Waikiki Beach from the Royal Hawaiian – Honolulu, Hawaii

It was inevitable that I would show a touristy photo of Waikiki Beach. Diamond Head and the row of hotels is such a classic view. Perhaps, it’s a bit different from the usual snapshot, however, by including the parasols. From the pink ones, you guessed right that I shot this from the Royal Hawaiian, where almost everything seems to be pink.

This is also a Cinematic, in my now well-used wide-angle format. A 24mm equivalent in focal length, with extra on the sides, like a panorama. I was surprised how uncrowded it appears on Waikiki, but realized I shot it at 8:30 in the morning. I didn’t get up super early on my last Hawaii trip, but with a 5 hour difference with Austin, 8:30 didn’t feel very early.

I did bring my Olympus with me, but shot more with the Canon G7X Mark II, this time. The compact camera gave me a lot of freedom and makes me look like a tourist — though a retro one apparently. Someone commented that they don’t see many point and shoots anymore. I guess the up-to-date ones now use smartphones. Little did the person know that this humble, modest looking point and shoot is actually a high-quality $700 camera. Stealth, gotta love it.