Peter Kun Frary, Professor of Music • University of Hawaii, Leeward
Peter Kun Frary, Professor of Music • University of Hawaii, Leeward
Ship at Dock with Afterglow • Aloha Tower • Honolulu, Hawaii
Photo by Peter Kun Frary • Canon EOS 50D, EF 17-55 2.8 IS USM
I often wander the waterfront with camera and iPod, trolling for images that catch the sights and moods of Honolulu. Midday light is too harsh for my taste, not to mention too intense for my pale skinned hide. My favorite time of day is just before and after sunset. Late afternoon shadows and warm light impart definition and delicious nuance like no other time of day. The ordinary becomes the extraordinary. Why waste my time at 2:00 PM when I know better images await me later?
After sunset is a quiet time of muted tonality and hues but beautiful beyond my simple words. Such was this day. As I emerged from Gordon Biersch, a couple Hefeweizen under my belt, I was filled with a warm glow and the mind of a simpleton. Okay, I was filled with friggen beer and a little drunk! Whatever, the sight of the pinkish-orange pebbled clouds and low slung sun woke me and had me reaching for my camera and scurrying dockside. Sheesh, I was supposed to be testing my new EOS 50D camera, not drinking beer.
During those few minutes of precious light I managed to nail it all: reflections in the water, sunset with foreground objects, cloud formations, boats in harbor and, depicted above, a Japanese fishing boat at dock. As my twilight world faded into darkness, I kept on shooting until the last photons of the afterglow. I walked past Gordon Biersch and saw scores of barflies engrossed in their little worlds of football and beer, and not a one had noticed the stunning afterglow and sunset, easily the most beautiful event of the day. I muttered something incoherent and meandered home to mama and supper, rockin' out to ACDC's Back in Black on mah 'pod.
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©Copyright 2008 by Peter Kun Frary • All Rights Reserved
