Waikiki’s economy…in time lapse
Hey All!
Sorry for the delayed post. Been pretty busy working desk shifts to accommodate our ever-revolving schedule of shooting shifts.
On Sunday, I was assigned the deceptively difficult job of conveying Waikiki’s lack of tourism and how it has been affecting our local economy. Our editors had noted that I could be as open as I wanted with this, but that it had to illustrate the sparsity of tourists and business. Okay, sounds good enough.
After spending about an hour in the late afternoon, I had no eggs in my basket. It didn’t really seem to be empty on the beaches and along the Kalakaua Strip. Then a thought occurred to me. I haven’t shot a nice cityscape time lapse in a long long time, and maybe, just MAYBE, the lack of lights in the hotel rooms will illustrate the lack of occupants and business. I rolled the dice and chose the Hyatt Regency Waikiki because of its accessibility to Kalakaua and the Waikiki nucleus. I waited until the the sun was nearly gone, then bracketed exposures of 10, 15, and 30 seconds. This is what I came up with.
Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 16-35 f2.8L with Bogen mini-tripod, Exposure mode: Manual, 30 seconds @ f13, ISO 200, Tungsten whitebalance, *Note: slight curves adjustment in Photoshop to correct for mixed light.
October 6th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
saw this on A1. NICELY DONE! i really liked how you illustrated this with the building and the room lights. really makes waikiki look so desolate.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:51 am
1+
nice shot!
October 7th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I love night shots!!! Especially of Waikiki!
October 8th, 2008 at 12:07 am
I like the sundown lighting…I see it as mirroring the “end” of a phase of the economy, with hopefully a even bigger and brighter sunrise soon!
I equally enjoy your stories behind the pictures, thanks for that!
October 9th, 2008 at 1:57 am
clever! good shot!
October 17th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I’m on my way to honolulu. I am hoping I’m not going to be the one there.
I can’t bear an empty desolate town.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Nice shot. Regarding the affects of the economy on tourism. This is the first time I have read your blog and I just wanted to mention that I have noticed the effects on the economy and tourism just by the light flow of traffic in Waikiki. I used to work in Waikiki and I would finish work at 5:00pm. I would stay late because of the super bad traffic from Kalia Road to Ala Moana Blvd. At the times I would leave early I would be stuck in traffic between Kalia Road all the way to South Street. Today I have a business in Waikiki and guess what – I can get on Kalia Road at 4:30pm and it’s smooth sailing all the way to Nimitz Hwy.
Because the tourism rates are half of what they used to be and gas prices what they are, I have seen the trickling effects of lower occupancy rates in hotels (like your picture dipicts), hotel employees having hours cut, as well as being laid off, and people finding other means of coming in to work (bussing it, biking it, or even walking, if possible).
Sorry, I just wanted to add a little of my two sense.
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Nice shot, but at that time of evening, wouldn’t a lot of guests be at restaurants anyway? hmmm
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Who is able to afford $224 to $485 a night these days?
October 24th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Just saw this blog this morning. Wondering who is doing it? Other SB blogs have credit lines.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Brings me back again.
You have the gift of vision. I can tell you are a faithfully patient person.
This is why you are the artist you are.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Thanks for all of the wonderful and kind comments on here! I apologize for not having posted recently, as I haven’t been shooting many assignments, but stay tuned! I just posted a new entry on “the pole cam,” so please check it out!