Category Archives: Hawaii

Beautiful Photography of Hawaii

Kauai Sunrise

Posted on December 1st, 2014 by

One morning I followed the beach around away from the resort on Kauai and found this wonderful beach to watch sunrise. I met a WONDERFUL character who was here fishing and also photographing sunrise. We chatted about life and his feelings of Kauai and Oahu and discovered his family lives in Missouri…but that is perhaps another story (ask me sometime).

After parting with my new friend, I photographed a bit longer. I was so enamored with the sky, I forgot the importance of elemental balance, the ocean was all but too kind to remind me it too is a powerful force. I ended up completely soaked on my right side. I just got off this photo before yanking my camera to safety!

Kauai Sunrise
Kauai Sunrise

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Lonely Contemplation on an Oahu Hawaii Cliff

Posted on November 3rd, 2014 by

Diverse Landscape

One of the main reasons I love Hawaii is the diverse landscape. This location is actually very dangerous and there are many places you could easily fall into the ocean! It an extremely wealthy part of Oahu and I couldn’t help but think the whole time if you wanted an ocean fortress that was not susceptible to normal beach problems…this would be an ideal location. I was struck by this woman sitting all by her self, it seemed someone else thought this a good place to be alone with your thoughts.

Lonely Contemplation on an Oahu Hawaii Cliff
Lonely Contemplation on an Oahu Hawaii Cliff

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A History of Fighter Planes at Pearl Harbor

Posted on October 27th, 2014 by

Fighter Planes at Pearl Harbor

It’s no secret I love planes. I have always known I was not cut out for a military life, but many of the men in my family have served. My father in particular was in the U.S. Air Force and might be much of the genesis of my love of flying machine. For me planes are all about transportation. Hop aboard and as if by magic you are transported half the world away. There is of course another line of work these machines are employed by and during my visit to Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, I visited the Pacific Aviation Museum. They have a wonderfully and lovingly restored collection of military flying machines through the ages. This particularly awesome specimen is an F-111.

A History of Fighter Planes at Pearl Harbor
A History of Fighter Planes at Pearl Harbor

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Sunset on a Lava Rock Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

Posted on October 20th, 2014 by

After Glow

After the sun sets with its magical rays and the light starts to fade, some photographers pack it in. The sunset watching crowd, all the time complaining that the people and their electronics don’t really SEE the sunset behind those gadgets, start to wander home. I tend to stay around and see what’s left very often there is a surprising calm or a last burst of light that makes your trip. Maybe that’s another of those good life mottos, stick around you never know what you will find.

Sunset on a Lava Rock Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
Sunset on a Lava Rock Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

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Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii

Posted on October 13th, 2014 by

A Grand Canyon

Waimea Canyon in Kauai, Hawaii has been called by some (people say Mark Twain, but he never actually visited the island of Kauai) The Grand Canyon of Hawaii. I always hate it when that happens because to me it seems to insinuate this is a lesser version of something better. I have never seen The Grand Canyon (possibly next year), but it I have never seen color like Waimea in a similar landscape. It was, like all of Kauai, impossibly lush, even in its barrenness. This place is special and unlike anything I have ever seen and deserves to be know by its own merits.

Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii
Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii

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Waikiki Beach Pier Sunset

Posted on October 6th, 2014 by

I have visited pier on Waikiki Beach many times in the past. It’s not the main crowded pier, but one to the East that hardly gets any attention. This location always looks different to me and in much the same way my photos look different each time I sit down to work on them. The previous was bright and colorful, this one dark and moody. Perhaps my current temperament effects my processing decisions more than I think or perhaps I am drawn to darker images in the first place when I am feeling less than chipper. Despite the duality, I love both images and it’s a great reminder how different days create totally different moods, both in photography and in life.

Waikiki Beach Pier Sunset
Waikiki Beach Pier Sunset

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Kauai Sunset from The Beach House

Posted on September 11th, 2014 by

Not MY Beach House

Ask a local. I can’t tell you enough how important this is to traveling. There are locations in the world (China…I am looking at you), where (and this is only in my limited expereince) you might get the recommendations they “THINK” you want, but most locals are happy to tell you good info. This is the case with this great sunset location in Kauai. I asked the bellmen at the Grand Hyatt Kauai where the best, close sunset spot was and they directed me to Beach House. Maybe this was one of those, they “THINK” I want to go to a bar, eat and catch sunset, but I found three or four wonderful angles to view sunset. Ask a local and you are bound to find some great adventure.

Kauai Sunset from The Beach House
Kauai Sunset from The Beach House

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The Na Pali Coastline of Kauai, Hawaii

Posted on September 8th, 2014 by

The Pull of Hawaii

Kauai isn’t like the other Hawaiian islands I have visited. There is a wildness here, evermore so than on Maui, my closest reference. This was my first time visiting Kauai and it absolutely will not be my last. Every time I go to the islands, I can feel that seductive pull that traps people and never lets go. Something about the place makes me want to be there, it’s more than the beautiful weather and landscape, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I will keep exploring the feeling.

Quiet Isolation

To me Hawaii is synonymous with hiking. There are places in Hawaii that are incredibly over-crowded, but part of the islands magic seems to be the ability to lose yourself with incredible ease. I found this magic on the Phiea Trail. At the trails head, dozens of people were gawking at this incredible view. I took this photo and kept on walking, climbing over rough terrain and in 10 minutes…silence.

I was alone on the trail with the wind and the ocean and the trees. Occasionally I would come across a fellow hiker, we would nod or say hello, but their footsteps and mine someone were an invasion of the peace. Rapidly, the magic would take over again as the other hiker would fade into my distance and I into theirs. I would once again find myself alone enveloped by the power of nature.

The Na Pali Coastline of Kauai, Hawaii
The Na Pali Coastline of Kauai, Hawaii

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Wild Flowers on the Shores of Oahu

Posted on August 7th, 2014 by

Incredible Diversity

One of the things I absolutely love about Hawaii is its incredible diversity. It is a CRAZY melting pot of people from all over the world who seek paradise, but I am talking about the landscape. From rocky shores to sandy beaches (and every color imaginable), from forests to mountains, from tundra to big city speed, Hawaii seemingly has it ALL! On a hike to the western tip of Oahu and Ka’Ena Point where I found a cool/weird lighthouse beacon I noticed there wild flowers along the shore. They reminded me of the wild flowers that grow on the fields of Missouri, despite the roar of the Pacific Ocean in the background.

Wild Flowers on the Shores of Oahu
Wild Flowers on the Shores of Oahu

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Dawn Over Haleakala Maui, Hawaii

Posted on July 24th, 2014 by

Revisiting Previous Works

Photography for me, is about exploration, experimentation and finding that photo in my mind. It’s how I recall my life…as photos. Some of the more magical moments are often hard to express. What I see, and prehaps more importantly what I remember seeing is very different that what the camera sees. Saturation changes based on the exposure, for instance.

Our technology despite being marvelous, is a poor substitute for what nature can produce and what our brain can see and recall. I tend to not go back to images or scenes unless they are completely different, but today, I am making an exception. The last dawn over Haleakala photo I felt was too saturated and I used a variety of new techniques to product today’s version. Tell me what you think, which version do you like best and do you revisit photos to work on them again?

Dawn Over Haleakala Maui, Hawaii
Dawn Over Haleakala Maui, Hawaii

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