Now, the last time I was around this much purple "chic-ness", was in high school, circa my junior year-1984. Prince and the Revolution,Vanity, and Apollonia 6, were all the rage with songs like "When Doves Cry", "Erotic City", "Sex Shooter", and "Nasty Girls", while girls would walk around campus with lace gloves, heavy liner, hoop earrings and black boots mimicking Prince's all girl groups.

So today, as only Co-owners/sisters, Cheryl DeAngelo and Brandy Antonelis could do it, premiered their boutique ADORACION (in Manoa) in true Purple REIGN style. This fabulous event included fashions on the runway from their new collections (even featuring our local celebrity chefs as some of the models), an incredible chef spread of delights from Cheryl's husband's restaurant OLA-at Turtle Bay, yummy martinis, complimentary hand massages, cool swag bags in purple and black, moody asian inspired decor, and fashion, fashion, and more fashion everywhere you looked! Even our good friend and photographer Debbie Friedrich (Cheryl's Best friend) got in on the fashion frenzy looking oh so "blue steel" on the catwalk...prrrrr :) Talk about "Let's Go Crazy"...seriously!

We were the guests of our buddy Geralyn (who by the way, was one HOT mama of an Emcee for this swanky event). I tell you - this girl can rock a mohawk like nobody's business! Check out her tresses in the photos taken by :Dave as we moved our way around the crowd! When in Manoa, come and check out ADORACION where you can LIVE TO BE ADORED!...

Taking care of our aina is everyone's responsibility. Today, was an opportunity for the 4 of us (Dave, myself, our buds and fellow awesome photographer friends-Geralyn Camarillo, and Arna Johnson) to give our time and volunteer efforts at Laniakea Beach, to "Malama Na Honu", as new HONU GUARDIANS-in-TRAINING! Our curiosity got the best of us, as our instructor-Patrick briefed us on what to expect as we schedule ourselves into their "shadow" program. For 3 dates we will need to follow a current Honu Guardian while learning how to keep our island honu safe in the refuge of the shallow waters and beach, as they bask on the sunny shore :)

We had a good time out there as :Dave put his water camera housing to good use capturing some incredible underwater imagery of "Brutus" the honu swimming by coming within 6 inches of :Dave's camera! We were so stoked! But at the same time, we have to remember that there is courtesy rule for us humans to keep a good safe distance away, so not to disturb their habitat. How cool though! It's a day that we will not soon forget :) Our education was priceless, and we can't wait to head back up to north shore to "shadow" and guard the honu! Special thanks to our buddy Geralyn for helping make the National Day of Service a huge success at Laniakea yesterday!(and also mahalo Geralyn for taking some of these awesome pics with :Dave today!) We LOVE and appreciate our animal friends...Enjoy the awesome honu pics!

Not too many people can call our beautiful Hawaiian waters, their "office". However :Dave, and his brother-in-law Mike Prickett manage to do just that. Not only is he :Dave's brother-in-law, but Mike is also one of the most fearless people that we know! Mike is a sports emmy-nominated water cinematographer, specializing in extreme water sports video coverage. Mike is considered one of the top 3 water cinematographers in the world, traveling globally to capture footage of the worlds largest big wave surf competitions!

:Dave received a call from Mike asking if :Dave might want to come along with him to photograph some footage of one of the co-founders of GREENZ, Hiromi Matsubara. GREENZ is a non profit agency based in Tokyo Japan, that facilitates marketing/communication in promoting sustainability for green initiatives into the mainstream through online media (http://greenz.jp/en), creative branding, events, and seminars. Hiromi is also an activist for Earth Day and Surfrider Japan. On this particular trip, her mission is to make connections globally and share best practices, exchange ideas to co-create a more sustainable society thru collaborative global scale projects. She is also managing the global relations and is trying to be the gateway for international companies who are seeking opportunities in Japan or need guidance to go green and vice versa. For Hiromi she is on a 2 month road trip and Hawaii was her first stop. :Dave and Mike had a fun time in the water capturing imagery of Hiromi in her element, as an avid surfer, just down the street from us, at Portlock. Check out their day in the water...!

