Sometimes it’s a good thing to step out of the box of our wedding profession to recognize the artist in others. Jonathan Harris, though not a wedding photographer, reminded us of what it means to be connected to our visual world in a conscious manner. When he turned 30, he decided to take a photograph a day for a year … a visual diary, if you will. His insights and images are uniquely his own. We thought you would enjoy this video …
There was an abundance of silk and lace all around the island on this auspicious 11/11/11 wedding date. We were fortunate to have photographed two wedding couples tying the knot on what turned out to be, yet another, beautiful day.
Brian and Jessi chose Moloa’a Beach as their location, and it truly was a beautiful sight with many family and friends on hand to witness their union. Here are a few of their images we captured…
Then it was off to Shipwreck’s Beach on the south side of the island for Marcus and Courtney’s sunset celebration. Grandmothers, brothers, sisters, and parents were all in attendance as we were able to find a piece of the beach to ourselves amongst all the other brides and grooms dotting the coastline.
We wish our brides and grooms many years of happiness together~ They have a great start since they’ll never forget the date they were married on!
We are very pleased to announce that we have launched our new and, indeed, improved website to the world today! Like any creation from the heart, it was a labor of love that has finally found its voice… our voice. We are so very grateful to our master web designer, Liam Keane, for his leadership, creativity and patience in creating such a beautiful website that truly reflects the fine art quality of McDonaldKean Photography. Many mahalos to Liam!
We invite you to take the time to tour our site and navigate our new pages.
Our website is not only a place where you will view our current portfolio, in addition, it is also a place where you will return again and again for its helpful ‘Resources’ page. With our video camera in hand, we will strive to put a face to some preferred wedding vendor companies here on island. If it’s a florist, officiant, or caterer, you will get to meet them from our camera’s perspective with the hopes of taking the mystery out of planning a destination wedding. Our Resource page will be a constant work in progress, so stay tuned for the first of many videos introducing you to the people on island who work so hard in making your wedding a very special day.
One thing we always hear from couples is “where should we have our wedding?”. We thought it would be helpful to begin the process by virtually taking you to some of these stunning locations. Click on the suggested location and you will be transported to the site where you will see the various backgrounds and terrain of that particular locale. We’ll have a little history of the area in addition to some useful information such as the ease/difficulty of access and parking issues.
Besides striving to take the most memorable images for you on your wedding day, we hope our effort in assisting you with the rest of your planning is of value to you. Anyway, we have more selfish reasons for providing you with assistance… keeping you stress free makes for a more relaxed and beautiful photograph!
So please enjoy the website and feel free to comment. We love the feedback!
With much aloha,
Spencer and Paddy
A picture really is worth a thousand words…
We noticed these people setting up their beach chairs to enjoy some sunset magic at Tunnels Beach on the north shore of Kauai. I asked if they would mind if I took a few shots of the sunset from behind them and of course they were ok with it. For the HDR, I made several groups of five bracketed exposures. Normal, 1 under, 2 under, 1 over and 2 over. I chose the best group and merged them together and toned mapped them in Photomatixs Pro.
This is the old Koloa sugar mill on the south shore of Kauai, Hawaii. I made five bracketed exposures, 1,2 stops under and over and one normal and merged them together and toned mapped them in Photomatix Pro.
I’ll see if I can do one every day.
Aloha~ This year started off with such inspiration when we had the opportunity to shoot Kathryn and Marc’s Hawaii wedding here on the beautiful garden island gem, Kaua’i. We had great fun photographing two such authentic and photogenic people, not to mention the beauty of the chosen locations: Tunnels Beach and the stunning Ahonui Botanical Gardens. It was our first time photographing at Ahonui Botanical Gardens. There is not an angle there that isn’t brimming with beauty, and we look forward to exploring more of the gardens in the near future with other couples. Here are a few of the magical photographic moments we captured of Kathryn and Marc on their day.
Nathan Kalama has been deemed a Hawai’i State treasure for his years as a songwriter and entertainer and for his tireless work as a Kumu Hula and educator of Hawaiian arts and culture. This image will begin a commission we have been awarded, to capture 30 to 40 “Faces of Kaua’i”. We will post them here as we photograph them. We photographed this image in Anakala Nathan’s living room using a Nikon D-90, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 and a single SB-900 with a snoot.
Welina Mai nō Kākou!
So it feels like only yesterday that we were standing on a sound stage in Hollywood dreaming of this very moment we are living now. Some people thought it was a foolish move to leave “the glamour” of the film industry; others thought it brilliant and gutsy. We just knew it was time for a change.
After 3 years on Kaua’i (although it feels like 3 months!), we begin a new phase in life where the possibilities seem unlimited in the realm of our new business, McDonaldKean Photography! It’s exciting, exhilarating, creative, and challenging, and we are more than ready to serve our clientele by capturing their lives’ special moments with heart and soul.
We will be utilizing this blog to share and muse with others all things that inspire us; photographs, poetry, songs, and, well, whatever finds it’s way to these pages. Life’s riches are to be shared and exchanged. It is in this spirit that we allow us all to express the individuality that we are, while at the same time, express our commonality of being human.
So, take a deep breath, and let’s go!
~ Paddy