# Jai's HONOLULU, Hawai'i photothread: ...showing off the Jewel of the Pacific!



## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Aloha!

I just bought a new digital camera, some 2 years after my old one died violently on the side of a freeway (but that's another story) and decided to showcase to 
the world a true hidden gem of a city: *Honolulu*, the most isolated major city in the world and a city I'm proud to call home

These are just some random, recent pics from my wanderings... 
I'll keep adding pictures to this thread as I take 'em 


Honolulu skyline and Aloha stadium:










Modern skyscrapers and historic buildings mingle:





















Ala Moana










Looking Mauka (mountainwards)










You can see the cruise ships at Honolulu Harbor on the left






























Ala Wai park 








































Ala Wai canal flowing towards Diamond Head crater






























Downtown skyline from the University of Hawaii at Manoa




















Honolulu skyline at night










Mahalo and a hui hou!

-Jai


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## xlchris (Jun 23, 2006)

Never knew it has such a beautiful skyline! Amazing shots!


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## Audiomuse (Dec 20, 2005)

Awesome panoramas!


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## harsh1802 (Apr 17, 2006)

Fantastic pics there Jai!

Never new it was that big!


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## carfentanyl (May 14, 2003)

I've visited Honolulu 3 times, 2002, 2004 and 2006 and I love it there. It's together with NYC my favorite American city. 

Beautiful pictures too! kay:


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

I'll try to upload some more pics this weekend

Meanwhile, heres' one from Tantalus Peak:


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## MDguy (Dec 16, 2006)

Awesome photos! Honolulu's a gem!


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## harsh1802 (Apr 17, 2006)

Wow Jai.....you surely got an eye for nice shots and a damn good camera.

Fantastic!


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## icracked (Feb 15, 2007)

How many megapixels your camera has? Brilliant quality.


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## Munichpictures1970 (Aug 2, 2007)

Hi Jay, great pics, thx for sharing


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## Delirium (Oct 8, 2005)

nice! kay: :yes:

think you could get some street scenes in there too? Honolulu to me is a curious beast!


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

icracked said:


> How many megapixels your camera has? Brilliant quality.


10.2 megapixel Pentax K10D  I've saved for years to buy a camera like this


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## Ursyn (Jun 20, 2003)

WOW, I haven't known that Honolulu has such a tall buildings.


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## harsh1802 (Apr 17, 2006)

Hmmm...waiting for more!


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## Universal Soulja (Mar 16, 2007)

Nice, never been


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## harsh1802 (Apr 17, 2006)

harsh1802 said:


> Hmmm...waiting for more!


Still waiting.........:sly:


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## Nijal (Mar 8, 2007)

Amazing! It doesn't look like an American city!

How many inhabitants in Honolulu?


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Hi folks,

Sorry for the looong delay for the update -- I've been so crazy busy this past month that I haven't been able to get out and take pics until now. These are all taken in the last couple days.


Skyline over Keehi Lagoon, from Honolulu airport's reef runway:




















Skyline from Sand Island:




















Hongpa Hongwanji Buddhist temple on the Pali Highway, notable for being inspired by Deccan East Indian Buddhist architectural style:










Ward Center and Condos:



















Waikiki towards Diamond Head crater:




















My favorite Honolulu building again, Waikiki Landmark:




















Condos at Ala Moana:










Century Center:










Sunset facing Tantalus Peak:










Condos near the Royal Mausoleum in the foreground, Aiea skyline in background:











Now to 450-acre Ford Island, located within Pearl Harbor naval base...

Here's an angle the tourists won't see -- the USS Arizona Memorial from Ford Island, dedicated to those the over 2,300 servicemen and women who perished during the Dec 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During the attack, the eight battleships were moored to the white mooring berths off Ford Island comprising the infamous 'Battleship Row.' From this angle, you can see the berths of both the USS Arizona and the USS Nevada in the background-left.









Struck by two bombs which ignited the ammunition magazines of the ship, the battleship USS Arizona exploded and went down with nearly all hands. The USS Nevada, though struck several times by torpedoes, managed to get underway and was beached near Hospital Point.









