As a photographer, part time as I may be (lately), I'm constantly chasing the light whether it's trying to find the best photo ops for sunset or capturing the starry night sky- the light can either make or break your photo.  Shooting at night is especially challenging because depending on what you are shooting, you either need a ton of light or no outside light at all.

Lately I've been kind of in love with photographing the starry night sky and although I've photographed the stars before once, I wasn't all that happy with the results so I did some studying and decided to challenge myself.  After researching, I learned that it's best to capture the stars during the New Moon phase because the moon is a mere sliver which means the sky is dark and the stars shine brighter.  Next step is to find a place with as little light pollution as possible.  Hence, Mokulēʻia on O'ahu's North Shore.  If you go right to the point where the highway ends, you can walk down to the rocky beach and photograph the stars quite successfully.  If you're lucky, you can catch The Milky Way...


That's where I was this particular night taking this particular shot.  I was going to hike to Ka'ena point but I had my son with me and it was a little late and I wasn't exactly digging the idea of walking back down the mountain and to our car in the pitch black dark with my eleven year old son.  No thanks.  So we went to the end of the highway and walked down to the beach and sat there in the sand and shot photos.  Anywhere deserted with little to no street lights or house lights is ideal.  We were in a nearly pitch black area but there was a lighthouse at the point and some random fishermen.  

Those little balls of light in the foreground are from the fishermen and the lighthouse yet the stars still shined.  How amazingly beautiful is this sight?  Believe it or not, looking at it in person is even more amazing.  There are so many stars the naked eye can see that the camera sensor does not capture.  



After dinner, we drove out and decided to chance it and walked and took the camera gear out and snapped some photos.  Alaka'i mostly played while I shot but it was nice to sit there and talk about stars and constellations with my boy as we felt the gritty sand between our toes and listened to the waves crashing into the shore.  As I snapped and watched the clouds creeping towards us from the east, Alaka'i was giving me some fun facts he learned about the Milky Way.  I think that these photos are mostly of the tail end of the way.  I have some other photos from a shoot on a different night from another beach that I'll be sharing soon.  Those came out amazing and I'm excited to share them.

You know, most of my life went by without me even knowing that we could see the Milky Way or so many stars with our naked eye and without a telescope.  I don't know how or why I never saw the Milky Way before 2012 other than in a book, but I feel so thankful that I was able to spend some time gazing at God's wonderful creation with my son.

For the photography lovers: the best settings (for me with my Canon 5d MK 3) was 30 sec shutter, f/2.8 ISO 1000 using my 16-35mm II lens.  Also a warning, the best areas to photograph and view stars are dark with little to no outside light.  Dangerous people could be hanging out there so do some scouting, some research and go with a group of people...just to be safe.

To check out more photos like these and to see a sneak preview of my Milky Way captures from Yokohama Bay on a different day, check out my gallery here:  What Jean Likes Photography.

Take a few moments to enjoy the beauty in the world that God created.

Aloha Hoapili translates as Hello Close Friend. So, without further ado let me introduce you to this week's featured friend ...

Toi at Life of Toi.

Toi blogs about life, love and all things mama.

Want a little taste of her blog? Check out these posts to find out what you've been missing:

Like a Real Mother

Like a Blur

Like a Vision Board

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If you didn't catch my post on why I switched to fluoride free toothpaste, you may be wondering why I've got issues with fluoride whether it's in water or toothpaste... I explain my opinions and positions there so go check that out if you're wondering.  I'm just thankful that water fluoridation hasn't happened in Hawai'i...yet....

In my research, I found the following video An Inconvenient Tooth which discusses, in detail, the dangers of fluoride in water, toothpaste, anything and why it's perceived as safe by the general public when it is very harmful to your health. It's a long video and one without any important graphics that you really need to watch so I kind of just played it in the background while I worked. The information is truly invaluable.  Very scary.  So glad I no longer use products that contain fluoride.
One of my favorite blogs Chris Beat Cancer did a fabulous write up on fluoride and why it's dangerous.  I'm going to post some excerpts from his write up below.  To check out his full post, go to his website: Chris Beat Cancer.

Fluoride: How A Toxic Poison Ended Up In Our Water Supply

In 1945 local water treatment facilities began to add sodium fluoride to our water supply.

The first thing you should know is that the sodium fluoride they put in our water is not a pharmaceutical grade additive.

Sodium Fluoride is an industrial waste byproduct from aluminum manufacturing.

