MY NEW BLOG IS LIVE!

Aloha Everyone!

I'm so excited to announce my new blog! A big thank you goes out to Nathaniel for all the hard work he has done, click here to check him out. Not only is he excessively talented, but he's a pleasure to work with.

You can visit my new blog, here, as I'll be posting there from now on. Be sure to update your Bookmarks and your RSS Feeds to stay updated!

The new blog has a link to my new website dedicated to Hawaii weddings. This is a soft launch because I'm still making edits to the website. You can also check it out by clicking here.

Let me know you found it and what you think by leaving a comment on the new blog!

Thank you to all of you who stop by Holladay Photo and offer your feedback and support.

Here is a teaser from this weekend's wedding on a beach in Kailua Hawaii, I will be posting a lot more shots from this beautiful wedding later this week. I haven't had time to blog much because I have been working on a big project that will be released later this week, keep an eye out.

Thank you Anna and Zane for a fun afternoon of shooting. In the second half of our shoot I experimented with some different lighting and style, keep a look out for a post with those shots in the future.

Wahine Surf Session

Sorry I have not been keeping up with my blog, it has been a busy week. Here are a few pics from a shoot I did on the North Shore this week. Nobody's job should be this fun.

This weekend I worked with local photographer Adam Palmer to help shoot one of his weddings in Luana Hills in Kailua. It is always fun working with other talented photographers. On top of being an amazing wedding photogragher Adam has some of the coolest Hawaii fine art photography, you can check it out here or go to www.adamapalmer.com. The size of the pictures on his website do not do them justice, you have to see them blown up, they are stunning.

Here are a few shots that I took at the wedding.

Annual Holiday Special

About 5 years ago when I started my career as a professional photographer, I also started to do a holiday special where I would have 10 families meet me at one location back to back. This made it possible for me to offer a discounted price per family. Now it has become a tradition for Holladay Photo as I have seen how much families enjoy having nice photos for their holiday cards. This year I will be photographing on November 8th at bathtub beach,(see the shoot below). Each session will last for 30 minutes and will include a CD with 25-50 high resolution images for $95. You can call me to book 808.450.2316. I will post the schedule below. Over half the slots booked before I officially announced it, so if this day books up fast and I have the time I may offer an additional day. Check back for availabilty.

November 8th @ Bathtub Beach:

9:30 Jones
10:15 Malupo
11:00 Hart
11:45 Takahashi
12:30 Break
1:15 Kongaika
2:00 Kanahele
2:45 Kalama
3:30 Napoleon
4:15 Brenchley
5:00 Crosby
5:45 Loveridge

What's for Dinner

On top of being a photographer, I am also in charge of running our home, which includes cooking. I love to cook, its another creative outlet for me. This post is for the produce co-op I belong to. This dish, as I know it, is called kielbasie, the first time I was introduced to kielbasie was at the fairground in Delaware, (this is where I spent my high school days). Very basic ingredients: garlic, onion, bellpeppers red and green, Kielbasa Sausage. I start by throwing the peppers and kielbasa on the grill, and in a large hot pan put in butter, garlic, and the onions, and it really starts to smell good. When the peppers and kielbasa get a little black take them off the grill and chop them up and add to the onion mix. Let it all simmer together untill it looks like the pic below and them put it on some rice and enjoy.

Fun at Bathtub Beach

I think the biggest part of my job is not taking pictures, in this digital world anyone can pick up a camera and get a good picture. I think the most important part of my job is to help families relax and be in their element and forget that I have a camera in hand. That is when I get the best shots and we have the most fun. This family was truly fun to photograph, and I love it when families want to get in the ocean.

Live Like Les

Lester Falatea is an amazing person, he was always upbeat and could make anyone laugh. If there was a bad vibe in the line up, as soon he paddled out it would dissipate. I think there must have been hundreds of people at his funeral and another 150 paddled out to show their respect for him at pipe, including some of the north shore heavy's. Here are a few shots I got from that day. For all the ways he's known as an incredible surfer, he is greatly loved as a wonderful husband and father- he will be missed by many.
Aloha Les



























Awhile ago I had gotten this picture of Les surfing with his son and nephew.

Baby Bump

Incredibly cute couple on an insanely nice day in Hawaii. So easy to love these pictures.