I am not an emotional person, but as I took these photos I remembered that nearly 2,000 Soldiers died virtually in front of me, and that their bodies and those of my fellow Shipmates and Marines past washed upon the rocky shore that I was standing on. I am not one to cry, but the reason the pic is blurry is because I couldn't focus the camera clearly with a tear in my eye.


To the aft of the Arizona Memorial, at the site where the battleships USS Maryland and USS Oklahoma were moored, is permanently docked USS Missouri, eternally standing watch over the graves of those who perished in the attack:









The USS Missouri was the site of the Japanese surrender that ended WW2. Her being permanently moored next to the USS Arizona, where the Pacific War started, makes for juxtaposition that is both somber and inspirational at the same time. She was decommed in 1992 and struck from the Naval Registry in 1995. She now is a museum ship. 









I chose to photograph the memorials at when I feel are they are at their most poignant -- at night, when the tourists are all gone and it is totally silent, save for your own thoughts and prayers for the fallen.


The control tower on Ford Island's Luke Field, where the first radio broadcast of the attack on Pearl Harbor was made, still bearing bullet holes from strafing Japanese aircraft. The tower was built in 1941, and has been seen in movies about the attack like _Tora Tora Tora _and _Pearl Harbor_. It is located adjacent to Hangar 37, now the Pacific Aerospace Museum. The Museum plans to restore the tower and open it to the public:










Located on the other side of the island, off limits to civilians and tourists, is another powerful memorial of the Pearl Harbor attack, the USS Utah memorial. On Dec 7, 1941, the battleship USS Utah was struck by a Japanese torpedo during colors (the raising of the flag) and overturned. Most of her crew made it to shore, but upon hearing tapping sounds from the overturned hull, returned to the ship. In a heroic rescue, ignoring the strafing Japanese aircraft, work parties managed to cut into the hull and rescue three men from certain death. After the attack, the hull of the ship was moved slightly closer to Ford Island in an effort to clear the channel.

Today the ship lies virtually unaltered from the attack, partially submerged and rusting, with 58 men still entombed in her hull. A memorial was erected in 1972 to honor those who died. 










Well, that's all for this update... I'll add more pictures when I have the chance. Thanks for all of your kind comments! 

Cheers,
Jai


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Nijal said:


> How many inhabitants in Honolulu?


About 370,000 in the city alone (plus God knows how many thousands of tourists at any one moment), but close to 1 million people in the metro area that stretches along Oahu's southern to windward coasts from the suburbs of 'Ewa to Kane'ohe


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## harsh1802 (Apr 17, 2006)

Excellent Jai!

Cool pics there!


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## GaryinSydney (Aug 4, 2004)

Brilliant pics again Jai! My first ever shots of the Ward Warehouse area -am planning to visit there his Sept on my second visit to HI, as only did Ala Moana last trip.


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## icracked (Feb 15, 2007)

Jai said:


> About 370,000 in the city alone (plus God knows how many thousands of tourists at any one moment), but close to 1 million people in the metro area that stretches along Oahu's southern to windward coasts from the suburbs of 'Ewa to Kane'ohe


My economic professor at the University of Hawaii says on average, there's 30,000-200,000 tourist in Honolulu at any given moment.


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## Erik91 (Dec 4, 2006)

This city looks like a paradise on water...


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Hi guys, here's a long-promised update:


This first pano is long, but so is Honolulu's skyline  From Waikiki at left (see pano on the first page for a view of this at night) to Ala Moana and Maikiki in the center, and Downtown on the right:









Fore turret of USS Arizona:



























Downtown skyline









Punchbowl Crater and National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific









USS Arizona memorial


















USS Bowfin


















Manoa Valley 









Not Honolulu, but nearby where I live 










Cheers,
Jai


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## harsh1802 (Apr 17, 2006)

Fantastic shots again Jai!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Ursyn said:


> WOW, I haven't known that Honolulu has such a tall buildings.


Today, all cities has tall buildings, especially city which belong to U.S.

By the way, nice pics :cheers: Thanks!


