{VENICE, ITALY}

One of the most beautiful and fun places I have ever been to photograph is Venice, Italy and one full day was not long enough to take everything in. This is a place that I really want to go back and visit again someday, especially before is sinks into the water! Venice is an island that is man made and has been around for hundred's of years so you are surrounded by rich history, such as the original painting of The Last Supper and Casa Nova. It has narrow walk ways and is filled with canals of water which is what many people use for transportation. If you can look past the stinky sewage smell that lingers around much of the city, I know you will fall in love with its charm!

Here is one of my favorite photos that I took during the day I was there. This is another one of those 16x24 canvas prints that hangs on my wall. This is what "Venecia" is all about. Small canals, gondolas, laundry hanging out in the open... this was my first encounter with Italy. Not to mention hearing a lady up in her kitchen break a plate and yell "Mama Mia!" and a gentleman farther down the road singing a deep baritone Italian opera song. I can't make this stuff up people! I felt like I was walking through a movie.

One thing that completely disgusts the Venetians is when the foreigners play with the dirty filthy disease ridden pigeons. Just like my girl friend and I are doing in this photo here. :-) It's no wonder I usually come home from traveling with some new strange foreign disease. It's to the point that every time I go to the doctor the first thing out of her mouth is "so, have you been to any countries lately that I need to know about this time?" Hey, it's once in a lifetime, I figure I might as well live it up! 

Here is a photo of San Giorgio Island from the shores of Venice. I would have loved to have visited there. As you can see it is not far away at all and the architecture is beautiful. Plus, every photo looks better with a gondola in it. I would love to take a ride in one of these some day.

Since there are endless scenes to photograph in Venice, I'm sure that goes for painters as well. So many artists line the streets of Venice. Their work was so beautiful but way out of my budget and completely justifiable. Amazingly talented people! For some reason this photo has a special place in my heart. I always feel a little guilty photographing people, especially when they know I'm doing it but haven't asked, so thank you Mr. Painter man!

Partway through the day the clouds moved in a bit which made for this dramatic photo. You can see a little bit of how colorful the buildings are in this city. Like I said, I can't wait to go back. There is just so much to photograph that I didn't get to take advantage of and you can't forget about the food. The sea food is amazing!

OAHU {HAWAII}

Continuing on through the islands of Hawaii, we hopped over to Oahu for a few days. Oahu is much more commercialized than Kaua'i was but it was still very beautiful. Our first stop, which everyone must make when they visit this island, was Pearl Harbor. Everyone learns about this tragedy in school but for me at least, I don't think the reality of it really sank in until I went there for myself. As I was standing on the memorial looking down at the ruins of USS Arizona, I was filled with so much emotion and couldn't hold back the tears. I think this in one place that every American especially should make a trip to visit during their life time.

As you look out over the waters while standing at the memorial, the USS Missouri remains parked, which is where the treaty was signed that ended WWII. Above is a photo of this incredible ship. Not many people know this but I have an enormous fear of large ships so for me to handle going to this memorial and being so close to this large vessel without melting down was quiet a feat.

On a sweeter note, we then ventured out to the Dole plantation to learn how pineapples grow.  Wow, I was in for a shocker! I didn't know they grew like this. They are so CUTE! They grow on a tiny little bush close to the ground and it takes three years for a pineapple to finish growing. That explains why they cost so much. Pineapple is one of my favorite fruits. Looking at this photo is making my mouth water. Oh I should mention... finally the sun decided to join us, only two weeks into our adventure. Hooray!

Later that week the winds started to pick up which brought in some incredible waves. We had a lot of of fun sitting on the shore watching the surfers ride the waves. I also am not a huge fan of going in the ocean or of water in general- perhaps I am part cat. So I sad from the sidelines and took my photos.

My littlest brother though thought he was tough enough to beat the waves. See that tall white thing behind him? That is the wave that came crashing down and ate him right up into the ocean just seconds after I took this photograph. My dad had to jump in and get him. He gave the entire family a heart attack, no lie! and was picking sand out of every inch of himself the rest of the week.

This guy however, knew what he was doing. I had a lot of fun photographing him. I submitted this image to Jones Soda and for a brief time it was published on their bottles. The look on his face as he is doing this flip is so awesome. Well there weren't as many crazy adventures on Oahu but we still had fun, got some sun, and ate great food. However, if I ever go back to Hawaii I will make sure that Kaua'i is on my list of stops. That island is unbelievably breathtaking and not so touristy! Highly recommend!

KAUA'I {HAWAII}

Since we have been talking about the US, why don't we pop on down all the way to the island of Kaua'i, Hawaii. One of the most beautiful places on earth. Of course, when I went to visit there it decided to rain for 2 weeks straight. Yeah Hawaii gets rain but usually it's for a short time each day. This was all day, every day, over cast skies, don't go in the water because the sharks are lingering and will eat you kind of rain. But we made the best of it anyway and to this day it is still one of my favorite vacation places. I went to this location with my family. Doesn't happen to much anymore but from time to time they do enjoy bringing a ~photographer~ along. :-) 

Since there is a bit of a time change between there and Minnesota, I found myself waking up well before the sun. That is not so normal for me. The first morning I ventured outside of our condo that overlooked the ocean and found this magnificent view of the sun coming up behind the lighthouse. It was a perfect way to peacefully wake up before beginning our weeks of adventures. 

Despite the rain and clouds we still headed to the beach. This was the local swimming spot by our condo. It looked like a paradise with the bay being surrounded by mountains and the clouds lingering low. Here are my three younger brothers venturing out to go snorkel.

And here is one more family favorite of the three boys all lined up in order by age. They aren't real fond of getting their photo taken and this one was taken in stealth mode so no one ruined it for me. If you have teenagers, then I'm sure you know what I mean. The one thing about being the person with the camera on vacation... often I come home and people ask where I am in all of the photos. :-/

Later that week we took a boat ride up the Napali Mountain coast line. Of course there was more rain and gray skies which brought with it large waves and made for some very sea sick family members! This coast line may look familiar to you. It is the backdrop for many movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean and the TV show Lost was also filmed here. This photo doesn't do the mountains justice. In real life they look like they reach all the way up to heaven.

 We even had some whales following the boat that day. Whales might every well be one of the most difficult things I have every photographed because you really have no idea when and where they are going to pop out of the water. We stood there for ever just watching over the horizon waiting for any movement to photograph.

This water fall is called Secret Falls. There is a good reason for this too! To get to it you have to paddle a kayak up stream for a hour. Then you land on shore and start hiking. At some point you have to cross a dangerous high current stream by holding on to a rope and the water goes up to your neckline (well at least mine). Then continue walking along the rivers edge for about an hour which is extra fun when it is raining and the mud makes you slide towards the cliff. But this was a once in a lifetime trip. Usually hundreds of people visit this spot every day to swim under the waterfall where the king used to bath but on this day the weather was so bad that the only people who were there were my father, my brother, my self and our tour guide. Wow! I never could have gotten this photo with a hundred people swimming around.

When people ask me to pick my favorite place I've ever been on earth, this is it. I will never forget it as long as I live. Thinking back to it even gives me goosebumps. This is another 16x24 canvas that hangs on my wall in my office that I dream about every day. Once in a lifetime experience!