CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The sun peeked out in Nanakuli just as a resident came out to see destruction caused by some high wind. There are no utility poles on the left side of the photo because all were snapped off and lying on the ground.

F.L. MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
I choose this photo of a flat-bottom skiff moored at Ala Wai Yacht Harbor as my favorite unpublished photo of the year. It is a totally personal image, provoking memories of the past and creating ideas for adventures in the future.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
With all the troubles facing the world, it's nice to show a happy moment. I've covered a lot of these homecomings, but this picture of Master Sgt. Magno Manzano at Wheeler Army Airfield is special because it shows several family members, not just a husband and wife. After 12 months away in Iraq, Manzano hugs his tearful daughter, Shalynn, so hard, her glasses slip off. Another daughter, Valerie, left, sister Jhere Manzano and fiancee Julie Ragasa are also there. You can just feel the joy in the whole family. It reminds me of the sacrifices they all must make.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
In a wash of subtle colors and movements, these dancers from the Association of Indonesian Students performed a piece from the Aceh region of Sumatra known as "dance of a thousand hands." They were performing at the University of Hawaii's International Night 2007.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
While walking along Kapiolani Beach Park in Waikiki, I came across the University of Hawaii cheerleading squad practicing for the Universal Cheerleaders Association College Nationals and their appearance at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Cheerleader Kibby Peet was working on her pike split full maneuver. As I composed this shot, I noticed how incongruous she looked as she performed her aerials along the tree line.

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre dancer Maile Baran Primacio rehearses the piece "Songs to a Forgotten Mother" from the show "Electric Blue" at Hawaii Theatre. This was a fun assignment. The lighting was really nice, and the dance piece was really interesting. I slowed the shutter speed to show how the sand was making such interesting shapes in the air.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
It was a little after 5:30 p.m., and I was watching a pocket of light trickle in through the hangar doors at Wheeler Army Air Base. Soon, about 200 soldiers of the 45th Sustainment Brigade would walk through those doors, returning from a year's deployment in Iraq. When the soldiers were dismissed and 10 year-old Ivana-Aje ran and jumped into the arms of her father, Sgt. Stephen Dolic, she was right on the fringe of that pocket of light. I waited for the right moment and pressed the shutter once -- and one shot was all it took. I knew it was a great moment in great light.