Sunset on the Beach - Laie

Finally this event came to our area. It is a really fun and well organized event. Holladay Photo booth had a drawing on Friday and Saturday for a free photo shoot. Friday's winner was Ru Kalama and Saturday's winner was Kathy Pulotu.



There were many good cultural dances and songs performed.


Many cool people running the Halau Nalu booth, Patria was loving their saimin and it was 100 degrees all weekend.


I want to thank the woman of my dreams for supporting me and helping out this weekend.

Sunset on the Beach Event

If you live on Oahu, come say Aloha! at Kakela Beach Park in Hau'ula, Saturday, 9/13. I'll have a booth set up & there will a lot of fun things going on like rides for the keiki, 'ono food, and an outdoor movie when it get's dark. Be sure to buy food from Halau Nalu- the keiki surf club that is doing some fundraising!

Katey & Darren

Here are a few pictures from this good looking couples engagement shoot. Keep an eye out for pictures in December of their wedding at the Laie Hawaii Temple. Congratulations Katey & Darren!

Salanoa Reunion

To view all the pictures from the Salanoa family reunion click here. On this site you can buy a disk with all the images or individual prints.

West Side Story

Congratulations Evelyn and Bill! This was a fun wedding to shoot, got a chance to meet a really cool crowd from Makaha. As much as I love visiting the west side of Oahu to shoot weddings, you should check out Pake at http://www.makahaangels.com/ if you are in the need of a good photographer for weddings or surf.

















This is how they roll on the west side

It has been about 3 weeks since both of my kids started preschool and I have been able to spend more time working. Over the last four years I have been juggling being a stay at home dad (which I love) and a photographer. It has not been easy but very rewarding in both my family life as well as my professional life. I just want to thank all who have entrusted me with helping them preserve their memories- For example this darling family who I photographed last year and have now returned with a new addition. Much Aloha.

Indie Slideshow

Slide show of little Indie's newborns. All pictures from the shoot are ready to view here.



www.holladayphoto.com

Congratulations to the Fakatou family. The reception took place at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie Hawaii. I wish all the best to you guys. To check out more Hawaii weddings go to http://www.holladayphoto.com/

Another fun family photo shoot at Turtle Bay.

For all of those who were waiting to see themselves on the ramp at the fasion show, wait no longer. Go to www.holladayphoto.com or click here and then click on proofing.

As promised here are a few more shots of baby Tosh!

Indie

Here are a few fun shots with little Indie, thanks Meg and Corbin for having such a fun house to shoot in.
To check out other work by Mark Holladay Lee click here.
















Time for breakfast!





What am I doing in this bowl?

I love the Moffat family, I met them when I first moved to Hawaii in '96 and they have always opened their home and been friendly faces around town. You guys took all the work out of this by being so relaxed and just being yourselves. I love the way it turned out!

Evans portrait

I love photographing families at their favorite beach. It makes the shot all the more meaningful since so many good memories are associated with the location.

More of little Tosh to come

It has been a busy and fun week shooting. This next week I'll be posting highlight's from sessions two weeks ago. Here is a taste of Baby Tosh to start things off.

Ocean & Passion

How often is a couple ok with taking an exhilarating jump into the ocean, on the day of their wedding.... in wedding attire!? When this couple told me they were interested in doing some kind of photo shoot with water, I was beyond stoked. Here are highlights from the sequence of events:

Starting with my favorite shot of the day:


Rewind to pictures after the ceremony:























Thanks to my assistants, these next 2 shots were possible.

Who looks like that after jumping in the ocean fully clothed?

Mahalo guys- I loved every minute of being your photographer.

More to come of these two jumping in!



This is the original and yes that is me in the water. Any time I can combine my two passions, photography and the ocean, I am in heaven.

Another day in the water

A fun day at Sunset with the Sutherland Family!

Congratulations Teresa and Shem! What a cool wedding. Shem is also a creative wedding photographer located in Utah. If you are getting married in Utah and you need a photographer check out his site here, Shem is a really cool guy and I think it would be fun to have him as your photographer. I had fun going through the shots to pick out these few that stood out.

Here are a couple shots from fashion show put on by Jackie Kontoes of Laie Hawaii. After the fashion show a few of the models hit the halfpipe, the girl below is in 10th grade and was putting all the guys to shame. I enjoy getting my strobes out and exercising some creativity.

