Hawaiian Airlines - Flying is a way of life

We were fortunate to work on a TV commercial for Hawaiian Airlines recently.  It was an interesting project - still photos to create a collage with motion animation.  Laird Christianson Advertising called us in, along with 3 top notch Hawaii photographers (Tony Novak-Clifford, Alex Viarnes, and Rae Huo). Their idea was to come up with some basic concepts, then send us out on our own to capture the themes of "Flying" and "Hello and Goodbye."


The "Hello and Goodbye" commercial first aired during the 2011 Merrie Monarch Festival, and featured two of our photos (you can see them below the video link):

 Kyoko (Tor Johnson Photography business manager) gets some love from the dogs when she gets home

The idea here is the tradition of throwing a lei into the sea in hopes that you will return, or to honor a loved one who has passed away.

The "Way of Life" commercial had the theme of Flying, and it featured several of Tor's photos (shown below video). We had fun with this one, as we got to shoot what we enjoy most - ocean activities, including tandem surfing with longboard champion Duane Desoto and his daughter.

There's a great 3-shot sequence of Kyoko swimming in Waimea Bay

Hawaiian canoe sailing in Kaneohe Bay

Melissa on the iako of the Hawaiian canoe in Kaneohe Bay

North Shore ripper Ryan Shanley doing a floater at Val's Reef

World Longboard Champ Duane Desoto tandem surfing with his daughter in Waikiki

Duane holding his daughter in the air

Nelson Yerxa sand sliding into the shorebreak on his boogie board

Of course there were a lot of images that didn't get used. Below are some of our favorites:

Ryan Shanley getting air at Val's Reef

Coleman swinging Mila in the air

Manae Yerxa riding the shorebreak on a blow-up killer whale (it's not as easy as it looks!)

Skateboarder getting air at the Ehukai skatepark

Coleman swinging Mila in the air again

Honu looking graceful

Manae and Nelson Yerxa riding the shorebreak at Ali'i Beach Park

Over and Under

Above: Downwind spinnaker sailing off of Viti Levu, Fiji

We recently purchased an "over-and-under" port for our water housing from Taro Pascual of Water Housing Hawaii.  Tor had already done a considerable amount of underwater photography, but over-and-under photography was a whole new challenge.  For one thing, the port is unwieldy, as seen in the photo below:

Above: Tor getting ready to jump in the water with his over-and-under water housing.

In addition to the port being large and heavy, its curved surface does not allow water to bead off of it very easily.  This requires a photographer to lick (yes, lick!) the entire surface of the dome to facilitate the water-beading process. Then there are the usual challenges that accompany water housings, such as fogging of the lens from condensation, and having to dunk the housing repeatedly into the water to avoid water spots.

Above: Snorkeling off of Namotu Island, Fiji

Above: Anchoring near Qamea Island, Fiji

After capturing some standard over-and-under subject matter such as snorkeling and the boat at anchor, Tor decided to shoot his 47-foot sailboat Kahea under full sail.  In order to get the shot, crew members Nick and Kyoko sailed the boat while Tor motored several hundred feet ahead on a dinghy.  He then jumped into the water and got his camera and housing ready, as Nick and Kyoko steered the boat toward Tor.

Above: Yacht Kahea sailing at a speed of several knots! 

Because the water level is constantly going up and down, it isn't easy to get the right composition when using an over-and-under port. With his boundless energy, Tor jumped back in the dinghy and repeated the process over and over again until he was satisfied that he got at least one good shot. Check out the video below to see how Tor got the sailing shots:

Above: Video clip of Tor blasting ahead on the dinghy to get the sailing shot.

Above: Our trustworthy Canon 5D Mark II and water housing.

Above: Yacht Kahea under full sail

Taking the Plunge

Robin and Reena are great friends of ours. They have a lot of enthusiasm and positive energy so we thought this would be a perfect way to shoot them, in celebration of their marriage. "Jump Rock" at Waimea Bay has long been a favorite place for local kids to do a bit of "thrill seeking." I'd shot the local kids jumping there before, and the images I liked the most showed the entire bay and the beach, with that amazing aquamarine water, so for this shoot I decided on that same angle.

Below: Tor shooting the couple jumping off, as curious locals check out the scene.

In the last few days I'd noticed there weren't many kids jumping, and when we arrived I discovered the reason: big swells had undermined the sand, so that just getting to the rock required a swim and a rock-climb, all of which had to be timed between waves. Luckily I brought a waterproof backpack for my camera (Patagonia makes an incredible one). Reena had quite an experience, getting pulled slightly out to sea in her wedding dress while trying to reach the rock. She handled it perfectly though.

