Roger Wade Studio, Inc.

My last post on February 9th seems like a long time ago…and just like yesterday.

We flew south on March 6th to Orlando, FL to position ourselves, as usual, for our shooting tour of the southeastern states. The few shoots that we had anticipated photographing in the SE were all put on hold until fall, a clear indicator of the economic times. But as luck would have it, two of our clients, McLaughlin & Associates Architects and Studio Waterman, decided it was time to photograph their latest project collaboration in Hawaii, and so we worked out the details of scheduling a shoot on the Big Island.

All went smoothly with travel and shooting, in spite of the skies being not so picture perfect, due mostly to a Hawaii weather condition termed volcanic smog, or vog for short. We managed to get lucky with enough vog breaks to get the exteriors we needed, including some fabulous sunsets, which perhaps we owe, in part, to the vog.

Outdoor terrace looking out to pool and views of the Pacific Ocean at sunset

Great room looking out through pocket door to the Pacific Ocean

Dining lanai looking towards terrace, infinity pool and the Pacific Ocean at twilight

See more Hawaii photos here

As always, we sniffed out some pretty good food spots. AND THE WINNERS ARE…

For breakfast we stocked up on the local island fruits, Kona coffee, macadamias and banana bread we purchased at the Kona farmer’s market right on the main drag. Who could ask for anything more?

For lunch, the consensus was Ceviche Dave’s, a tiny little joint tucked into a small plaza behind Kona’s Home Depot. Obviously not meant for tourists, this is off the beaten path, and in fact we discovered it through our iPhone application Urban Spoon, a God-send for road warriors like us. Dave serves up a fresh catch of the day in several different ceviche flavors. We opted for the sampler to get a portion of each, then went back for seconds of the Tahitian style ono in coconut milk, with green onions, parsley, bell peppers and cucumbers. Google Ceviche Dave’s for a mouthwatering read!

The dinner winner has to be a late night treat, after shooting twilights, at the Four Season’s Lava Lounge. We shared two snacks from their pupu menu, a delectable barbecued shrimp skewer and black angus “sliders” - cute mini burgers you can gobble up in one bite. Now, you realize that with all of the other meals of incredibly fresh fish and island grown accompaniments, this Lava Lounge food HAD to be awesome. It was!

Now back in Orlando, we are spending most of our time marketing and working on our website. We return to Montana on May 9th, shifting from 80 degrees and sunshine weather to 40 and rain. Time to toughen up and get back in the saddle again.

Aloha~