Waikiki on Saturday

Over the weekend the annual Longboard Classic surfing competition was held at Waikiki so I was wandering around taking photos. Of course, there are always lots of people down at the beach, but this weekend more than usual, especially lots more local people than usual. Here are just a few photos.

The No-Crop Religion

To my mind it is strange, but there are some people who have some sort of weird obsession with the aspect ratio that the camera they are using produces. They think there are certain "rules" that everyone must follow. One of them is you should never crop. Bizarre, right?

Is the 35mm (3:2) aspect ratio a crop of the 6x6 frame? Or, is the 6x6 a crop of the 35mm frame? Or, are they both crops of the 8x10 and 4x5 frames? How about 6x7? Which one is it a crop of or are the others crops of the 6x7? It is all so confusing!!! How about 4/3? Oh, it is such a can of worms worrying about photography "rules"! Makes my head hurt. Which one of these is the "true" aspect ratio that all photos should conform to???? For those inclined, maybe Jesus, Buddha, Allah, et al will enlighten us. For others, maybe astrophysics will someday provide the cosmic answer.

Until the "truth" is revealed I am not going to worry about it. There is nothing sacred about the particular aspect ratio that the hardware imposes. If you want a square image but your camera doesn't produce it then crop. Vice versa. Let your imagination be your guide as to how, when, or if to crop. That is my opinion.

Emperor and Empress of Japan visited Kapiolani Park

This afternoon Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan visited Kapiolani Park to see the tree he planted there in 1960. There were quite a few people and the police kept us fairly far away, but I got a few photos. It was a bit tough because I had to shoot between the heads of the people in front of me and on tip-toes to get over their heads. :-) I have some photos here:


http://www.bakubo.com/galleries/Hawaii

今日天皇皇后両陛下はホノルルのカピオラニ公園にいらっしいました。１９６０年に天王はカピオラニ公園に木をお植えりになって、今日またご覧になりました。

私は写真を少し撮って、ここに置いてあります：


http://www.bakubo.com/galleries/Hawaii

久しぶりに警護を使って、大丈夫だろうか？間違えはない？

Korean Festival at Kapiolani Park

Yesterday I went with some friends to the annual Korean Festival at Kapiolani Park. It is only a 5 minute walk so easy to go. Don't need to deal with cars, traffic, parking, etc. I have some photos here:

http://www.bakubo.com/galleries/Hawaii

And here are a couple of photos.

Korean Dancer:



I think he sees a cute girl. :-)

Independence Day Outrigger Canoe Races at Waikiki

On Independence Day (Saturday) I was down at the beach and shooting the annual outrigger canoe races -- I did the same last year. I was barefoot and walking on the beach or mostly in the water and was wet almost up to my waist from all the waves. Fortunately, I was able to keep my camera completely dry. It was fun!

Late in the afternoon until sunset we had a picnic at Kapiolani Beach Park on the grass under the palm trees right next to the beach. While we were there 4 fireman came rushing right by us to the beach. The lifeguard had rescued a man who was drowning. I have a few shots of them working on him.

It was a good day. You can see the day's photos here:

http://www.bakubo.com/galleries/Hawaii

Here are a few photos of the canoe races at Waikiki Beach:

Waikiki in B&W and Color

Here are a few new photos of people in Waikiki. Just a normal day, nothing special, feeling good, no worries.