As aluminum production increased in the first half of the twentieth century, it became necessary to find somewhere to put the fluoride.  Manufacturers could no longer get away with dumping it into rivers or landfills, because it was poisoning crops and making livestock sick. Francis Frary, chief scientist for ALCOA,  had an idea.  He commissioned Gerald Cox at the Mellon Institute, to conduct research regarding the benefits of adding fluoride to the water supply.  The Mellon Institute was frequently hired by big business to produce research that supported their industries, and for several decades they produced research showing that asbestos was safe and did not cause cancer.  Hmmm.

They also produced reports assuring everyone that fluoride was not toxic and would be beneficial to add to our drinking water for healthy teeth.

Another proponent of the safety of fluoride at that time was scientist Harold Hodge, who was later revealed to to have been part of the the Human Radiation Experiment; injecting test subjects with plutonium and uranium in 1945-46.  This was documented by pulitzer prize winning reporter Eileen Welsonne in The Plutonium Files. 
Hodge was also chief toxicologist of The Manhattan Project and fluoride was a key component in the production of the atom bomb.  His studies were conducted with a bias toward proving fluoride safe, which would protect the government and industry from lawsuits.

The “research science” done to support water fluoridation was underwritten by these massive companies:

Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA)
Aluminum Company of Canada
American Petroleum Institute
DupontKaiser Aluminum
Reynolds Steel
US Steel
National Institute of Dental Research

Convincing the general public that we need to add fluoride to our water supply was one of the most sophisticated cons of all time.  It created a multi-billion dollar industry and enabled manufacturers to sell this worthless toxic byproduct of aluminum to local municipalities for a profit.

PR master Edward Bernays also known as “The Father of Spin“ created the PR campaign to sell fluoride to the nation as an additive “recommended by your doctor and dentist for healthy teeth”.  He was a pioneer of modern propaganda and used the theories of mass psychology and persuasion to suit the needs of corporate and political organizations.

Bernays even created marketing campaigns for tobacco companies using the doctor and dentist endorsement, like the one on the right.

He even wrote a book called Propaganda and another one called Public Relations. For you trivia buffs, he was also Sigmund Freud’s nephew.

In 1950 the public health service endorsed water fluoridation and almost immediately there was a national movement against it led by Dr. George Walbott, who was also the first physician to warn against fatal allergic reactions to penicillin, and that smoking causes emphysema.

Walbott discovered that low dose fluoride was causing allergic reactions in some of his patients who displayed a variety of symptoms such as headaches, back pain, gastric problems, muscle fatigue, etc.

He conducted a series of double blind tests further proving his fluoride allergy theory and published several papers about it.

Walbott was criticized and marginalized for his research and for speaking out against fluoride, tobacco, and penicillin in the interest of the public health.  Which is why you’ve never heard of him.

The main fluoride chemical added to water today is hydrofluorosilicic acid an industrial by-product from the phosphate fertilizer industry.

Fluoride given to rats has been proven to cause bone cancer, liver cancer, and a host of other physical ailments.

Dr. William Marcus, Senior Science Advisor to the EPA Office of Water, was fired because of his outspoken opposition to water fluoridation in the early 1990′s.  He even claimed that they rigged their test results to show that fluoride did not cause cancer when in fact it did.

Researcher Dr. Phyllis Mullenix was asked to study fluoride and was surprised to find and prove that fluoride is a neurotoxin and causes effects like hyper activity, memory problems, and IQ problems similar to ADD/ADHD in laboratory rats.  After submitting her findings, she was promptly fired from the Forsyth Dental Research Center.  She went from being a leading neurotoxicologist at a Harvard affiliated research institute to being an industry pariah.  This assignment and her findings ruined her career as a grant-funded research scientist.

Not only does fluoride in water not help your teeth, too much of it causes permanent damage in young children’s teeth between 3 months and 8 years old.  This is called dental fluorosis. Fluoride also accumulates in the bones eventually causing a bone disease calledskeletal fluorosis in adults.

Welcome to Opposite Land where right is wrong, and up is down:

It is illegal to dump fluoride into our lakes and rivers, but somehow it is ok to put in our drinking water and toothpaste.

Cities with fluoridated water have higher cavity rates and higher cancer death rates when compared to cities with unfluoridated water. As of 2010, 66% of US water supplies are currently fluoridated, but the good new is that since 1999 over 60 U.S. communities have rejected fluoridation.

Hidden sources of fluoride:  Most commercial crops are watered with fluoridated water.  These crops absorb the fluoride.  Fruit juices from concentrate are reconstituted with fluoridated water, and bottled water, even if it’s filtered, usually has fluoride in it.

Fluoride is still defended today for two reasons:  the massive profit produced by selling it to local municipalities, and the massive liability and lawsuits that would follow an admission that it is in fact toxic and harmful.

