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Star -Bulletin photographers
ring in the new with a selection of
their favorite images from the
year just past

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Ken Ige

When Haleiwa Elementary student Justin Mendoza (top right) told student teacher Heather Young he wasn't feeling well on the Pharaoh's Fury ride at the 50th State Fair, her maternal instincts kicked in. Maternal instincts and, of course, the angle of trajectory wasn't in her favor. Luckily Justin made it off the ride OK.

Mason Yoshida, 4, went underwater for the first time with dad Mark Yoshida, right, at a pool in Kailua. Just minutes earlier, Mason had been reluctant to get his face wet, let alone go underwater. But a pair of swim goggles and the lure of being able to see underwater overpowered whatever fears he had. He was totally stoked and couldn't wait to get back into the water.

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George F. Lee

San Francisco 49er Jerry Rice is intercepted by Maava Fuatagavi during a celebrity wheelchair basketball game, above. Fuatagavi played Rice perfectly and took the pass right away. I was proud of this shot and for Fuatagavi. After all, how many people can say they've intercepted Jerry Rice? I've been photographing sports since my days as a yearbook photographer at Maryknoll High School, yet this is one of my very favorite sports shots.

My fireworks shot was taken from Tantalus right at midnight on Jan. 1, 2000. Growing up in Honolulu, I can remember some pretty wild nights of fireworks and some pretty thick smoke from those firecrackers and aerials. I remember the drive up to Roundtop and back down on this particular night -- you couldn't see 100 yards ahead. I was amazed at how the buildings of Waikiki appeared to rise from the smoke of the so-called millennium celebration.

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Ken Sakamoto

Tiger Woods has a winning smile to go with his winning game. This year he became the first golfer to win the PGA Grand Slam of Golf for three straight years. Here he flashes his smile, charming the hundreds of fans who came out see him play on the Poipu Bay course on Kauai.

The big news for North Shore residents in 2000 was the rock slide at Waimea Bay. It closed the road for several weeks, until a temporary bypass road could be built, forcing people to take extreme measures to get to work. This woman did not hesitate for a moment as she hitched up her skirt and plunged into the bay. Several men on the opposite side who had been standing around getting up the courage to cross, cheered her on.

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Dean Sensui

These two photographs show how convincing a composited image can be. In the photo below, Richard Duggan, the Bishop Museum's chairman of exhibits, and Laurie Franz (holding 1-year-old son Cole) pretend to encounter a Tyranosaurus on the museum grounds. The composited image, above, gives a sense of how large the dinosaur "Sue" was when she roamed the Earth more than 65 million years ago. The Tyranosaurus was actually a small sculpture placed relatively close to the camera on a tripod. The humans were positioned farther back to create an illusion of scale. A third shot replaced the grass in the foreground and shadows were added to complete the effect. Tyranosaurus sculpture courtesy Michael Furuya.

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Dennis Oda

After the murderer trial of Byran Uyesugi, the lone crying figure of Betsy Sakata is lost in the commotion of the courtroom, above. As journalists, we often are so absorbed in getting the "big" story, that we overlook the many things that surround us. Sakata is the aunt of Ann Lee, the widow of one of the victims in the Xerox shootings, Melvin Lee.

Grace, beauty, emotion and excitement are all found at the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in Hilo. Pictures show the grace and beauty of hula, but no one really shows the emotion and excitement that surrounds the event. I try to do that. As the winners are announced, you can feel the tension turn to joy.I want to capture that in my photos. No one knows who won until it's announced, but predicting the winners allows me to position myself to photograph their reactions. I've probably been to the festival at least 15 times, so I have a good idea of what's going to happen. Immediately after Halau Hula O Kamuela was announced the winner in the Hula Auana category, the women jumped to celebrate.

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Craig T. Kojima

I am blessed by all the people who said prayers for me throughout the year. Thank you. At work, I had a little sign above my assignments that said, "Hope." Every morning I would look at it, maybe say a small prayer and then go out on my assignments, knowing that the day could bring some great news about the paper. At the federal courthouse, above, David Black announces the completion of the deal to purchase the Star-Bulletin. There were a lot of breaths exhaled as he pronounced, "It's done!" It's a funny photo, too, as I can see about six Star-Bulletin staffers in the shot.

I was on assignment at Makiki Park near Tantalus when I saw Jessica Golden (in black) and Alexandra Cruickshank (in white) taking a walk in their angel wings. In the quickly fading light, it was such a magical scene that it made me wonder why they were there. This composite image builds on the illusion.

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Ronen Zilberman

The photo above, of Ofer Givati with five pigs in his mouth, originally was taken for a Christmas project (it was supposed to represent "five big, fat pigs" in the Hawaiian version of "The 12 Days of Christmas"). Instead, this photo symbolizes for me the role of consumerism in the season.

Lanikai Canoe Club members jump into the ocean off Duke Kahanamoku Beach after wining the men's Molokai to Oahu race.

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