New Hawaii Shots, Round Top Drive, Diamond Head (Taken Dec 2nd)

Hey all, I'm still alive and still taking pictures! In fact I have some really good ones from today. Been working on them since I got back from shooting in fact. I stayed downtown too long and was stuck in traffic for an hour plus, but these shots were definitely worth the hassle.

As some of you may know I just got a new lens (EF 17-40L f/4) off of craigslist for a steal and a half, and today was the first day I really put it to use. I've had this lens before, Rocky Mountain National Park - October 2004 so I know it's an awesome lens to have, and I'd already tested the lens out indoors and was very impressed with the quality inside at ISO 1600 wide open (ie f/4), so I couldn't wait to get some real shots out of it. Anyway I'm sure you're thinking Aaron quit blabbing and show me the money, err pictures :)

Take a look!

I think the clouds really make this picture, they're the only reason I posted this one image in addition to the 2 panos I did from Round Top Drive.

View of Diamond Head Crater, downtown Honolulu and Manoa Valley (in the foreground) taken from Round Top Drive in Puu Ualakea State Wayside located in the Round Top Forest Reserve.



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This is the second panoramic shot I took from this location. This one I used just a UV filter instead of a polarizing filter. It's another hand-held (no tripod) panoramic and I'm very impressed with the results. Yeah I can nitpick and say the horizon bows instead of being a straight line, but this is light years better than my attempts and hand holding panos in RMNP circa 2003-2004 :)

Panoramic shot of Diamond Head Crater, downtown Honolulu and Manoa Valley (in the foreground) taken from Round Top Drive in Puu Ualakea State Wayside located in the Round Top Forest Reserve.

19 shot hand-held (no tripod) panoramic composition stitched in Adobe PS CS4.

40D EF 17-40 f/4L USM
Shot @ 40mm ISO 100 f/8 1/400s

RAW conversion done in PS CS4

This PS file is 113MB and a resolution of 13081 x 3739 or 54.5" x 15.6" at 240dpi or a 139.9 megapixel image!



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This is the third panoramic I took from Round Top Drive, and I call this version "Wider with Less Sky" :) Still a UV filter, and still hand held. I really like this one, extremely happy with the results. And the best part, aka the little easter egg, click on the picture, and the very right hand side you can see an airplane. I purposely waited for one to be in the last frame of the pano, and thankfully it didn't get cropped out when this pano was assembled. I don't know if I had better luck in this one, or since the horizon is higher, but there's almost no bow in the horizon at all.

Panoramic shot of Diamond Head Crater, downtown Honolulu and Manoa Valley (in the foreground) taken from Round Top Drive in Puu Ualakea State Wayside located in the Round Top Forest Reserve.

20 shot hand-held (no tripod) panoramic composition stitched in Adobe PS CS4.

40D EF 17-40 f/4L USM
Shot @ 40mm ISO 100 f/8 1/400s

RAW conversion done in PS CS4

This PS file is 126MB and a resolution of 13529 x 3766 or 56.4" x 15.7" at 240dpi or a 145.8 megapixel image!



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This is my favorite image I took of the day (Dec 2nd), it's the Diamond Head Light House from the summit of Diamond Head. I took a bunch of shots of that little lighthouse mostly just point and click, but this is the one where I composed the shot, waited for the waves to be just right, etc. :D I'm really glad it turned out as well as I envisioned it. Not to flatter myself but it reminds me of a post card, or a pictures from a lighthouse calendar.



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I took more pictures from the Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay, but I'm still working on those. Stay Tuned!

Aaron

My Rant on Elizabeth Lambert and her apology

Yahoo Sports Blog: Vilified New Mexico soccer player breaks her silence By Chris Chase

First off, I stand by this even today. She's only sorry because she got caught and became vilified by the media.

A poster on this article commented about how video compilations seem exaggerate the actions of the one in question. He claimed how a video compilation of Dennis Rodman's cheap shots throughout his career would leave us all wondering why he wasn't suspended indefinitely from the NBA. Fair enough, however keep in mind all of Elizabeth Lambert's cheap shots came in ONE GAME, not an entire season, or even a multi-year career.

