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I love this photo, it's not my own but I'm not sure exactly who took it other than it's called "Tree of Life".  Just wanted to share something lovely with all of you on this cloudy Thursday.

What Jean Likes is undergoing some website changes.  None of them drastic, but all of them necessary.  Please excuse the mess my page may appear to be from time to time in the next few days as we undergo these changes and transition.  I've simplified my page a lot to allow it to load more quickly.  Certain things like my header and sidebar are still undergoing changes.  It takes time as it's just lil' ol' me running this website on my own. :)

Are you guys looking forward to this weekend as much as I am?  I can't wait to be officially off the clock even though I unofficially have a TON of paperwork to get caught up on.  Oh the joys of being a single mother.

A few weeks ago I ventured out to two opposite ends of the island of O'ahu where I live to try my hand at photographing the starry night sky.  It wasn't as easy as taking my camera, pointing it to the sky and shooting, however.  There were a few challenges I had to work out so that I could capture the incredibly beautiful night sky.

• The first of those challenges is light pollution. Any and all lights from the moon, planes, cars, street lights, etc. can cause light pollution that makes it more difficult to see the stars as well as causes light flares in the corners of the frame where the light is closest too.  It definitely decreases the quality of the image so it's wise to find a dark, secluded place to shoot stars from.  Be warned: Dark, secluded places may often mean there is an increase of the criminal element so it's always wise to go with at least one friend because there's safety in numbers. 
• The second challenge I faced was the sand and wind.  I'm lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, Hawai'i.  With that comes the warm tropical climate, aqua ocean water and white sandy beaches.  The cool breeze that blows gently over the shoreline is often welcome when you're spending the day in the hot sun and water.  When you're trying to shoot photos, it's not as welcome.  The wind blows the sand up and around where you're shooting and if you're not careful, may damage your camera or get stuck in your camera housing or lenses.  It's very important that you practice the utmost caution when shooting at locations where you're exposed to the elements because they can all cause camera wear, tear and breakage.  Getting one of those cheap plastic rain sleeves for your DSLR may be a wise decision because it will help to protect your camera and lens as you snap photos. They run relatively cheap on Amazon, click here to see the DSLR rain sleeves Amazon has available. 
• The salty sea breeze was the bane to my existence the night I was shooting these photos. I would have a perfectly clean lens one second and in a few minutes, there were specks of salty air and mist covering my lens.  It was quite tedious cleaning it over and over so I suggest getting a good lens pen or cleaning rag so that you can make sure your lens is clean so the shots you get are sharp and there's no decrease in image quality. 

I traveled to three different locations to shoot. The first was at Mokuleia Beach on O'ahu's north shore, the second was Halona Blowhole lookout in O'ahu's southeast shore and the third was between Sandy Beach and Allen Davis on O'ahu's southeast shore.  All three locations had beautiful views of stars and all three had their fair share of challenges but I managed to get a few lovely shots of the twinkling shots of the starry night sky.


Depending on where you shoot, the sky may have a range of purple, red or blue tones. I try to go in the opposite direction of the moon since it's the largest light source that causes light pollution.  If you plan on shooting somewhere that is farther east, you may want to wait until late at night or close to dawn because the moon moves towards the west as it sets.  If you're shooting somewhere closer to the west, shooting right when the sky gets dark may render you the best quality shots because the moon is still rising in the east.  Does this mean west coasters shoot in the early night and east coasters shoot closer to dawn? Not necessarily.  In fact, I live on a small island and depending on the geography where you live and where you plan to shoot, keep in mind where the moon rises and sets in relation to your location so that you can plan accordingly and get the most out of your shots.

Here are a few helpful tips:

