Maternity photoshoot: Jhelyn + Robert

Yesterday I had a lovely opportunity to photograph parents to-be, Jhelyn and Robert. Although the weather was a bit gloomy and we had to hide in our cars and wait for rain clouds to pass twice, we made the best of it with about an hour until the sun started to set. 

Afternoon tea w/ Maybelle #maybelleworkshops

Sunday, August 3, 2014: I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a very intimate calligraphy course taught by Maybelle Imasa (website + instagram) at Cookspace Hawaii. Of course this eventful day would not have been made possible without the hardworking hands of Miemiko Co. and Cake Gallery Hawaii. 

It was a fun-packed three-hour long get together with inspirational people, delicious treats, and a wonderful area to learn and just mingle with like-minded creatives. Cari of Miemiko Co. gave me the chance to take my newly acquired Canon Mark 5d II for the very first time, as well as gave me another push to finally blog again. 

I've always wanted to attend a calligraphy course by Maybelle because she had been one of my inspirations from the very start of my newfound modern-day calligraphy interest. She's even more friendly in person than she is online. What I loved the most about her was that she took the initiative to reply to each and every of her many comments on Instagram to help others as much as she could. I would highly recommend taking her class as she now travels around the world teaching and telling her story. 

More photos are available in the gallery of my smilebox website: smileboxhawaii.com

Sunflower fields forever

About three years ago, my good friends Kathrine and Josh, and I went to look for the famous Haleiwa sunflower fields. We were a little too late considering it was January when we thought of having such an adventure. This time Erika and Randi ventured out with us. It's already December and they've already started to wilt. Perhaps on my next visit, I'll get to see them at their prime. Regardless, these sunflowers are quite a beauty; a reminder in its bare existence to never forget to stop and smell the flowers, because sometimes we get so busy that we forget to cherish the bliss of the present. 

In other news, I've decided to return to blogging. I've missed it terribly, but I used to over obsess on the unnecessary which lead to inconsistency and my extreme loss of motivation. I've been busy trying to figure out my life, trying to eliminate hobby vs. potential career. I think being a gemini has a lot to do with it, but I'll probably save the explanation for a later post. Blogging more is one of my new year's resolutions for 2013, so I promise to blog more, that and to be more content-oriented. Enjoy!