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## Max Power (Nov 3, 2006)

Hey Jai, tremendous pics of my dream destination. Now, I have a hunch that you are of Indian descent. If you are, how many Indians live in Honolulu? I've read numbers of around 1,500. I'm sure a resident could provide better numbers though. Thanks.

I also have another question. I looked at Google Earth and was trying to locate Pearl Harbor relative to Honolulu International Airport. Now, I've been to the airport but when I was a lot younger. Still, is Pearl Harbor across the bay from HIL as a photo on Google Earth suggests or are they on opposite ends of the same piece of land?


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## JuanPaulo (Feb 26, 2004)

Beautiful pics Jai! I specially like the oano from punchbowl and the one taken form Aiea. This last one is a very interesting angle....never saw it before. 

What kind of camera do you have? I have and EOS rebel. Its a few years old but works out good for me. I have been looking into getting a new lens.

Anyhow, check out my pics at http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=593647

Aloha!


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## JuanPaulo (Feb 26, 2004)

Max Power said:


> I also have another question. I looked at Google Earth and was trying to locate Pearl Harbor relative to Honolulu International Airport. Now, I've been to the airport but when I was a lot younger. Still, is Pearl Harbor across the bay from HIL as a photo on Google Earth suggests or are they on opposite ends of the same piece of land?


The harbor facilities themselves are almost all around all lochs of the harbor....although most of them are concentrated on the east loch. The HNL airport is on the coastline, just east of the harbor inlet. One of two main runways are built on a man-made reef island that protudes out from the coastiline. Due to the quality of the runway and the almost year-round good weather, HNL is designated as the first alternate emergency landing spot for NASA's space shuttles.


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## legumbre (Feb 1, 2007)

amazing pictures of an incredible place! the light is different.


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks guys 



Max Power said:


> Hey Jai, tremendous pics of my dream destination. Now, I have a hunch that you are of Indian descent. If you are, how many Indians live in Honolulu? I've read numbers of around 1,500. I'm sure a resident could provide better numbers though.


Yes I am. An Indian-American of both West-Indian-origin-East-Indian and East-Indian origin (parents came from Trinidad and India )

Wow, I'd be surprised if there were that many. From my experience here and where I live, I hardly ever see any, I wouldn't put it at more than a hundred families max. I've also run into students at the universities here as well as tourists. My rule of thumb is, you can usually tell how many Indians there are in a place by how quickly a temple goes up. 

There are three temples in Hawai'i, the biggest is the *Himalayan Academy* monastery on the island of Kaua'i, but on O'ahu, there's no traditional Hindu temple -- just an ISKCON temple in Honolulu and in the town Wahiawa, in the north-central part of the island, there's an extraordinary temple built around what Hawai'ians revere as Healing Stones, and Hindus as Shivalingams. After some initial mutual confusion, both sides have since learned about and subsequently encouraged each other's rites. And in an awesome example of both religious harmony and the strikingly similar concepts Hawai'ian 'Aloha' and Hindu 'Namaste' spirit, the site is now jointly worshiped by both groups in their own ways. Even in the Kaua'i temple, Hindu monks and Hawai'ian priests hold 'fusion' religous ceremonies, celebrating a common inter-faith outlook.

I'll try to take some pictures of the site this weekend 



> I also have another question. I looked at Google Earth and was trying to locate Pearl Harbor relative to Honolulu International Airport. Now, I've been to the airport but when I was a lot younger. Still, is Pearl Harbor across the bay from HIL as a photo on Google Earth suggests or are they on opposite ends of the same piece of land?


JuanPaulo, explained it pretty well -- the HNL airport and Hickam Air Force Base can be viewed as seperating Pearl Harbor from Honolulu. I labeled it all on the downtown skyline picture I took:








^ The runway and Hickam AFB is in the center, background of the picture. The water you can kind of see behind both of those is the entrance to Pearl Harbor, which opens up to the right of the field of view. You can see part of Naval Station Pearl Harbor, but the Ford Island andUSS Arizona memorial are too far to the right of the image to be seen.

To help visualize what I mean, the direction that the picture was taken and field of view is shown on this map. 












