Solar Eclipse 2012 captured from my back yard. It never got super full here in Hawaii only about 10% but it was still a super cool site.

Island Reflections Photography has a line of  Holiday Cards with a little island flare! Stop by my Hanapepe Studio/Gallery to purchase or you may order directly thru me if your off island.

Pearl & Linen Finish folded greeting cards with blank insides printed on eco friendly papers printed with soy-based inks. Custom writing available.

$3.50 each

$12.50 for set of 5

$45.00 set of 25

***IRP logo for image protection only, does not appear on cards

On my way home from a session with an adorable family….whom I will post soon!!!   I was driving down the longest straight  stretch of road on Kauai, the Mana Stretch. I was taking in the view and enjoying the silence in my car….which is usually filled with screaming little children!  I was so excited to spot this Pueo, Hawaiian Owl, sitting on the telephone wires.  Since I was alone, without busy kids in my car…I pulled over just to watch the predator stalk it’s pray, possibly a little mouse in the brush.

Sometimes in life we need to slow down and just take in the things we might not have noticed if we were rushing thru this rat race we call life! Enjoy the simple things, enjoy little gifts which pop up all around us and look onto them as a source of inspiration.

As this pueo spotted me, it flew off…souring into the sunset….spreading his wings to fly!  Perhaps so it too could be alone with the stillness and silence of our natural world which we all share! How ever you may find your inspiration….it’s there to be found!!

Hawaiian Monk seals can often be seen on our beaches here in Kauai. It’s pretty unusual for them to show up on our western beaches out here in Kekaha! This seal was born out in Milolii last year and has been injured and has been frequenting the western side of the islands beaches.  I stumbled upon this guy while doing a family portrait the other night! I called the Monk Seal rescue right away, here in Kauai it consists of one lady

To all our visitors please let our sleeping monk seals rest. They are wild animals and can bite! They need to rest to digest their food so they can swim fast enough to escape predators such as sharks. Enoy them from a distance, use a telephoto lens while taking pictures and let them have their space! Aloha

What is Girl’s Day!?

Well I asked myself the same question my first year living in Hawaii.  I have learned a lot about the custom in my time here and have been to friends homes for Girl’s Day celebrations where the families set up the most beautiful altars of amazing handcrafted wooden dolls, drank sake, ate arare and yummy mochi and simply celebrated their girls.  The custom derived from Japan and the custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period.  Girl’s Day traces its origins to an ancient Japanese custom called hina-nagashi.

Although I am not Japanese, and I have yet to get my daughter an actual Japanese wooden doll, they tend to be very pricy, we usually observe the custom by having a Girl’s Day of our own

So no matter where you’re from or what nationality you are, give your girl a big hug today and let her know you celebrate her!

Happy Girl’s Day!

It’s amazing to me sometimes that such natural beauty still exists! I feel so lucky in my life to have spent my days in such beautiful places. To have grown up in one of the most competition rich cities full of culture and inspiration, to have been able to travel to some of the most astounding landscapes and now to have my abode in one of the worlds most beautiful islands.  In a modern world so polluted with greed, man-made toxins and structures, to me I find peace and inspiration amongst nature, its silence, its colors and its beauty.

These two handsome boys were the first Schmidt grandkids!  My how time flies and how they have grown.  These guys had me laughing the whole time photographing them, from the funny faces, silly poses and wrestling matches we had a ball till the sun set! They didn’t hold anything back!!  That’s what is fun about photographing family Noah, the handsome older one, was out for his modeling debut and having a ball posing for the camera…he liked this so much I think he may have a promising career in modeling…when he becomes a famous tennis player, I better have the honor to photograph him for a magazine  Christian, was fun loving and silly, with his striking blue eyes he’s bound to win the hearts of many.  There is nothing like family to make your heart happy and your smile bright!  Family inspires me!

My daughter and I were hiking out by our property one afternoon when she stopped and stared at the formation of mushrooms along a log. “MOM, LOOK!  It’s a hotel for fairies!”  Her imagination and innocence inspires me daily!