When the couple jumped, I was surprised to hear the beach full of people erupt into applause and shouts of approval. Many people had their cameras out for the big event. They must have thought that this was their actual marriage ceremony. On the second and third jumps the applause dwindled considerably.

For Robin, Reena, Kyoko (my wife and business manager) and myself it was great fun. This is one of the best things about wedding photography - sharing the joy of one of the happiest times in life with true friends.

Naturally

What is it about plumerias? They are just the most beautiful flowers. I never seem to get tired of shooting them in all sorts of surroundings. Recently I've been floating them in water and experimenting with shooting them in a well lit area with lots of windows.



The green leaves here are the new banana leaves, which emerge furled perfectly into a tube. They unroll within a day, and I even notice that they change shape while shooting them. The lighting is a bit of a trick- it's a remote flash at the base of the leaf.

Night in Waikiki

I recently did a shoot for my close friend, surfboard shaper Matt Yerxa, in Waikiki, with one of his team riders, Japanese pro surfer Shuji Kasuya. This kind of shoot can be a lot of fun because there isn't a lot of pressure, and I am free to experiment with different camera settings and angles, without worrying about results all the time - just play around and see what happens. The first shots are Shuji in Waikiki. I was using a slow shutter speeds to blur the lights.


Zooming the lens with the shutter open made some interesting light trails, as did spinning the camera. The flash kept Shuji acceptably sharp. At one point a tourist trolley swept past just at the right time, making an interesting blur. There's a street performer all dressed in gold in the background of many of the shots - a free extra.



We also did some cool night shots with a camera mounted on our Mini Cooper. I got a new camera support called a Bogen Magic Arm ($200 at Lighthaus Camera) and clamped it to the surfboard racks. I triggered the camera from the passenger side with a wired remote, and had a hand held flash inside triggered by a Pocket Wizard radio trigger.


This was a lot of fun, even though Matt was a bit nervous about pulling in to the famous strip club "Femme Nu" with his boards and a camera rigged on top of the Mini. I think it turned out to be one of the best images because of all the neon. The bouncers didn't even seem to notice us, which was a good thing.

Island Style Hale

There is something about John Cruz's music that I've always loved. His song "Island Style" talks of Hawaii in terms of family, food, and friends with the obvious warmth and love of a local boy for his home. I'd seen images of John performing. He seemed different somehow, with long hair and a style that seemed almost as though he'd completely forgotten there was an audience.


Kyoko and I picked out "Island Style" as the soundtrack for our blog entry on the making of a shoot we had done with a wedding couple, fully dressed in wedding attire, tandem surfing. (View the blog entry here.) Kyoko called John's manager Leslie to ask if John might be interested in trading the use of his music for some photography, and that's how we ended up meeting an absolute gem of a man. John came to our house for a photo shoot, walked in, politely said hello, and walked right out again, straight to the beach, where he started fly fishing. He seemed to have forgotten all about the shoot. I sensed that he just needed to do that, to have some space. I liked that. It seemed honest.

Above: Tor gets down on the hale floor...see resulting image below.

I'd been working for over a week to complete a small hale in the naupaka bush fronting the beach at my house. My friend Daniel found some ironwood posts, and we used local or recycled woods where we could, lashing them together with manila hemp rope. We thatched the roof with palm fronds, on the morning of the shoot with John. I knew John was not a showboat, and asking him to pose for something contrived would be almost disrespectful. John turned out to have a wonderfully expressive face with great character, and all I had to do was to be ready with the camera. He played amazing music, with a warm, positive energy. It felt like a blessing for the new hale.

Visit John Cruz's website.

Pele's White Dog

There's a legend about Madam Pele, goddess of the volcano, and her white dog. It is said that the white dog appears in the lava fields right before an eruption. Some say that the dog is Pele herself warning the islanders of the approaching danger.

I was recently on the Big Island shooting lava at the Waikupanaha Ocean Entry site. It's an incredible place where the elements meet and where you can witness the creation of an island. My friend Brad Lewis, an accomplished volcano photographer, talks about the earth being a living being. The common saying "solid as a rock" doesn't really apply here.


After experiencing forces of nature of such awesome power, I was quietly hiking out of the area when I saw a white dog standing in a field of black lava. I took several photos, thinking of my friend Richard Drake, who had told me about the legend of the white dog. It wasn't until I looked at the photos on my computer that I noticed the interesting and strange expression on the dog's face. I'm the least superstitious person I know, but there was something about that dog...

Today is Thanksgiving, and I probably have Pele to thank for getting me back from the lava fields safely.