JuanPaulo said:


> Beautiful pics Jai! I specially like the oano from punchbowl and the one taken form Aiea. This last one is a very interesting angle....never saw it before.
> 
> What kind of camera do you have? I have and EOS rebel. Its a few years old but works out good for me. I have been looking into getting a new lens.


JuanPaulo, those are awesome pics man! Really unique angles on all of them. I just bought a Pentax K10D. I wonder how many Hawai'i members we have on here? There seem to be quite a few!

Cheers
Jai


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## Max Power (Nov 3, 2006)

Top job, Jai, mate. Really informative and look forward to your next batch! Lol...if you ever miss Indians, head on over to Toronto where we got a whole 200,000+ of them. Man, I would love to move to Honolulu after I graduate but the housing prices are obscene, aren't they?  According to findyourspot.com, average price is $786,000, sigh.


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## Bentown (Jan 29, 2007)

Just fall in love with Hawaii......Coooooool place in Pacific ocean.


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## GoDubai! (Jun 9, 2005)

Great photos, Jai. Would I be right in thinking that you are enhancing the contrast a bit, to bring out the more vivid colors? I have to say, however, that this is accurate to the reality of what one experiences in Hawaii. The most vivid colors and beautiful contrasts anywhere on earth.


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks guys 

I've been insanely busy lately and haven't had time to post photos that have been just sitting in my memory card for the last couple weeks. Will try to do so this week!



Max Power said:


> Top job, Jai, mate. Really informative and look forward to your next batch! Lol...if you ever miss Indians, head on over to Toronto where we got a whole 200,000+ of them. Man, I would love to move to Honolulu after I graduate but the housing prices are obscene, aren't they?  According to findyourspot.com, average price is $786,000, sigh.


Toronto's a fun city. I'm originally from Detroit, so I used to go to Ontario a lot  House prices can get pretty high here, but it depends where you go. In downtown and along the windward coasts and north shore, mainland millionaires are driving locals away through development, and there's a lot of justified resentment about that. 

Re: prices, although not as bad as the mainland, the housing slump has hit here too, so it is a buyers market. Just don't expect to have your property go up in value for several years. According to my research (was planning to invest in a condo) the only places on the island with any chance of appreciation of value is in Mililani (upper middle class) and Ko'olina (ultra-rich tourists) and I'm neither, so am happily renting.



GoDubai! said:


> Great photos, Jai. Would I be right in thinking that you are enhancing the contrast a bit, to bring out the more vivid colors? I have to say, however, that this is accurate to the reality of what one experiences in Hawaii. The most vivid colors and beautiful contrasts anywhere on earth.


For about 1/3 of the pics I used HDR techniques. The rest of the contrasts, etc. were done with exposure and camera setting. I didn't use a photo editing program to enhance the contrast per se, only to create panos, crop photos, and try to optimize the file size without compromising quality. 

Cheers,
Jai


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## Bristol Mike (Aug 5, 2007)

Great shots there, Honolulu looks beautiful, very up to date and modern. I love how green it is and the picture at cloud level on the first page is very interesting indeed!


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## Audiomuse (Dec 20, 2005)

What is there to do for the locals there?

Go to the beach everyday? Life seems so nice there lol


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## bunt_q (Jul 29, 2003)

Jai said:


> Re: prices, although not as bad as the mainland, the housing slump has hit here too, so it is a buyers market. Just don't expect to have your property go up in value for several years. According to my research (was planning to invest in a condo) the only places on the island with any chance of appreciation of value is in Mililani (upper middle class) and Ko'olina (ultra-rich tourists) and I'm neither, so am happily renting.


Jai - how does this leasehold thing work? I am looking at condos there in Honolulu (moving in August from Denver), and everything seems to be leasehole first, ask if you want a fee simple purchase. What is a standard lease term? Seems very strange to me... Also, is everything a 600 sf studio? I can't wait to live in a hotel room! 

If you have job leads, let me know! Legal work, or engineering (municipal/civil) work too... city planning if I have to, but probably doesn't pay well enough to eat!