The Fluoride Deceptionis a book based on ten years of research by BBC reporterChristopher Bryson on the history and dangers of water fluoridation, and is some of the source material for this post.  His research is so in-depth and well documented, it is virtually irrefutable.

There is also a ton of information and independent research from all over the world atwww.FluorideAlert.org

Despite all the evidence, proponents of water fluoridation are still calling scientific research that shows fluoride to be toxic “conspiracy theories”, but the world is waking up and the proof is in the pudding:

Proof #1  98% of Western Europe has now rejected Water Fluoridation…
and their children’s teeth are just as healthy as children’s teeth in the US.

To read the rest of Chris' post click here.

Don't you just love those oh so precious moments with your child or children? Oh you know, those  moments...frequent or rare as they may be, where your kid does something precious, something adorable, something sweet...without even realizing it or knowing anyone noticed.  My son has many of those and though he doesn't realize I'm watching, I mostly always am... well sometimes...no always... and he doesn't even realize I'm watching him. Those are my favorite moments.

Alaka'i frequently has moments like these, where he's doing something quirky, cute or interesting that I find utterly precious, though he rarely notices that I noticed.  Sometimes it's just the way he plays in the sun.  When we hike or are outside, he often reaches for the light when he's playing.. It's something he's done since he was little and still does, and something I find utterly precious to watch.

When I made my diet change and started juicing and cutting out all artificial ingredients, GMO's, preservatives and the like, I also looked for alternative products for my every day tasks such as brushing my teeth.

Fluoride has for many years, been passed off as beneficial to your oral health.  In some cities across the United States, the water was even fluoridated but I'm not buying the hype.  I watched a very eye opening documentary called The Fluoride Deception:

In this video, award-winning journalist Christopher Bryson examines one of the great secret narratives of the industrial era; how a grim workplace poison and the most damaging environmental pollutant of the cold war was added to our drinking water and toothpaste.

Scary.  I'll get to all that in a minute because I know not all of you will agree with my views or the views of the video and organizations that are fighting water fluoridation. I'll be including links and the videos for The Fluoride Deception at the end of this video.  When I decided to quit toothpaste that had fluoride, I went to a couple health stores and did some homework.  Not all "health food" stores' toothpaste is fluoride free.   You really have to read the labels.  I've tried maybe 5 different fluoride-free toothpastes for myself and my son and the two pictured above are my favorites (as is evident from the dented bottle on the left).

With "all natural" toothpastes, you run the risk of brushing your teeth with something rancid that leaves your mouth feeling and tasting not-so-awesome.  I tried a few of those that weren't to my liking but I did luck out and find 2 that I really like.

The first toothpaste Weleda Plant Gel Toothpaste ($ 8.00 US) is my son's absolute favorite.  He's an 11 year old boy and is really picky about how clean his teeth feel.  I bought this Weleda toothpaste because I use their Citrus Spray Deodorant (will review that later) and thought I'd give this toothpaste a try.  Glad I did!!  It's geared towards tooth protection and for those with sensitive gums.  The taste is sweet but not too minty, just a subtle hint of freshness, nothing strange or yucky.  It's actually a red-colored gel and it leaves your mouth feeling utterly clean and your teeth shiny and smooth.  LOVE it.

Here's more info via Weleda:

natural cleansing and protection for delicate gums

Clean teeth, care for sensitive gums and balance the normal functions of your mouth with this soothing tooth gel. It’s a gentle way to clean your mouth with natural silica and help reduce the buildup of plaque.

Your sensitive gums are soothed by the mild antiseptic properties of organic chamomile flower extract. The gently effective disinfectant in our soothing myrrh extracts and the astringent properties of organic ratanhia are proven oral healthcare secrets from ancient cultures that naturally clean and tone your modern mouth. With the invigorating taste of lively mint and citrus fruits, your mouth feels completely refreshed. You’ve finally found soothing oral care that effectively cleans your teeth, so tell those sensitive gums to relax.

The second toothpaste is Jason Sea Fresh Toothpaste ($ 6.50 US) which is my personal favorite because like the Weleda toothpaste, it is fluoride free but it is super minty and as close to the minty-freshness of the mainstream toothpastes that I've been able to find.  You honestly wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and a minty Colgate or Crest if you brushed your teeth blindfolded.  My mouth is left super fresh afterward with no film.  Jason makes toothpastes with fluoride too so be careful and read the label.

