I wasn’t even supposed to be staying in Hawai’i this month, and I still can’t believe how this time last year, I was in Singapore and Bali, shooting photos and working on a short documentary. That experience gave me the travel bug and kick-started off into a great 2011, and this first month of 2012 is definitely going to be leading into some exciting times ahead.

I was supposed to be back in Orange County, slaving away for a month to get 3 credits in some mundane general education class that would count towards me completing my college degree. I still “earned” 3 credits this month but instead of sitting in a classroom for 5 hours a day, 4x a week, and studying useless information which would slip through my head faster than that dodgy taco you at at that hole-in-the-wall that at gave you food poisoning, I got approved for an independent study course to team up with four documentary production classmates from Chapman to help them shoot a short doco on a freediver / underwater photographer (sea life) based out of Kona, my hometown. It was such a blast, trekking around the West shores of the Big Island to help shoot this doco, and was obviously heaps of fun to have friends to “tour” around my favourite spots on the island.

During this month, I also teamed up with Alison Teal and some other girls to shoot underwater and lifestyle photos for Odina, a sweet line of eco bikinis which made of plastic bottles and other recycled materials. We were blessed with a week of decent swell in Kona and some vog-free days that cleared up the view of Mt. Hualalai, making for some perfect photo opportunities.

And talk about last-minute: The last Friday of the month, I was scheduled to depart to Orange County but instead was flown to San Francisco on a day’s notice to help shoot and edit some video blog content at the Macworld conference for Melbourne Geek, an Australian online tech and review blog site run by my friend, Josh Janssen, who I met back in September while visiting in the city. Also got to re-connect with my hyper-talented friend from Kona, Eda.

Now back in Orange County, I’m stoked to be living a street across from my favourite OC surf beach, and getting ready to work on a project that’s going to be taking me out of the country again in March.

Hello sunshine! Fun UW session with Alison, Donica, & Abe. This past month I think I’ve forgotten how to take a “normal” land photo.

A cloudy, glassy morning in some dying swell.

Sometimes 1 shot makes an entire session worth it.

Swell this past week has been great … and in the company of fun locals, it makes the whole experience heaps more fun.

Two mornings at Banyans with Kahanu Delovio, a 14-year old Kona girl who rips.

An early morning adventure down to Waipio Valley.  Wave size, glassy conditions and swell direction were a sweet, pre-sunrise surprise, but absolutely impractical to shoot in the water with the ripping currents and overhead, picture-perfect barrels breaking over 5ft of water and sand.
A barefoot adventure to the back-valley waterfalls!  Such a surreal place.

Best acai bowls ever @ Basik Acai in downtown Kailua-Kona.   This is their Islander Bowl with kiwi and bee pollen.

A late afternoon session at Pine Trees with the lovely Alison Teal!

Sunset magic at Kua Bay.

Mike, finally married.

Morning session at Pine Trees with Tina.

Camping in front of the rock at Pine Trees for New Years! 2011 was a blast.

Morning photosession with Asa and her family.

Two of my favourite people are finally engaged! I’ve been blessed to get to know and spend time with these two over the past 3 years and am excited for what’s in store for them!

Photos for Jordans’ shell jewelry and some of Oli, her irresistibly cute son.