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## Enzio (Sep 7, 2007)

Magnificent pictures, Honolulu looks like a beautiful city!


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Andrewville said:


> What is there to do for the locals there?
> 
> Go to the beach everyday? Life seems so nice there lol


There's tons of stuff to do here! The beach, of course, is probably the best though 



bunt_q said:


> Jai - how does this leasehold thing work? I am looking at condos there in Honolulu (moving in August from Denver), and everything seems to be leasehole first, ask if you want a fee simple purchase. What is a standard lease term? Seems very strange to me... Also, is everything a 600 sf studio? I can't wait to live in a hotel room!


Well, I'm not that much of a high roller to get involved in leasehold yet  But from what I understand, in a fee simple, you own both the land and the development on the land, whereas in a leasehold you lease the land for a certain term and own the property. At the end of the leasehold, depending on the contract, the development on the land can revert back to the owner of the land, but you're usually looking at decades before that happens, with the idea that at the end of the leasehold, if the original building still exists, its going to come down anyway. Leaseholds can be bought/sold/sublet/etc (I'm probably mixing terms here) at will. It's pretty much just like ownership in allowing you to do what you want except you don't technically own the land.

If you're looking at a short term or medium term investment, I doubt whether a property is a leasehold or ownership will factor. If you're investing in a property that you want to give your kids when they grow up, it may be an issue. 

Me, I don't live/want to live downtown (happy up here in the country!) so I mainly just look at rentals. Terms are usually 1 year, though can be 6 months. There's a lot of 2+ bedroom places downtown, but you gotta have the scrilla. A lot of rooms are literally just hotel rooms converted to rentals (complete with dirty mattresses and free cable tv), but there are some decent places too. Hono is a smallish big city, so if you don't mind not living literally right on the strip in Waikiki, there's a lot of good deals out there, especially in this economy. 

Unless you want to hump a pack and do it fer Uncle Sam, (or work retail, which a lot of my local friends seem to do) I really don't have a whole lot of in the way of other job leads here 


Anyway, here's a photo update! 

Beach!









Canal!










Some pics from the First Hawaiian International Auto Show, not the biggest event, but pretty cool nonetheless. Hopefully this will only get bigger and more popular in the coming years:



























The second floor of the show had a bunch of local auto clubs represented:










And now to switch gears a bit, here is the USS Peleliu coming into Pearl Harbor, with Sailors and Marines manning the rails and rendering side honors to the USS Arizona:









The "Mighty Mo" USS Missouri:









Looking towards the bow of the ship, with the Aiea skyline in the background









Looking down the massive 16" gun turrets. Note the famous tower of former Luke Field on Ford Island, now part of the Pacific Aviation Museum:









A majestic sight -- USS Peleliu and the hospital ship USNS Mercy, which stopped here on its way to Asia to render medical to several developing countries










A hard change of gears again, Aloha stadium, the largest in the Rainbow State during a sunset. The angle of the sun gives the impression of super-high contrast:









The Kukaniloko Birthstones State Monument, one of the first recognized historic sites in Hawaii. It was the birthplace of Ali'i (Chiefs) and was also used as a star chart:




























That's all for now!

Cheers,
Jai


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## mglouis85 (Apr 14, 2008)

very very nice pictures , i loved it , Honolulu looks great , thnx for sharing...:applause::applause: :cheers1:


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## LeMoN-SK (Aug 26, 2007)

:drool:

Incredible...


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## mglouis85 (Apr 14, 2008)

Jai said:


> Hi guys, here's a long-promised update:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


man this picture should go on the urban photo contest..beautiful...


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## Shezan (Jun 21, 2007)

lovely place!


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## binhai (Dec 22, 2006)

Pure beauty. This city is so underrated, it has one of the most stunning skylines anywhere, yet no ones heard of it! Great HDR, Jai!


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## DML2 (Mar 20, 2008)

Too bad that Test Drive Unlimited on Xbox is the closest I've gotten to Hawaii. Oh well, one day


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks for the nice comments guys 



DML2 said:


> Too bad that Test Drive Unlimited on Xbox is the closest I've gotten to Hawaii. Oh well, one day


Dude, its friggin creepy to crash into your friends house on Xbox :lol:


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## sdiep1337 (Jun 26, 2007)

Anymore new pics, Jai? I love this thread and it just makes me yearn to go back already (went this past January).