DIY Day, at the Miyamoto house is always an adventure into the unknown. Today's project was pretty cool though :) Lately, :Dave has been fascinated by different types of photography lighting techniques. One type in particular has been eating at his curiosity- the RING LIGHT. :Dave gave me the 1 minute explanation of what a ring light actually is, followed by showing me sample photo work of ring lit subjects...I was intrigued :)

A ring light gives a unique look, as all light is coming from the front, imparting a virtually shadowless look onto the front of your subject, while even shadows show around the edges of any three-dimensional surface. This look is possible in part because the camera lens sets in the very middle of the light source. Ring flash is often used in fashion photography and some more modern urban scene and portrait photography. It can be seen in a multitude of magazine and CD covers. Pretty cool techie stuff huh? OK,... enough of "Erkel" definition.

He made time yesterday to pick up materials for making this DIY project, and saved today to actually make it...Now, I'm no genius at putting anything together really. I'm pretty proud of myself when I can load the washing machine correctly, and start it, without the machine sounding like a wrestling match is taking place outside of my bathroom window. I know I have SOME skills, but watching :Dave "MacGyver" Miyamoto attack a DIY project is really a sight to behold. He wings it most times, and impressively enough- it turns out pretty spot-on.

Today was no different in :Dave's quest to build something useful for his arsenal of photography lighting equipmemt. YES, with no prior electrician experience, today he managed to build himself a full functioning RING LIGHT system, with full concentration, as Nacho snooped around the garage all afternoon, curiously trying to figure out what "dad" was doing, and keeping energized by throwing back 6-7 glasses of his fave drink of choice DIET PEPSI in between breaks. Here are photos of his big DIY day, the finished ring light project, and his first "ring light subject"- :Dave's beautifully tatooed nephew Kawai Abbley :) Put your safety goggles on...MacGyver is in the house!

We know it's going to be an especially good day, when Dave and I are out scouting life with our buddy-Geralyn :) We have dubbed ourselves "Da Blog Squad" to stay in touch with what we're doing. (Check out her blog too at www.hokuliiimages.typepad.com)

Funny how I don't really like to journal in handwriting, yet I can't get enough of doing these blogs, huh? I guess it's the immediate gratification of seeing our day posted with photos to mark where our daily journey took us. Well, the 3 of us (Dave, myself, and Geralyn) have decided to meet on Wednesdays regularly, cameras and laughs "on deck",to keep in check with how our lives and our friendships unfold. So today's trip around the island took us to MANOA MARKET PLACE...upstairs to the newest eatery called the RED GINGER CAFE. They JUST opened up this past weekend, and are ready to serve us foodies! There's nothing like walking into a new place, and already having that I"M ALREADY WELCOME feeling, you know? The RED GINGER CAFE specializes in healthy, ORGANIC easy light meals such as Acai bowls, specialty sandwich wraps, and smoothie drinks. We were welcomed by the warm smiley face of co-owner Mel Keanini Kawai, who kindly helped us through the menu :) Between the 3 of us, we tried their Portabello Mushroom Wrap, Chicken and Walnut Wrap, and Turkey and Cranberry Wrap- OOOOH Yah. Well, we are now hooked on this new food find :) Mel, (in all her aloha glory) even let us try their organic carrot cake, and acai bowls. Nothing like filling up good and healthy style! We look forward to stopping by again to say aloha to Mel and her crew, and to try out the rest of their wonderful menu. Please stop in to try try their goodies yourself. We loved it :) Until our next adventure ...

We are so fortunate that we ALWAYS have the most wonderful families to work with for our OHANA photo sessions. Today, was one of the best times :Dave and I have EVER had for a family shoot. Today, we got to know the charming Burkett Family from Texas.

Now, knowing beforehand that this was their very first trip to Hawaii, and they were presently staying in Waikiki, this was quite special for them to be out in the country area of our island. And for us, north shore is always a treat! We wanted them to experience the serene and beautiful landscaped beaches of Oahu.

We brought our puppy Nacho out for the day, to stretch her legs, and also to meet their family. We had the best time playing on the beach with them, and we were glad to see that Nacho brought some true laugh out loud smiles to the girls! They were sharing with us how they REALLY missed their poodle at home, and that playing with Nacho really hit the spot! We are so grateful for the friends that we make along the way, and hope that The Burketts have an absolutely incredible time in our islands! Aloha :)