• Use a tripod. It's a MUST have because you need to have a long exposure to capture the full beauty of the starry night sky.  Make sure it's a sturdy one so that if there is wind, it won't fall down and cause your camera to break. 
• Having a remote (I prefer the kind you plug in), may be quite helpful.  You do not need a remote, however as you can use the timer start so that after you click the shutter and let go there are a few seconds for your camera to stabilize before it takes the shot.  
• You may want to put your DSLR on mirror lock up mode (if your camera has the option to do so). It further eliminates any possible camera shake that may decrease the quality of your images. 
• Have a CF or SD card with a lot of memory. I prefer a 16gb or higher card just because these files take a lot of memory and you don't want to be out of memory when the perfect shot presents itself. 
• Try to wait for any clouds to pass before you snap your shot.  Clouds look like pink or yellow blobs that hide the beautiful starry night sky. In some cases they actually could make a cool effect like it's framing the stars, but I prefer a clear cloudless sky if possible. 
• Bring a few flashlights.  You may be thinking "ummm I thought you said light pollution ruins the image?" Yeah I said that.  The flashlights can be used to "light paint" any foreground objects/plants, rocks that may look interesting in your shot.  You click the shutter and just take the flashlight or have a friend help you and shine it on the rock or foreground interest and move it to cover any areas you want to show up in your photo.  It can make a really lovely effect if you do it right. 
• Remember the 600 rule may be helpful to you.  When you're taking photos of the starry night sky you're going to need to have a long exposure to capture the beauty of the stars.  The rule of 600 is basically that whatever focal length your lens is, divide 600 by that length and you have the maximum shutter time for your camera to capture the shot without the stars looking like they're moving and creating star trails. For example, if I'm using a 16-35mm lens at the 16mm end, you will want to take 600/16=37.5 seconds.  This means that the longest I should leave my shutter open is 37.5 seconds. 
• Depending on your DSLR and it's ISO performance you may need to tweak your settings that work best for your camera.  I have a Canon 5d Mark III that I use for these shots with my 16-35mm f/2.8 L II.  The settings that typically work best for me at 16mm are f/2.8, ISO 1600-2000 depending on the location, and a 30 second shutter speed.  I do this in manual mode but you can also use TV (shutter priority) mode or B (bulb) mode.  

This recipe is courtesy of my lovely cousin Malia from Yesterday on Tuesday.  If you haven't checked out her blog yet, she's got hundreds of DIY ideas, crafting ideas, recipes and more!! She is so amazing and a constant source of inspiration for me as a mommy.

This recipe looks so delicious and tasty and the perfect small portion for kids and adults like me who are watching how much they eat!! I am definitely going to try this recipe out!

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In life we all encounter a point in time where we have to draw the line between right and wrong. I don't know about you, but I've had quite a few opportunities lately to draw the line on what I believe is right and wrong and how long to allow something to continue before you say something or do something to make it stop.  Before you continue reading this, be warned that it's not the light type of post that I usually make. This is something that has been weighing on my conscience for quite some time and need to vent about so that I can let it go and move on.  Writing a blog, after all,  is not only meant to share your passions and experiences, but it's also meant to be a catharsis to allow you to express yourself and your opinion freely without anyone stifling it.

When someone you love is being victimized whether it's by a boss, coworker, friend, family member or spouse, it's so difficult to sit idly by and do nothing.  No one is perfect and I'm not in any place to judge anyone for anything.  For the most part, I try to stay out of other people's business unless they push me into it or involve me in some way in which case I'm stuck in the middle and I have to draw the line.  I typically play the role of peace keeper but in this specific instance lately I did take a side and I stand by it.  Have any of you watched someone you love dearly get used, abused (emotionally and/or physically) or cheated on?  It's the hardest thing in the world to do nothing, even if the friend or relative asks you not to.

Someone oh so dear to my heart has been victimized lately by a spouse and I'm not going to give names or anything but let's just say this person was my buddy and pal my entire life and I will always love that person until the day I die. Watching the supposed "soul mate/spouse" treat someone you love like garbage is so hard because unless they ask for your opinion, you stay out of it.  For years I've sat by and let both parties vent to me and I give them objective, neutral and peaceful opinions to encourage them to work it out and make peace with each other.  Then someone takes it too far and goes to a place so dark that it's hard to come back from.

Let's just say I don't like cheats, especially ones who do it while married with children. I really don't like cheats who do it and then bully their spouse so badly that they try to shift blame and make the innocent party feel like they did something to deserve it. Watching someone you love take the emotional abuse and heartache and blame themselves for the spouse's lack of self-control can be quite infuriating.

Where would you draw the line before you said something? Would you say anything? Would you continue to allow the person who is wrong to mess with the victim's head and make them blame themselves for the cheater's lack of self control? If the cheat was sorry, that would be one thing but they refuse to give up the job where they work with the person they had an affair with and they bully and manipulate the victim.  It's heartbreaking and frustrating to watch the family crumble and see the darling children stuck in the middle.  Children who did nothing wrong yet suffer worse than either parent.

I know I am rambling but I just needed to vent. What do you think?  When should the victim draw the line? I just hate to see someone go through such emotional abuse at the hands of someone who promised to love them till death do they part....

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better already.  Sigh.