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks guys, here're a couple more 

I'll start posting new pictures in a bit higher resolution than the previous ones


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

..


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Here's another update 


Bird!









Windward coast, Kaneohe bay









Note 'interstate' highway H-3, the most scenic highway in America









Ko'olau Range










Leeward coast, I finally took my camera to the beach with me 


















The beaches on this side are the best to run on at night, since you get the coolest sunsets









All pics taken in the last couple days 

Cheers, :cheers1:
Jai


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## Mahratta (Feb 18, 2007)

Jai - my God man, these are brilliant! Great use of the HDR technique as well - you're a pro!
I'm sure I've asked this before, but what camera are you using?

Hawaii has some fantastic skies, and you capture every bit of their essence and show them off brilliantly


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks bro.. I use a Pentax K10D


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## Inconfidente (Oct 5, 2006)

Honolulu has the perfect combination between tropical weather and economic development. The result is an urban paradise! I liked the historical comments too!
Thanks por sharing these photos with us, Jai! :cheers:


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Here's another update 

Windward side!









Beach!









Ala Moana!









Waikiki skyline from Magic Island









[cont'd below cause the pano stretched the text formatting...]


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

[...cont'd!]

So I met some chicks vacationing from Australia last week and me and my friends took them on a tour of Honolulu. Cause I had to go to work, only accompanied them to the scenic Nu'uanu Pali overlook and the site of the Old Pali Highway.

Old Pali Highway, now mostly overgrown









Looking toward Kane'ohe town









Looking toward Kapa'a Quarry and Marine Corps Base Hawaii









A view of the new and old Pali highway









One of the cuts in the peaks that the old highway straddles. Last time I was here, that little trickle was a raging torrent that engulfed the highway









Another new Pali Highway moneyshot. The rain can be seen starting to come over the Ko'olau range and highway H-3









Looking back toward the Nu'uanu Pali Tunnels of the new Pali Highway









The rain really started coming down at this point and I had to stow my camera for the rest of the hike. We ended up going down up under the new highway and followed the old Pali alignment and up the steps to the Likelike. By this point our Australian companions were pretty wet and miserable, so we didn't go further 

Cheers,
Jai


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## India101 (Jul 22, 2008)

wow!Great pics Jai


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

It really is a Paradise, isn't it? I'd love to visit it some day, but it is a very, very long flight from where I live.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great pics - real paradise :applause: :cheers:


Jai said:


> Here's another update
> Bird!


Cute


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

I was visiting my friend in *Makakilo* over the weekend. Managed to take some snaps of the sunrise over Honolulu...

Sunrise over distant Honolulu... note the destroyer steaming into Pearl Harbor. Sorry about the graniness... didn't have a tripod so I had to lean very still against a tree. I do like how the colors turned out from the exposure, though!









A view of the beautiful town of Kapolei, Oahu's 'Second City', from Pu'u Makakilo









A morning rainstorm coming over the Pali (range.) The towers you see are of Aiea, roughly equidistant between Kapolei/Makakilo on the southwest part of Oahu, and Honolulu on the southeast. The water is the west loch of Pearl Harbor










More pics to come later today or tomorrow 

-Jai


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Sorry for not updating in a long time... whatever little time I've had before has become even less 

This set is a couple weeks old, met up some friends from Kaua'i I knew in Chicago and showed them around O'ahu. They're kama'aina and have been to the mainland, but they've never been to O'ahu before! It was a trip showing them around, and I guess I'll show the photos in that order 

Unfortunately, I only now realized I can't post a lot of the pics cause of my own policy (due to my own irrational fear of the internet) of posting pics of me or friends online... so this will be a spastic photologue 

En route to a friends house in Hawaii Kai, I think around Niu Valley. Here around Maunalua bay on the south shore of Oahu, a thin crust of suburban development pretty much climbs up the snaking valleys from the shore









