Brownie Hawkeye Beauty

Browsing through piles of stuff that people have collected over the years at the Hawaii's Annual Collector's Show, there was one thing that caught my eye. A brown box with a lens that called me over from across the room. My eyes opened wide in excitement when I saw that the price was right and I asked the vendor if this Brownie Hawkeye still worked and he handed it to me while snapping the shutter to show me that it was in perfect working condition aside from a few scuff marks from 50 plus years of wear and tear. I reached into my pocket and handed him his money and I said, "I'll take it!" Two rolls of 120mm film are in development.  I'll post some pictures when I get them back from the lab.

What a Find!

I was gallivanting around on a lazy Saturday morning right after the sun had risen. I had noticed a garage sale sign so I decided to follow the direction of a hand drawn arrow on a piece of cardboard which led me to a junk filled backyard. There was an old typewriter, some vintage metal frames, a trunk filled with old letters and black and white postcards, a few ceramic bottles, some trinkets and jewelry, and a couple of used surfboards that looked dinged up. Good stuff but nothing that I would collect, I thought. Then I peered across the way to find this painting. The guy only wanted a $1! What a steal I said to myself, so I whipped out a dollar and secured my purchase!

Painted by Clare I. Tyler

Forty Views of Diamond Head

Splash!

Hi everyone, I've been quite busy so I wanted to be the first to wish you Happy New Year for 2012! Yay!!! Wooohooo!

I know that it is winter and chilly so I thought that it would be a great time to share a flavor of summer with this post through some of the outtakes from my project of compiling photographs into a book called  "Forty Views of Diamond Head." The book was inspired by Hokusai, a great Japanese woodblock printer who is probably most famous for his print of the Great Wave. He did a series of 36 prints of Mount Fuji in Japan called, "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji." Being that I'm not very good at printmaking, I decided to use a camera instead chipping away at woodblocks like the old master. These photos were taken with a Nikon D-40. Although not obvious at first, all of the images shown have an image of Diamond Head in the background.

I love the red Lehua flower... legend has it that if you pick it, it will rain.

A lifeguard stand and Diamond Head in the background.

This house was burnt and totally ruined!

To my surprise, a kitty cat was there to greet me!

Japanese tourist missing Diamond Head behind them as they were busy photographing Koko Head.

Deborah Butterfield displayed at TCM and Diamond Head peering through branches.

A couple enjoying the day at the beach and a view of Diamond Head.

For some a view of Diamond Head is right at their doorstep!

A view from one State monument to another

A nostalgic drive in and a view of DH with a big honkin tree blocking my shot!

I wish that that lady didn't step into the shot!

University of Hawaii

We have VOG... Volcanic ashes causing a cloudy haze over the city!

A blurred background of Diamond Head! 

The view of Diamond Head was too small.

They turned away once they saw the camera come out.

Ilford HP5 Plus 400 film

 My favorite black and white film that I like shooting with is Ilford HP5 Plus. The results that I get with my 1966 canon ft are sharp low key photos.

The photograph above is of two elderly gentlemen that were sharing a conversation and a bottle of congnac.

Bell Peppers

Bagels

No Biodiesel 

Iolani Palace

The perspective of the photograph of Iolani Palace tells a story of how the monarchy fell when the Queen was held captive in her own palace in the early 1900's. The palace fades into the background and the foreground are of arrow tips of the front gate which is the way I had planned to take this photo. What I didn't plan for was very neutral contrasting and so the photo doesn't pop but nevertheless, it stands on it's own because it captures the essence of the subject matter. Perhaps if I had used a film with a lower ISO, then the results would be better contrast.

Vette Tail Light

As I was roaming the wonderful neighborhood of Kaimuki in Honolulu, Hawaii, I strolled near an old corvette that I so admired. I had my 35mm Canon FT manual camera made in 1966 and a box of Tri-X 100 ISO black and white film. I snapped several shots and later developed the film and printed copies in a darkroom on acid free paper. I have a print of this in my living room. I have one copy that I'm offering on etsy. Click here for more info.

Eat Drink Laugh

Taken with Velvia 100 Film

Chinatown Boardroom

 

 Enoki the Boardroom Bulldog

The Chinatown Boardroom is a neat little space that pairs artwork with surfing and surfboards. It may seem odd at first but the concept of putting an art gallery and a surf shop together does work well. Owners Eric and Jackie and their friendly Bulldog Enoki have splashed color in a small space that flow like the tides. Upon stumbling in, there are photos from local photographers, prints from local print makers and even a couple of signed pieces from Shepard Fairey the contemporary artist/designer. The prices are reasonable and the art depicts the culture of surfing. They have a wide range of gift items ranging from wallets with edgy designs to ceramics Buddah Butter holders. There is a modest selection of surfboards and fins for the surfing enthusiast and some jewelry too.  We met with writer Stuart Coleman from the Oahu Surfrider Foundation who was doing a signing for his books "Eddie Would Go" and "Fierce Heart" at the Chinatown Boardroom.  Yeah, what a treat!

Acrylic Print by Roan Bennett

We purchased the above waffle cone print by Roanah Bennett which will be a nice addition to the art in our kitchen. You can find different artwork nearly every month at the quaint space of the Chinatown Boardroom. They share the same philosophy as Apartment Art which is to live large and live rich in  small spaces by rotating art and being simple.

Stenciled Bow Wow

I had an Andy Warhol moment that flashed over my melon one morning. I fulfilled that yearning by cutting a stencil of a bow wow from a manila envelope, I applied acrylic paint with a sponge on the stencil onto square scrap pieces of wood to create these nine different images of my woof woofs (above). I prepared the blank pieces of wood by hand painting backgrounds on them. I drilled holes in select sides and glued barbecue sticks to join all of the images together. This fun piece was perfect for decorating my kid's room.
Another stencil work that I did at an earlier time is of nine framed rhinos. I built a frame to join all of the nine images together. This was the first piece of art that I made for my son's room.