Seeing her cheap shots, especially the hair pulling, remind me too much of Todd Bertuzzi's cheap shot on Steve Moore. For those who don't know the history of the Bertuzzi incident, on February 16th, 2004, Steve Moore checked and injured Canucks captain and NHL leading scorer at the time Marcus Naslund. The check was questionable and as a result Naslund missed three games with a concussion and a bone chip in his elbow. Moore was not penalized, fined, or suspended because of this hit. Canucks players and coaches were appalled, players vowed to get even, one went as far as putting a bounty on Moore's head.

So the next time the Canucks and Avs played, the NHL execs kept a close eye on the game, no major incidents occurred and ironically the game ended in a tie. March 8th, 2004, another rematch. First period, Moore fights Matt Cooke of the Canucks. Both serve a five minute fighting penalty. The Avs went on to build a large lead. Late in the third period, Todd Bertuzzi is sent onto the ice with the intent of picking a fight with Moore. Bertuzzi fails to get Moore to bite on the bait, and continues to skate behind Moore for a long period of time when Bertuzzi finally grabs Moore's jersey, punches him in the head from behind, drives his head into the ice, and continues to punch him after Moore was down. Moore suffered three fractured vertebrate in his neck, cuts and a concussion. Moore laid unconscious and motionless on the ice for about 10 minutes until he was wheeled off in a stretcher.
Bertuzzi was immediately suspended for the remainder of the season, the playoffs, and was barred from any international play during the lockout of the 2004-2005 season. He was reinstated for the 2005-2006 season.



If Lambert played hockey, regardless of if she was penalized after the first punch, an enforcer would have checked her the next time she was on the ice, probably resulting in a fight. If Lambert continued to throw cheap shots, then things would have probably escalated to a bench clearing brawl.

Hockey and Soccer are two totally different animals, I understand that. Moore's hit on Naslund was questionable, I'll concede that. And he probably should have been penalized/fined/suspended by the NHL as weird as it sounds for his own protection. I think some repercussions from the NHL would have calmed the storm in Vancouver a little. I don't know if it could have prevented it all, but hind sight is 20/20. Regardless Moore skated freely, and I'm sure he was told by his teammates for the remaining games against the Canucks to keep his head on a swivel.

Granted a soccer pitch is many times larger than a hockey rink, but at some point someone had to bring Lambert's actions to the attention of the officiating crew. Had they decided to intervene, ie give warnings, a yellow card, then a red card, the score would have been settled, Lambert would have been ejected, and the media would probably have not even blinked twice at this. But to watch Lambert get away with cheap shot after cheap shot, and only get a yellow card for an obviously injury seeking trip/leg-lock was appalling.

Yes I like the way hockey protects its stars, if you get a cheap hit on someone you will pay your dues, but NHL players walk on very thin ice (pun intended) on getting retribution and becoming the next Bertuzzi vs Moore incident.

Go KSU - from Hawaii

Who would have thought there were KSU fans, let alone KSU alumni in Hawaii! Anyway here's some pictures from our football watch parties (for those who haven't already seen these on Facebook)...

Happy Birthday from The Army!

Happy Birthday from The Army!, originally uploaded by aaronpbrown.

So I got my first birthday card, from my Batallion Commander and
Battalion Command Sergeant Major, aka the big dogs. Their present to
me: my birthday off which gave me a 3 day weekend :D

Baseball - Hawaii Pacific University vs Dixie State 04/09/09 - Game 2

Hey all,

Here's game two from yesterday's double header. I think most of the rust (or nerves) wore off by the second game. I seemed to get more keepers :)

#1 - Pitcher


#2 - Breaking up the double play


#3 - More breaking up of the double play


#4 - A different view (from the Press Box)


#5 - Foul Ball


#6 - Classic batter after hit pose :)


#7 - Pick off at 2nd


#8 - You're OUT!


#9 - Like his pose


#10 - BOB


Click here to view all my favorites from HPU Baseball

Also take a look at my post for Game 1, if you haven't already. Thanks!

Aaron

Baseball - Hawaii Pacific University vs Dixie State 04/09/09

Hey all,

Here's some images I took from HPU's first game (of the doubleheader) on Thursday against Dixie State...

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8 - some jube after hitting a solo HR to give HPU the lead (and eventually be the game winning run)


Click here to view the gallery and see larger sizes of the images

Thanks for looking,
Aaron

Koko Crater - Part 2

Yes I'm still alive, busy week at work and all studying for the board, anyway here's some more from Koko Crater...

Views from the top













I didn't lug my tripod all the way up here for nothing, here's two "summit" pictures of me. It was really windy hence the "not really smiling-ness"