Famous Hanauma Bay, one of the best places to snorkel on the island. You can spend a/several day/s here but we only had time to make a half day out of snorkeling and kayaking









We then went up Kalanianaole Hwy past Koko head. There're a lot of cool turnoffs to gawk at the lava rock









There's also shrine to the Japanese Buddhist-Shinto protector deity Jizo, erected by Japanese fishermen in the 1930s









One of my friends and my friend the sea









Looking towards Makapu'u and a blowhole 









Looking across Waimanalo Bay









Windward shot









Across the stern of the USS Missouri










I'll post the pano below so I don't break the tables


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Here's that massive pano 

Looking at Kaneohe city and bay from Mokapu, near where H-3 enters MCBH:










I'll post pics of the mini tour of Hawaii Kai soon (for real soon this time!)

Cheers,
Jai


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## StevenW (Sep 12, 2002)

Amazingly beautiful!!!!!!!!!!


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## harsh1802 (Apr 17, 2006)

StevenW said:


> Amazingly beautiful!!!!!!!!!!


I agree.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Absolutely beautiful indeed :cheers: very nice updated pics kay:


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## l'eau (Jul 7, 2008)

impressive:cheers:


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## nouveau.ukiyo (Sep 20, 2007)

Thank you for posting all your pictures, I really appreciate it.


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## thc_stoned (Jul 3, 2006)

amazing pictures, I love hawaii


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks for the nice comments guys  Some more pics...










Hawai'i Kai




































Happy (belated) New Years! 









Cheers,
Jai


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Jai said:


> Hawai'i Kai


Stunning shot Jai :cheers:


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## Michael_23 (Mar 1, 2008)

Kai, you are a lucky guy 

Awsome shots!


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## harsh1802 (Apr 17, 2006)

^^ Kai!???

His name is Jai.


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## icracked (Feb 15, 2007)

great pictures!!!!:cheers:


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## Michael_23 (Mar 1, 2008)

harsh1802 said:


> ^^ Kai!???
> 
> His name is Jai.


Sorry...

*Jai*, you are a lucky guy :banana:


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Sorry Jai  anyway great pics kay:


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## bunt_q (Jul 29, 2003)

Thanks for the updates... looking forward to getting back. Water... mmm... I miss water.


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Michael_23 said:


> Sorry...


Haha, no worries guys 

Anyway, I've realized that my latest updates have been as urban as before.... here's correcting that. All pics taken in and about the Capital District in Honolulu


Looking toward the mauka sky over Iolani Barracks, the headquarters of the erstwhile Royal Guards to Hawai'is former monarchs. The building was moved to this location to make room for the State Capitol building.


















The Majestic Hawai'i State Capitol building, one of the largest and finest examples of what has become known as "Hawai'ian international architecture." The building symbolically represents the Hawai'ian islands, and the reflecting pool, the Pacific Ocean









A regal statue of Queen Liliuokalani, just makai of the building









The pillars of the Capital Building evoke the ubiquitous coconut trees of Hawai'i









ENHANCE









The Eternal Flame, commemorating all those from Hawai'i who served in the United States armed forces. Note how it frames Punchbowl crater and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific located therein










Hope you liked. More to come later... 

Cheers,
Jai


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## xlchris (Jun 23, 2006)

A small version of Miami


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

...continuing my wander around Honolulu's business district, just adjecent to the Capitol district

Century Square tower, the near twin of Century Park tower by Ala Moana













































Aloha, Aloha Tower









'Iolani Palace, the former residence of Hawai'i's monarchs. It is the only royal palace in the United States.









At dusk...









Cheers,
Jai


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## harsh1802 (Apr 17, 2006)

^^ Awesome shots once again.

:cheers:


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Jai said:


>


That tower Jai looks great  i like the design


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## Phanyxx (Mar 2, 2009)

Damn! I love your city... I can't wait to see Honolulu in in 20 - 30 years. There's nowhere to grow but up, so there should be some sweet construction projects on the horizon...


