Duggins Family Portraits

June 29, 2021 | Pu’u Ualakaa State Park

James, Tasha and I went to the same Crossfit box (gym) in downtown Honolulu. Last year, we were supposed to do their family shoot but due to Covid-19, there were a lot of restrictions. Plus, Hina had just been born so we decided to wait till she was close to turning a year old.

Initially the shoot was supposed to be in the Kaka’ako area where we could use the artwork on the buildings as their backdrops. They had a lot of favorite artwork they wanted to use but due to the amount of time we had, we didn’t think there would be enough time before the sun went down. So we opted for the park.

The last time I saw Sunny (their first child), she was maybe 2 years old. Now 4 years old, she’s still that energetic, funny, spunky girl. Plus, she grew a little taller. But it was my first time meeting her younger sister, Hina, who is also sooo CUTE!!! She wore a Korean dress (Hanbok) in celebrating her first birthday.

James is such a character and made the shoot fun and interesting. Just from this photo shoot, I can tell that he and Tasha are amazing parents to Sunny and Hina. Thank you so much for allowing to capture these special moments for you. Happy birthday, Hina!!!

Desmond and Joan's Family Portraits

July 5, 2021 | Pu’u Ualaka’a State Park

The last time I took pictures for my brother (from another mother) was the day he and his soulmate, Joan, got married. This time, he asked me to do this family pictures, which they held off for a while. We went to Pu’u Ualaka’a State Park because they wanted something with a forest feel rather than the beach. It was a bit windy and by the end of the session, it started to drizzle. And if you know me, I love it when it starts to rain. You get a different look to the photos. Thank you Des and Joan!

Hawaii family portraits.

June 1, 2021 | North Shore, O’ahu, Hawai’i

On the day of the session, driving out to the north shore on O’ahu, I had several locations in mind to do this family shoot for Dina, Andrew and the girls. We checked one of the locations and as I suspected, it was already crowded when we arrived. So, I had them follow me to another spot and we had the entire place to ourselves till the sun went down. It was worth going to this location for sure!

Simple Hawaii Wedding ~ Kylie + Kyle

On May 10, 2021, Kylie and Kyle’s Hawaii wedding took place at the Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens. Kylie and Kyle are one of those couples who are always happy and just laughing at any and everything (As you will see in their photos). It was a small wedding ceremony at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens. Their background was the lush, green, majestic Ko’olau mountain range, which is an incredible landscape for wedding photography. The ceremony was short and simple, performed by Kyle’s friend, Aaron. In attendance were just Kylie and Kyle’s parents and Kylie’s grandparents. Did I mention they’ll laugh at anything? Well, during their couple’s photo session, they could not spend 5 seconds looking at each other without bursting into a series of laughter. But we did manage to get a few romantic photos, YAY!!! Thank you so much Kylie and Kyle for having my company create your lifelong memories for you. Congratulations to you both!

Wedding planner: Best Day Ever Hawaii Venue: Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens Florist: Jeff Alencastre

Note: Vendors in attendance wore masks at all times to protect those around us.

Surprise proposal in Hawaii.

February 8, 2021 | Magic Island, Ala Moana Beach Park, O’ahu, Hawai’i

Brooke could not believe that she was being proposed to by her boyfriend (now fiance), Preston, because he was supposed to be in California.  Brooke’s dad and I used be co-workers and one week before the secret proposal, he asked if I could photograph this special event?  We discussed how things were going to transpire and almost all of Brooke’s family members were involved in one way or another.  The proposal took place in Magic Island at Ala Moana beach park in Honolulu, Hawaii, just a couple of miles west of Waikiki, and the iconic Diamond Head was their backdrop.  When Preston dropped to one knee and started to propose to, Brooke, she was in shock and didn’t know what was happening?  She soon realized that he was proposing to her she said, YES!  Brooke’s family came out of the woodworks to congratulate them and as soon as we were to take some family pictures, it started to rain.  Brooke’s dad made some signs for them and her sister, Bree, was going to set up a nice picnic setting for photographs.  It got dark pretty fast so we decided to complete their session on the next day.  Bree could finally set up the picnic setting and also show their fathers amazing wooden signs.  Brooke and Preston will be getting married in March of 2022 and I’m so honored to be there to photograph their big day.  Congratulations you two!!!