with Maui sunsets. And sometimes I will take several shots of the same location on one of the beaches of Maui at the same time of day, and stitch them together. The results are often astonishing. This image “Hi’i lani Ho’okipa ~ Held in the Arms of Heaven” is a true photograph.

I am completely self taught, my studies are online and I also research and study many books on the fine art of Photography, Hawaiian language and culture, history, mele, hula and linguistics, as well as many of subjects of interest.

I have learned to make copies of my originals the hard way, by inadvertantly ruining a beautiful sunset photograph I had taken on Po’olenalena Beach one evening a few years ago. I had opened the image and forgot the crucial step of making a copy, and instead was working on the original creating a digital painting. Oh je! It was so disappointing to lose the original, I can tell you. So, now, making the copy, it is the first thing I do, the very first step.

I have 4 external hard drives, each one is 500 gigs. 2 are full, 1 is half filled, and 1 is yet untouched. I am prolific and have thousands and thousands of images. If anyone on this site would like to see something in particular on Maui, they need only ask.

I assign priorities to my photographs in my digital files and my very best images receive a category 3 star rating. I then create a file corresponding with my collection Title, (the title I assign my albums, as all my collections are set up for hard bound book publishing) and when I copy the image I am working on, I save it in the corresponding file. I also create a text file to store the poetry and quotes associated with each image. It is so much easier to organise my work this way, because as you may have noticed, I research extensively for choosing the poetry and quotes in my efforts to portray the spirit of the place, and my feelings and emotions associated with the image. I do enjoy this very much. It breathes life into the photograph as it engages the spirit in a heart to heart connection. My work is an extension of my very heart and soul. And the fact that you ‘get’ that means more to me than you could possibly imagine. When my work touches someone’s heart, it is deeply meaningful for me.

So, once again, I always make a copy. leave the original untouched, title the copy, save it in a corresponding file, and then open it in my photoshop software. This way there are no mistakes and one is free to experiment with histograms, curves and many other enjoyable artistic applications. If I do not like the results, no worries, I may simply discard or delete it, make another copy and begin again.

It releases my creative vision and I am free to express myself. It so much fun! Often nothing much needs to be done. When I am successful in my camera settings with the correct exposure and depth of field, etc. many times nothing much needs to be done, and that is very satisfying.

I see prismatic colours and patterns in everything. It is an interesting way to view the world. Try it sometime. As you are gazing at your subject, whatever it may be, relax and allow your eyes to go slightly out of focus using your peripheral vision. You will then notice subtle patterns and shifting shapes, and soft shimmering colours, which are almost invisible to the eye when gazed upon directly. Many levels and layers of midtones, shadows and highlights are revealed when you consciously choose to focus on either the darkness in the shadows or choose to focus on the light, or choose to focus on a particular colour. The human mind is fascinating.

With this image I adjusted saturation just a tiny bit, and then smoothed the digital noise. It was a beautiful evening on Ho’okipa. It is one of my favourite beaches on the island and I love to swim here in the early morning when the light is deep blue and in the evening when the light often has warmer tones. The ocean is so clean and clear here on the North Shore, it is absolutely delicious! I must watch out for the sea urchins and other sea creatures in the crevices along the rocks. There are many and I wouldn’t wish to step on one or touch it. However, I do enjoy watching the Honu, the beautiful and sacred sea turtles as they love to feed in this area in the evening and frolic in the waves. They are very playful. The skylights reflected in the tidepools are very pretty and the golden sand is luxurious. It is also entertaining to watch the windsurfers. I have thousands of images of Ho’okipa at all times of day, and it is always a challenge to choose only one to upload.

Please forgive any typos or incomplete sentences, as there is no time to edit.

I am delighted you enjoy this one Hank, thank you so much! I wish you a sparkling day! Sharon

Mahalo sweetheart, I often wonder what happened to you. I can no longer open your portfolio!

Mahalo, thank you so much!!

You are so sweet, mahalo Sandra!

Aloha Ale, mahalo a nui loa! Thank you!

ahahaha!! LOL That is what I thought you meant! No worries Allessandro, I am delighted to hear from you!

‘Ae, it was a peaceful evening. I am happy you enjoy the beauty.

He mea iki, mahalo dearest Hank. You are a darling!

Mahalo my darling sister!!
E pili mau na pomaika`i ia `oe,
Me ka Aloha,

Sharon

Mahalo nui Steve, thank you so much! I know how much you enjoy beautiful sunset colours! I wish you a peaceful evening.

Mahalo nui Van, thank you so much. I hope you are well and happy.
I wish you a sparkling day!

Those are all good things. Mahalo nui, I am so happy this touches your heart.

Mahalo dearest Tereza, I am always delighted to hear from you!

Mahalo Kathy, thank you so much!

Mahalo nui Cora, I am pleased you enjoy them. This is one of my favourites and I do enjoy the beautiful ancient chant. Thank you!

Mahalo nui Stephen, I am delighted you resonate with this image. ‘Ae, thank you for your insight. I very much appreciate your kindness!

I am so happy my information helps you. Mahalo Sheena, thank you so much for your kind note.

I’m humbled by your compliment, mahalo nui loa. I wish you a lovely day!

Mahalo nui, thank you for your kindness.

Mahalo nui, thank you!

The little starman tipping his hat is so cute! Mahalo nui, thank you so much!

Mahalo nui my dearest sweet friend, thank you so much Rachel!

Mahalo nui Richard, thank you so much! Those who know me well know how much I love reflections. And with no lakes on this lovely island it is a challenge to find them! So I search the tidepools and am always delighted to see the sunset reflected in the calm waters, that is between incoming waves. This was a very special evening.

Of course you can come visit, quite literally sweetheart. If you are ever on the island please let me know, I would love to show you all my favourites places.

Aloha David, thank you so much, I am delighted you enjoy my work :))