Craig Stocks Arts Fine Art Photography and Artwork Duplication Services in Peoria and Central Illinois


Sunset at Waikiki BeachHawaii from the 25th Floor

This is the third year that my wife has worked in Hawaii for the winter so naturally I'm here too. While most people imagine lounging on sandy beaches the truth is far different. We're staying in a condo in Waikiki about 2 blocks from the beach. If you've never been here, Waikiki has more in common with the Las Vegas Strip than a secluded beach.

The photo to the right shows a typical sunset at Waikiki Beach. It's a very nice beach so it also attracts lots of folks. It's great for seeing the sunset but not so great for photography. There are certainly beautiful beaches and scenes on Oahu but I don't have access to a car. Even if I did, traffic in and out of the Waikiki area can be brutal.

So, I've decided to embrace the challenge to create an interesting body of work just from my vantage point on the 25th floor. The condo is designed so that I have two 180 degree views, one toward the mountains and the other toward the ocean. The challenge is to find enough interesting images to create a collection of related but different photos.

I have set a couple of "rules" for the project, partly so that the constraints will force me to use more creativity. All of the photos have to be taken from the 25th floor. I'm limiting the series to just 25 photos. That's the number that fit comfortably in a web gallery but that also forces me to be selective and commit to just the ones I like the best.

This is my growing collection of photos depicting Hawaii from the 25th floor.

If you enjoy these, here are my favorite landscape and portrait images from 2017.

I specialize in medium and large prints of my landscape and fine art photography. I produce all of my own prints so that I can control the quality and look of the print. I've tried a number of professional printing services, and they do a good job, but the print is never exactly what I want. By doing my own printing, I can ensure that the print doesn't leave until I'm completely happy with the result.

Any image can be purchased as a loose print, framed, or as a canvas gallery wrap. I normally frame my larger prints in a plain black frame without an over-mat, so the image completely fills the frame. Smaller prints (such as 16 X 20 inches) are normally matted in a larger frame.

Contact me directly to buy a print of any of my images.

Click on the thumbnail below to view the image.