Makapu'u Beach

I wish I could be bodysurfing here. Right. now. Wake up early on a Sunday morning just to catch the smooth, glassy surf and have the beach all to yourself... well, my brother would probably be there too, asking me to take pictures of him on his board (:

I'm can't remember exactly if it was a first date or just one of the many amazing adventurous dates from a summer fling that initially brought me to this side of the island. I was picked up around 7 or 8 am, and we drove to Makapu'u Beach. I could bodysurf, but I had never been here before. Even though the winds and current brought in loads of seaweed into the cove that morning, I was unfazed. It wasn't particularly clear, maybe even slightly overcast, and I kept surfacing with pieces of seaweed stuck in my hair, but the waves... oh, the waves. They were unlike any I had been in before. The surf wasn't perfect or crystal clear that day, but there was something definitely magical about that beach. It was peaceful, beautiful... It's taken my heart ever since.

January 2008
Makapu'u Beach
Oahu, Hawaii

Look at this water on a clear, glassy day. It's unreal. I can't even imagine seeing my feet in Santa Barbara's murky, cold ocean. (Sometimes I wonder, what am I doing here? But then I remember that I've been spoiled by 18 years in Hawaii hehe). The boyfriend is attempting to bodysurf in this one. It's harder than it looks!


August 2009
Makapu'u Beach

So here I am today, reminiscing about the love I left in Hawaii... Makapu'u. Enchanted by it's warm, (usually) crystal-clear blue-green waters. The lovely, powerful, yet thrilling sandy shorebreak. The cool morning breeze that eventually gives way to the delightfully warm sunshine. Take me back, please.

But now I have a little bit of Makapu'u with me. Presenting, the "Makapu'u Earrings." A cascade of quartz and chalcedony briolettes mimic the ocean waters I miss so dearly.

"Makapu'u Earrings"
SHOP

Maybe if I'm lucky I'll come home this winter and once again get to indulge myself in these waters.

Rogue Butterfly

I purchased these beautiful feather earrings from the lovely Rogue Butterfly during last month's Whole Food's event.

The sun was scorching that day (unlike all other previous events that I've attended), and she was kind enough to offer some space beneath her tent. I would have melted away without her!

These are my first pair of feather earrings. I know how trendy they've been lately, and as much as I adore roosters, I've been extremely hesitant to make a feather earring purchase. I figured that I could always make myself a pair if I really wanted some, but these really stood out for me. Rogue Butterfly was wearing a slightly different pair that I was initially eying up, but truthfully, I'm so obsessed with my pair. I'd wear them everyday if I could. 

I think this design is so unique, especially with the bead embellishments wire-wrapped up top. This makes it feel like they're a real pair of earrings and not just a tuft of feathers thrown together. I love that they're very long and thin, almost blending in with my hair in certain lighting, and that the olive dye compliments my tan skin tone well. 

I've worn these out and have received many compliments - more than when I wear my own jewelry!(Maybe I need to rethink my designs... haha, just kidding).

Thank you, Andie!

Santa Cruz Island

Sooo I thought paddling practice would end at 10am this morning... we got out of the water at 1pm (we were on the beach at 6:30am). Needless to say, I'm exhausted. As much as I love paddling, our new Saturday workouts whisk my mornings away and leave me with little energy to design new jewelry pieces. My poor Etsy has been neglected lately. I've been meaning to take new pictures for some of my expired listings, but alas... I'm pooped. When my creative burst finally pushes past my physical exhaustion, I'll be experimenting with some long earring designs (I'm thinking about shoulder-sweeping long). I have an inkling that I'll be keeping a pair for myself, like usual (:

Now back to the recreational activity that seems to have overtaken my free time lately - My team paddled out to Santa Cruz Island from Santa Barbara last weekend. It was a 30 mile training trip (well, technically 60 miles since we had to make our way back home two days later), and it was AWESOME. Maybe I might need to mention that it got awesome after I recovered from being seasick. The new things I learn about myself a couple decades into my life...

A little bit of sight-seeing:

July 9, 2011

Scorpion Anchorage, Santa Cruz Island

Channel Islands National Park

 

Scorpion Anchorage, 7 am, heading back to SB:

Sunrise

July 10, 2011

I'm not in this picture (I took it), but I thought it was a lovely shot of us leaving the island:

Heading into the channel

July 10, 2011

What an eventful weekend. Paddling seems like a crazy sport, but I really do love it. There's something so intrinsically satisfying about making that canoe glide through the water with your team. No wonder why my jewelry is still very much ocean-inspired, even after living away from Hawaii for so long... Paddling gives me the opportunity to spend hours in the ocean (6+ hours this morning!), which has always been, and probably always will be, my favorite place to be. 

Light Box Photography

Today was so exhausting (and fulfilling) that I can't believe I have the energy to blog. 
Paddling: On the beach at 6:15am, off to the car at 10:15am
Quick shower, quick check in the mirror (Do I look presentable? Check!)
Whole Foods Local Artist Market: Out of the house at 10:45am, packed up and headed out at 5:30pm
I bought my first pair of feather earrings from Rogue Butterfly. She was so kind and let me share some space under her tent at the Whole Foods event. I'm extremely thankful because it was scorching hot today! I'll be putting up a blog post with pictures of those earrings later - I absolutely adore them.

Speaking of pictures...
I wish I could afford a digital SLR. I assume that it would help out my photos, but maybe not. Over the last year I've learned that proper lighting, choice of background, and the use of props can make such a big difference that maybe it really doesn't matter what kind of camera I own. I started off using my point-and-shoot camera, the Olympus Stylus Tough (12 megapixels - it's waterproof too!), to take my Etsy pictures, but then switched over to the boyfriend's Olympus Stylus 7030 (14 megapixels). Although my camera costs more, I think his delivers better results in varying lighting conditions. His camera won't allow me to manually change the aperture settings, but I seem to make do in macro mode. If you own a simple digital camera, your camera probably has the minimal features that I utilize (i.e. macro mode and manual white balance).

I don't live in a place that will allow me to easily take pictures using natural lighting indoors (no tables, few conveniently located windows), so I rely on Santa Barbara's good weather to shoot outdoors. I used to open my front door and lay on the carpet to take shots, but I've since decided that this is ridiculous. I currently shoot on a table in my backyard.

I love my light box. I don't know how I ever took pictures without it. It's getting a little beat up since it's just a cardboard beer box (I made the boyfriend buy a case of beer just so that I could have the box - no complaints there! haha), but it really doesn't have to be fancy to be functional. It's my secret to making my backgrounds appear whiter and to getting an evenly distributed soft light (versus harsh direct sunlight). The tissue paper taped to the outside diffuses any direct sunlight, and the white poster board is glued to the inside to help reflect more light inside the box.

Here's my final product! My newest beach glass necklace featuring green sea glass handpicked in Hawaii.

Green sea glass handpicked on Oahu, Hawaii
Gold vermeil starfish
Sea foam green amazonite
White freshwater pearl
Translucent semi-precious stone

I wish I had better equipment and resources, or maybe even just more space, but I've somehow managed to make do with what I have. I've enjoyed the challenge and the outcomes have been rewarding. Photographing my jewelry and editing the photos are almost just as time consuming as designing and making the jewelry itself, but I love both aspects nonetheless. Who would've thought that my two hobbies could go hand in hand.

Click here to visit my previous photography post ★