Hawaii photographer
www.holladayphoto.com Hawaii Personal Photography by Mark Holladay Lee of Holladay Photo. www.holladayweddings.com
I very seldom write about my wife or my family on this blog, but I think I am one of the luckiest guys in the world to be married to such an amazing woman for over 11 years. I would not be the person I am if It wasn’t for Patria. She inspires me to not only be a better person but a better photographer. Thank you for your love and support. Happy Valentines Day, I love you Patria!
This last weekend I took the family to the Rell Sunn Menehune contest at Makaha on the west side of Oahu. We had an incredible time and saw some amazing surfers. The contest was for kids from 4 to 12, it was crazy to see these kids charge waves that were at lest twice their height. I really love being a surf/ water photographer, during the contest I was able to be in the water with the kids and shoot them up close, I also got a few shots from the beach with my telephoto lens. A big congratulations to Jordan, she got 5th place in her age division, that is a huge accomplishment for how big the waves were that she had to surf. She is in the seventh picture down.
I shot this portrait in Honolulu this last weekend outside with using nothing but a reflector. I love how sometimes the most simple lighting creates some of the most beautiful pictures. As Allen Hopkins put it “F8 and be there”.
I was Inter viewed by a reported from BYU Hawaii’s new paper the Ke Alaka’i. There is a little highlight about Holladay Photo wedding photography, you can see the article online here.
Last weekend some of our friends put on a raging 80’s party, they asked if I could set up a prom like photo booth, and how could I say no with everyone getting decked out. The party rocked with great music, the debut of Spread Eagle, and a lot of crazies from the 80’s. I have put the photos on my Flickr page so ever one at the party can download their prom pics. Click here to view and download. For those new to Flickr here are some brief instructions on how to download your shot. First click on the images you want, then click on “all sizes” above the image, chose the size you want and then hit download. I would love to hear your comments so leave them below.
Another school year starts and so does Halau Nalu, and the kids were all awesome. Especially this blondie, and yes I am allowed to say that because he is only 3, and he rips and he is my boy. I love doing surf photography for Halau Nalu, the kids are so energetic, talented and fun to shoot.
Someone forgot to bring their board shorts to the wedding, at least I remembered the underwater housing for my camera. Wedding pictures of the bride and groom from this shoot coming soon.
So I took May and part of June off to work on remodeling our house we just bought. My wife just did a before and after post on her blog, you can check it out here. This was a fun project, the first time I have ever done anything like this. I will be excited once I finish building a new studio on the back. Here is a before and after, it’s still not painted and there is still a lot to do. Yes- that is a slide coming off the porch for the kids.
I will be in New York City and Delaware between April 30th to May 6th. I do have a couple of families who I will be photographing while I am there. If you are interested in an artistic lifestyle photography shoot, send me an e-mail at [email protected] or call me at 808.450.2316 to book a time.
I finally got my film processed from the “Film Is Not Dead” workshop that I attended last November. The work shop was hosted by film photographer Jonathan Canlas. He is a destination wedding photographer based in Utah. The work shop was 4 days and was located in Laie Hawaii. It was nice I didn’t have to travel too far, just about a block. Jonathan had different models for us to photograph. I shot mostly with my Mamiya 645 and a twin reflex I borrowed from a fellow workshop attendee. It was fun shooting film again and to learn from a talented photographer with his own unique style. The images below are from the workshop and straight from the lab with no digital enhancing. I recommend this workshop for any wedding photographer, even if you don’t shoot film.
To see details for the next workshop go to Jonathan’s blog at www.canlasphotography.blogspot.com
Some shots of a few other workshop attendees. Also in town for the workshop was incredible photographer, Seth Smoot (not pictured here) who I knew in New York City- it was extra fun for my wife and I to reconnect with the Smoot’s! You can check his work out at www.sethsmoot.com
I think these two were also attending.
The remainder of the photos below make me think of fun, fresh, simple, carefree Hawaii beach shots.
No, my birthday wasn’t recent, it was in September, but I just got my present. A new surfboard. It took about 2 months from the time I ordered the blank to have it shaped and glassed. I am not one to ride just either short boards or longboards, I love to ride all kinds of boards. I knew exactly what I wanted shaped, so I asked local shaper, Chuck Andrus, to carve out the blank and had Ed Surfoss glass it. I had Chuck put a step in the tail and deck, spoon out the nose and keep just a little “rocker.” I was trying to re-create a board circa 1969. The picture below is of Ed glassing the bottom of the board with a brick red tint. It took me awhile, but I found the fabric in-lay at Kaimuki Dry Good’s in town for the deck patch, and had Ed outline everything with white pinlines. I took this board out last week and loved it. Thanks Patria.
Stay tuned for pictures from my trip to the Big Island with Halau Nalu.