Darling family! Enjoy your pictures, I had fun taking them!

I love Patria! This last weekend was our 10 year wedding anniversary. I have to say the last 10 years of my life have been some of the most fun and exciting years of my life. She has helped me become a better husband, father and person. If it wasn't for her I would have never worked as a commercial diver, she is the one that talked me into getting PADI certified with her in Fiji. If it wasn't for her I would have never lived in NYC where I experienced the creative energy that started my career as a photographer. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be the person that I am today. And if it wasn't for her I would have never swam with the sharks. Thank you for the great weekend Patria, I love you!

Could she be any cuter? This little girl is absolutely full of sparkle and personality. Remember you saw her here first!

Super fun wedding, thanks Elham and Jess. I had a lot of fun photographing your your special day and hanging out with your friends and family. Aloha

Surf Club

Today was a fun day as I spent the afternoon with the local keiki surf club here in Laie, Halau Nalu, taking the kids to Goat Island on the hobie cat. On the last trip I tied off onto a buoy and got in the water to take a few shots of the kids. Here are some pics of our future professional surfers. I love this type of shoot, it gives me the chance to be creative in my editing and photograph an area I am passionate about. Halau Nalu is an amazing group and the people who dedicate their time and talents to creating and teaching in this surf club are truly incredible people. They just launched their website so you can get a taste of the good work, cultural legacies and Hawaiian language they are perpetuating, (soon there will be a link for people to make donations to help keep Halau Nalu growing and expanding).

Never Been Kissed

Yep, it's true, Kalea had never been kissed and this couple was saving their first kiss for their honeymoon! No public display's of affection for this couple, even on their wedding day photo shoot. I loved taking their pictures and seeing their obvious love for each other, in such a respectful and reserved style

Kuulei, Malia, Leilani- I loved taking your pictures. You are a beautiful and spirited family. These were the first shots that caught my eye.

Weekend Wedding Teaser

Congratulations Jimmy and Kalea!!

Baby Luke

Welcome beautiful Luke! You were born into such a wonderful family. Mahalo for asking me to photograph. You guys are going to be awesome parents!

Photo session with the lovely McCormick family. As you can see we had a lot of fun and I love the way these turned out. Often, I'm not a big fan of matching family outfits for photo shoots, BUT, I really think it worked beautifully with this family for the kinds of posing we did and the mood. White can be a color to avoid for photograph's, but don't you think this family pulled it off perfectly? Thanks guys for a fabulous photo shoot.

Happy Graduation!

Recent mini-shoot with a darling little family, hubby is graduating and soon departing the island. I think we got at least a few good pictures to help them remember Hawaii times. All the best guys!

Bella

As I read other photo blogs I notice that most of the artists accompany their work with more text. Writing has never been my forte so I just let the pictures speak for me. But, if you are ever interested in some of the "behind the scenes info" of a shoot, just let me know. I love to "talk shop."

And the perfect song to match these pictures is this one- called "Dream" by Priscilla Ahn.

Loving it!

This is Patria hijacking the blog (: I have this collage hanging in my office at work now and everyone loves it. Mark printed it on 20 x 20 stretched canvas and it turned out beautifully! Such a fun piece of art. He has other collages coming soon. He's still trying to figure out a good venue to sell them at, but for now- you can place an order through him for any size.

What I love about my job is that I get to capture the beautiful relationship between a parent and child. I get to capture the love between two parents. The last few photo shoots, I've noticed, have been centered around this and I count it as one of the best parts of my job.

Here are a few shots from Hoku's birthday mini-shoot. He turns one next week. Congratulations Hoku!

Gunter Family

I love these guys!

I haven't ventured into maternity shoots much. Here are some from a recent shoot. Good looking mom + Hawaii setting + good props and wardrobe = killer shots. I love the red chair. Something about red furniture...when we lived in NYC, we had a red velevet couch. When we left we turned it over to friend and photographer Jon Moe. He put it in his Manhattan studio, and we saw it turn up in one of his website portfolios- he put it to good use. Anyways, thanks Summer and Matt, it was a fun time! Can't wait to photograph the newest addition.

This week I haven't had much time to post because I have been a little busy in the digital darkroom. Here is a teaser from a photo shoot. My work goes towards having a fashion edge to it. I like pictures with attitude. More are on the way.