More Hawaii Pics - last ones!

Here are a last few Hawaii pics as promised to some of you who asked for them. So sorry for the LONG hiatus as well. I've been traveling like a crazy woman for work, and a little for fun too! Now that the weather is fab and my bags are unpacked until 2011, I promise to post new photo updates so stay tuned!

my sweet hubby!

ahh the Kuaui beach - I so miss it!

A sweet dad and his little boy taking a walk at sunset

our heli ride

me

Ryan

Hawaii - Part II

Without further ado, below are some photos from Hawaii. My beginner photog skills couldn't come close to capturing the beauty of the two amazing islands we visited (Kauai and Maui), but hope you can use a little imagination to envision this paradise of a place. This is a random collection of photos from our different activities, places we visited and hotels (which were AMAZING). There are still so many more photos to edit, so stay tuned for more.

Welcome Kauai.

We were lucky enough to land at Lihue Airport and make the 40-minute drive to Princeville as the sun set. What a breathtaking drive through winding roads, cliffs and the most curious assortment of plants, trees and flowers. Because it receives a great deal of rain, Kauai is able to sustain many different kinds of plants. Below are a few snapshots of our drive to Princeville.

These Aspen-like trees stand tall against the blue sky and are complimented by many, many other kinds of beautiful tall trees.

Welcome to Princeville!! What a perfect welcoming into Princeville, a semi-private collection of homes and resorts.

One of the best and worst parts of traveling West is jet lag will get the best of you at night, but it lends for some bright and early mornings leaving plenty of time for fun adventures, activities or pool-side drinking (yes please!). I did a sunrise photo shoot the first morning which was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Makai Golf Course

Just a few random pics from my big day riding in a golf cart. Who says you can't have fun on a golf course even if you're not golfing. :)

This was a mystical little path that I found intriguing...hey I was riding in a golf cart with nothing to do...wouldn't this seem intriguing to you too? :)

I decided to practice my macro (close up) photography. This was kind of a fun random shot!

And look at these cute little guys! Ducks, geese and chicken roam freely on Kauai.

Welcome to Maui.

My absolute favorite part of Maui was the hotel. The Wailea Four Seasons is AHHmazing. Besides the celeb spotting and delish meals we indulged in, the property is just incredibly relaxing and over the top.

Tiki torches decorate the property and each evening there's a hula torch lighting ceremony. A male and female hula dancer perform a ritual to light the torches. Unfortunately we missed it both nights, but we heard it was definitely worth grabbing a drink at the open-air lobby bar and watching.

The fabulous Four Seasons pool - I just love this place!

Hawaii - Part I

Aloha!! Ha I'm such a nerd. I just couldn't help myself. We just got back from a 10-day vacation in Hawaii. What an AMAZING trip! We visited the islands of Kauai and Maui. Kauai was by far the most breathtaking place I've ever visited. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful place. The island was a combination of giant lush mountains, monstrous orange canyons and brilliant blue-water beaches. It felt like Ireland, Fiji and the Grand Canyon in one INCREDIBLE island.

Each afternoon, momentary rain showers blew in leaving behind the most striking and brilliant rainbows imaginable. It almost felt like you could reach out and touch them. I have to admit, this trip exceeded my expectations in a very weird way! Needless to say, it was a fabulous place to practice my photography skills.

In preparation of our trip, I rented a wide-angle lens from borrowlenses.com. After researching landscape photography and pros and cons between telephoto and wide-angle lenses, I opted for the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. It had impeccable reviews and essentially legendary status in the wide angle category. With a price tag of nearly $2,000, borrowing a lens before you make this kind of purchase is a fabulous idea (not that I could afford this bad boy anyways!). Not to mention, Borrow Lenses made it such a convenient and pleasant experience. I highly recommend lens rental.

The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G Ed AF-S

For the non-photog readers, the wide angle lens aims to provide a larger depth of field than a standard lens (i.e. "kit lens" - the introductory lens that comes with your camera). The larger depth of field means more sharpness and detail you can capture from corner to corner. This is a recommeded lens for landscape photography since you are usually trying to capture every detail in the photo. For instance, if you're taking a beach snapshot you probably want to capture rays of sun, the texture of sand, and the brilliance of the water. Where if you were taking a picture of a person, likely you want the attention to be drawn to the person and not necessarily background details (street lamps, a neighbor in the yard, a dog in a park, a fire hydrant, etc.). Of course there are many different ways to do this, and this is just a very elementary explanation.

Since I’m a newbie, I'm shouldn't be giving photog tips so check out my fave photo resource DPS for great articles on landscape photography. Here is a very basic landscape article: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/photographing-the-perfect-landscape.

Back to the Hawaii trip! I came home with nearly 1,000 photos. One thing about a photography hobby is there is A LOT more to it than just a fun snappy snap papparazzi sounding cam. It's way more difficult than taking photos with a point and shoot (at least for me it is :). It requires me to stop before each photo and think about the light, clouds, colors, focal point, depth of field and so on. Which also means a lot more editing when you get home from your relaxing vacay.

I have a boatload to learn about all this photog funness! So.....you’ll have to come back soon for pics of Hawaii....only so many fun hobby hours in a day. :) Here are just a few teaser snapshots though.

Cliffs overlooking the Na Pali Coast taken from a helicopter ride.

This pic still needs help but I just love the colors

so I wanted to give you a sneak preview.

The Waimea Canyons in Kauai, Hawaii.

I'm making updates to this one to - just a little pre-editing peak!

