It was almost exactly one year ago that I was on Waikiki Beach. Amazing how time flies. No extravagant summer vacation planned for this year. I thought I would re-experience the tropics and perhaps my viewers might also enjoy the pastel warmth of Hawaii.

Because of the magic of jet lag, I had a couple of days of opportunity to wake up early, without pain. Yes, as you guessed, I’m not typically an early riser. If memory serves, I shot these on the first morning. I got down to Waikiki Beach before sunrise and even experienced a morning blue hour.

While I had my Olympus E-PM2 with tripod, I also wanted to capture the scene, street photography style, with my Fuji X100S. There aren’t many people, even on crowded Waikiki Beach, at 6am.

This is the second time I tried to shoot the sunrise on Waikiki. I was also there 5 years earlier. I’ve kind of realized that this isn’t the ideal sunrise photography spot, at least in the summer. The first dramatic rays are blocked by the high-rises to the east. Someday, I might be more adventurous and motivated to seek out a different location.

No doubt it’s still a beautiful place and the ready access from the hotel makes it an easy destination. Rawan and Nadine also thought so. The two sisters were enjoying a casual photo shoot as I passed by. They were more than happy to pose for portraits. Looks like they were enjoying the beach too.

The hotels were remarkably quiet but that would change gradually. A few early risers and cleaning staff would be replaced by the hoards that would invade the beaches. I made my way from the sand to my favorite old hotel on Waikiki. I captured The Royal Hawaiian in golden morning light. You can see that post from last year. Ah the memories.