Here's more info via Jason:

Strengthen your teeth and freshen your breath, without harsh abrasives or irritating chemicals. Sea Fresh® All Natural Toothpaste features Blue Green Algae (Aphanizomenon Flos-Aquae), rich in Calcium, proteins and antioxidants, to naturally strengthen your teeth and gums and potent Spearmint and Parsley Extracts to keep your breath fresh and clean. Our exclusive blend of natural polishers and stain-fighting botanicals includes Bamboo Powder, Calcium Carbonate and Silica to help prevent tartar build-up while gently brightening your smile. For a strong smile and fresh breath, use JASON Sea Fresh® toothpaste and mouthwash twice a day.
 
The JĀSÖN natural toothpastes promise:
√ No Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfates
√ No Preservatives
√ No Artificial Colors
√ No Artificial Sweeteners
√ No Saccharin
√ No Propylene Glycol
√ No Gluten

I am really happy so far with the switch from the fluoridated toothpastes to the fluoride-free natural toothpastes.  I was so pleasantly surprised that my son openly embraced it and didn't whine about it.  I highly recommend you give it a try.  I don't know about you but the benefits far outweigh the downfalls.  I'd rather drive to Whole Foods and spend a buck more and not have fluoride in my toothpaste.

Now to the scary part....the dangers of fluoride.

This information is via Fluoride Action Network (FluorideAlert.Org):

Fluoride Toothpastes

• The vast majority of toothpastes now contain fluoride.
• Although research suggests adult-strength fluoride toothpaste (1,100-1,450 ppm F) can reduce tooth decay, this potential benefit comes with the risk of disfigured teeth.
• Use of fluoride toothpaste during childhood is a major risk factor for dental fluorosis, particularly for children who brush before the age of three and who live in areas with fluoridated water.
• Children who swallow fluoride toothpaste can reach fluoride levels in their blood that exceed the levels that have been found to inhibit insulin secretion and increase blood glucose in animals and humans.
• All fluoride toothpastes sold in the U.S. must now include a poison label that warns users to “contact a poison control center immediately” if they swallow more than used for brushing.
• Just one 1 gram of fluoride toothpaste (a full strip of paste on a regular-sized brush) is sufficient to cause acute fluoride toxicity in two-year old child (e.g., nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhea).
• In 2009, U.S. poison control centers received over 25,000 calls  related to excessive ingestion of fluoride toothpaste, with over 378 users requiring emergency room treatment.
• In adults, fluoride toothpaste can cause skin rashes around the mouth known as perioral dermatitis as well as canker sores.

For more discussion on fluoride toothpaste, click here. 

 Fluoride Action Network has a TON of information about fluoride and the dangers it poses.  Here are my favorite articles from them:

• 10 Facts on Fluoride 
• Dangers and Poisons in your Dental Products
• Harvard Study on Fluoride Decreasing IQ of Children
• Pediatrician Speaks Out on Dangers of Fluoridation
• Fluoride and Your Health 

Part 1

Part 2

Well my lovelies, I am running on what we in Hawai'i affectionately call Hawaiian Time which basically just means we're running a tad bit late or behind schedule, on Hawaiian time, if you will. So please forgive me for having my Monday Bytes feature up just after the clock strikes midnight in Hawai'i for Tuesday.

Oh the day job has been rough, rough I tell ya'!  Thankful to have it, rough and tough as it may be.. perhaps more on that later... for now it's time to get to the link love of the posts I heart this week!

Have you linked up with the Aloha Friday Blog Hop this week and entered our awesome giveaway?   There's still time!

• Healthy Eating 101 {Calm, Healthy, Sexy} -Learn some useful strategies to eating healthy and improving your overal health and wellbeing!
• Losing My Identity {Funny Postpartum Lady} -Visit one of my favorite mamas as she explores the transition from mommy with a day job to stay at home mommy.
• 7 Easy Easter Egg Decorating Ideas {Yesterday on Tuesday} -The always creative and crafty Malia explores egg decorating in ways I never imagined!
• Take The Time To Be Still {Simply Heavenly Food} -Excellent scriptures and words to live by. About finding the time to turn to God, especially when things seem difficult. 
• Navy & Pink Done Right {The Serena Saga}- Loved this look she put together, full of color and textures!
• Organizing Your Desktop {Her & Nicole} - Rekita shares with us some amazing and easy organization ideas for your desktop! 
• Craiglist A Home Tour {Local Sugar Hawaii} -Nicole shares lovely photos of her beautifully decorated home she leaves behind as she and her family move & open a new and exciting chapter in their lives. You have to read how she weaves her words ever so perfectly. Lovely.
• Katie's New Start {The Blonde Episodes} - Beautiful photos from the Allure shoot with Katie Holmes and a fresh start for the newly single actress.