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## icracked (Feb 15, 2007)

beautiful shots!!! Another great set of Honolulu photos:cheers:


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks for all the nice comments guys :cheers1:

A couple random shots of random things




























Cheers,
Jai


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Well... I figure, if you were viewing this thread on a 56k your computer would be dead already.. so....

Wai'anae Range, west from Pearl City. At center bottom is Waiawa H-1/H-2 interchange, left is Waipahu, right is Waikele


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## svache (Jun 18, 2009)

So many breathtaking pictures, can't wait to see more!!

Also, I have to say, with a lot of them, I am really wondering where you were standing while you took them. Like the one above this (I can actually see my house on there lol), don't tell me you went up those towers in Pearl City? 

And actually I wonder about most pictures like that, seems you took a lot of them from a certain height in certain spots but I really wonder where and how you got there lol... it's like a mystery with some pictures lol


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## l'eau (Jul 7, 2008)

no update since april?  i want moaaar.


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## diskojoe (Apr 8, 2009)

so nice. the air looks so clean there. keep the pics coming


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

svache said:


> So many breathtaking pictures, can't wait to see more!!
> 
> Also, I have to say, with a lot of them, I am really wondering where you were standing while you took them. Like the one above this (I can actually see my house on there lol), don't tell me you went up those towers in Pearl City?
> 
> And actually I wonder about most pictures like that, seems you took a lot of them from a certain height in certain spots but I really wonder where and how you got there lol... it's like a mystery with some pictures lol


Haha, yeah, sometimes you gotta do quite a bit of climbing to get the good shots 

And welcome to the forum! The SSC 'Ohana grows!



l'eau said:


> no update since april?  i want moaaar.


Sorry, I've been really busy last couple months to go around taking pictures of the city. Mostly what I've been doing in my free time is hiking, and after the photographic near-tragedy that happened last time (think $1000 camera plummeting 200 yards downhill), I'm _very_ reluctant to bring my camera with me. I may have to buy a cheaper one just for those, but its not as fun to use.

Anyway, here are some more pics! I'll post some more soon, I promise

K-bay thataway ------>









Olomana


















Koko Head and Hawai'i Kai









Kailua









Cheers,
Jai


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

more random stuff


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## eyeonoahu (Jan 20, 2010)

Those are amazing shots Jai, that has inspired me to take some shots.


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

Thanks man

been choke busy lately... but here are a couple recent pics, playin around with the HDR


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## greenice (Sep 9, 2009)

hawaii is beautiful.


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## kalibob32 (Jan 28, 2010)

i dunno, it kinda reminds me of oklahoma city (esp the terrain) 

haha what a gorgeous city - you're truly lucky!


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## Jai (Jan 5, 2003)

choke nautical


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## sidney_jec (Jun 10, 2005)

good lord!!
damn fine pics Jai :cheers:
hope everything is fine over there in Hawaii.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Those photos were really amazing and very nice indeed :cheers:


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## srihas (Sep 21, 2011)

*Iraivan-a temple in Hawaiian islands*

A temple which is being built in south indian style is totally hand carved.interesting it becomes as it is totally carved out of Granite.it is said that temple is manifestation of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami's vision . 
here are some graphical models









and the temple is called san marga iraivan temple located in kauai of hawaiian islands









Carving of the 3,000-plus blocks of granite commenced in 1990 at a worksite in Bangalore, India. Subsequently the stone were shipped to Kauai.









currently the temple is under construction
it would take atleast 5 yrs to complete this project from now.









the main objective of this project is to make this temple stand still for about 1000yrs




































it all started from here...








source:wikipedia
himalayan academy

guys ignore it if it is already posted


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## hellospank25 (Feb 5, 2008)

I like Hawaii because there are no snakes there


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

Nice updates...and nice read too, thanks.


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## capricorn2000 (Nov 30, 2006)

awesome presentation of your city Jai.
This is on my "to visit" list and thanks for sharing these photos.


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## bunt_q (Jul 29, 2003)

Why, oh why, did I ever move back to the mainland...? 

Please, keep them coming when you have time!


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## Student4life (Sep 23, 2011)

Fantastic thread :applause:


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