A few mornings ago we woke up to let our little fur ball out and found the most beautiful, warm sunny morning imaginable. It seemed our happy-go-lucky yellow lab was also enjoying the perfect morning as he dawned his ear-to-ear smile. I just couldn't help myself, so I grabbed my camera to take advantage of such a sweet morning moment.

Here are some pics of our little puppy Wyatt...o.k. well he's not a puppy anymore, but he will always be his mommy's little boy. :) It's tickling to see these curious little animals develop such distinct personalities. Wyatt is quite the curious, gregarious and lovable companion. We can't imagine our lives without him.

While my photography as always still needs improvement, I did learn that natural morning light can lend for the perfect mood when trying to capture intimate, tranquil and natural portraiture shots. Fortunately and unfortunately, I caught these by chance, but I will definitely remember this for all future portrait photo shoots!

Precious Little Sweet "P"

Last weekend Ryan and I participated in the most incredibly special event of the year. We witnessed the sweetest little man ever, Patrick McKittrick Jr., get baptized. What a precious little sweet "P" and a very, very special honor it was to be a part of such a beautiful moment in not only baby Patrick's life, but our dearest friends Sarah (from Bless This Nest) and Patrick Sr. To top of it off, we were also Baby Patrick's godparents. What a fun weekend and event to be a part of!! Being a first-time godparent, it was an incredibly special honor that I will take seriously every day of my life. I will hold Baby Patrick in my prayers always and hope for a wonderful, safe and happy life for him.


Here are some snapshots of the sweetest, most precious little baby ever. Entertainingly enough, at four months old he is the biggest ham in front of the camera - great job mommy Sarah for teaching your little one the bestest lessons ever - always smile and look adorable in your pics. Haha!!

Sweet Baby Patrick at his Baptism.

Ryan, Patrick Sr. and little Patrick.

Ryan adoring his sweet godson. Too precious!

Beautiful mommy Sarah and little PMac.

Patrick Jr. posing with Patrick Sr. What a sweet photo. I love Baby Patrick's

tiny hand grasping onto his daddy.

BEST gift of the day - a "Future President of the United States" t-shirt...too cute!

Look at Sarah's face, she's the cutest thing on this planet.

C’est la vie

With a heavy heart, I want to take this post to honor my late grandfather, Marcelino Borges. On June 18, 2010, he passed away. While very much different than the unepxected loss of Marcel and Zach, it was nevertheless a humbling and heavy experience.

I was lucky enough to make a trip to visit him a few weeks earlier. My grandfather was diagnosed with cancer in February, and after a successful and almost painless chemo treatment, things somehow took a turn for the worst. My amazing husband urged me to visit him, and he even agreed to drop everything and come along with me for a 24-hour trip to NYC.

While we can never expect to be priviledged enough to know when God will take us for himself, it was comforting to feel that my grandfather somehow knew his days were few. While my mother and I briefly stepped out of the hospital room, Ryan left to console my sick grandfather, who whispered in his earshot "C’est la vie. It is my time and I am ready." My grandfather was always a better Spanish speaker than English, but he delighted in tossing his limited French vocabulary into stories and jokes spicing them up with his heavy Cuban accent.

On the day he passed he had been taken home and was in his favorite chair surround by his dearest loved ones, my mom, aunt and cousin Lissette. He motioned the sign of the cross and peacefully closed his eyes.

If I could choose to live a life like anyone, I would choose to live mine like my grandfather's. I will miss him dearly and hope that his generosity, diplomacy, love and respect for all will be remembered always and passed down to our family members who were never able to meet a man who left such immense impressions on so many. Here are some special pics of my grandfather.

Grandpa in his younger days.

Grandpa with my mom and aunt Francis, who we call Tita.

My grandparents and me.

My grandfather, Marcel and me in California.

Me and grandpa in New Jersey.

Me giving grandpa a kiss.

Grandpa, Ryan and I at my cousin Lissette's wedding.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez

As many of you know, "Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez," meaning let the good times roll, is a well-known Cajun phrase celebrating the "joie de vivre" (joy of living) attitude that pervades southern Louisiana. Ryan and I recently ventured to New Orleans (or better known as Nola) to visit my good friend Allison and her hubby Sanders, and attend Jazz Fest.

Ryan and I decided to take the early flight in that Friday morning, so we could have time just the two of us to do touristy things that I can only imagine Al and Sanders get a little tired of with all the visitors they graciously entertain. Upon arrival, Al kindly chauffeured us from the airport to the French Quarter. She and Sanders, along with their precious Jack Russell Harvey, were the best hosts ever. They were incredibly accommodating, entertaining and hospitable, making it such a perfect trip.

When Al dropped us off on Decatur Street, you can take one guess where our first stop was. Yep, Cafe du Monde! I could eat beignets every day of the week (yum I LOVE beignets!).

We walked around the French Quarter and luckily I was able to snap some pics of the cathedral and other fun passerby, art, and eccelctic scenes before it started pouring. Regardless of the torrential downpour, visitors and locals alike continued their Friday afternoon festivites, as did we! We walked around staying as dry as possible and snapping pics of the amazing (and very old) architecture.

I can never get enough of cities like New Orleans where you can look at the 100+ year old buildings and imagine life long ago; so much different than today, but in many ways, very much the same. Ryan and I got married in Charleston and that was one of my favorite parts about the historical city. You can almost find yourself pretending to be a Southern belle with a hoop skirt gown and ringlet curls surrounded by horse-drawn carriages and men with top hats. Haha so much different than the gladiator sandals, skinny jeans and aviator sunglasses I was sporting.

We had such a fabulous time on our trip! Without further ado, here are some of my pics from Nola. My photog skills are still a major work in progress, but it's a fun journey getting there.