Tag Archives: Hawaii

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

Photo Technical Info

Footprints in the Sand of Honokalani Black Sand Beach in Maui, Hawaii

Posted on June 23rd, 2014 by

Footprints in the Sand

Maui was the first Hawaiian island Pamela and I visited. We went before I started traveling heavily and it’s still easily one of my favorite places on Earth. Looking back, many of my favorite places have been one’s I discovered with Pamela. I love exploring on my own. I think it is a basal need for me, but when you share your journey with the right partner, it makes life better.

This particular beach in Maui, Honokalani Black Sand Beach is located near the town of Hana in the Wainapanapa State Park. We took the road to Hana that day and found this gem towards the end of a day of magical Hawaiian wonder. Easily, this beach was our favorite part, not only of the Road to Hana drive, but our entire trip! This place was pure joy the day we visited. Like footprints in the sand, so too are our lives. Enjoy those moments of bliss no matter if you find them on a black sand beach half-way around the globe or if they materialize in your own backyard.

Footprints on Honokalani Black Sand Beach in Maui, Hawaii
Footprints on Honokalani Black Sand Beach in Maui, Hawaii

Photo Technical Info

  • Aperture: ƒ/2.8
  • Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Taken: 23 July, 2012
  • Focal length: 16mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Location: 20° 47.3383′ 0″ N 156° 0.2118′ 0″ W
  • Shutter speed: 1/3200s
  • Title: Footprints on Honokalani Black Sand Beach in Maui, Hawaii

Lighthouse at Ka’Ena Point on Oahu, Hawaii

Posted on April 24th, 2014 by

Loving Hawaii

Here is the thing…every time I go to Hawaii, it seems harder and harder to actually leave Hawaii when the time comes. For the past few years I have been trying to get there once or twice a year and this last visit to Oahu I really was NOT ready to leave. There is just a raw beauty in Hawaii, truly unlike anywhere else. You have to get out away from the tourists, but the Hawaiian’s have a really good thing and they know it!

Ka’Ena Point is West

As far west as you can go on the island of Oahu is Ka’Ena Point. You either need a 4×4 to get there or you walk like I did. It’s probably a hot hour+ hike but I think the point is worth the trek, especially if you enjoy walking on a muddy 4×4 trail with the beach on one side and the Hawaiian mountains on the other. The entire area is a wildlife preserve for several species, but I specifically got to see the Laysan Albatrosses up pretty close! This big bird was just chillin in his nest apparently unconcerned by all the gawkers. This “lighthouse” overlooks the rocky beach where there were quite a number of locals having a good time.

Lighthouse at Ka'Ena Point on Oahu, Hawaii
Lighthouse at Ka’Ena Point on Oahu, Hawaii

Photo Technical Info

Aboard the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial

Posted on April 21st, 2014 by

Designing our Nations Monuments

I sometimes wonder how it is that we have been so blessed in this country to have some of the greatest monuments to our heroes. What a task, honor and responsibility it must be for the designers. They are building something that countless visitors will see for all of our remaining history. Something that must encapsulate remembrance, that must honor and make us all reflect on tragedy, courage, valor. I believe the two finest examples of many in the United States are the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Oahu, Hawaii.

A Different Sort of Hallowed Ground

The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial is one of the most solemn places I have visited. It is an active cemetery and most of the crew members are still aboard (only a few hundred survived the attack). The space is open and airy, serene…a very stark contrast to December 7, 1941. This life preserver struck me at the end of my visit. It’s an almost ironic thing on a memorial to so many sailors who died without enough time to even attempt to use one. It’s there for the living of course, but then again, perhaps the memorial is there for us as well. May the dead only know peace.

Aboard the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial
Aboard the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial

Photo Technical Info

Rock Stack in Oahu

Posted on February 27th, 2014 by

Stacking Rocks

I have visited several of the Hawaiian islands and on each I have been all over. I tend to wander on my trips and with SO much great hiking in Hawaii, it’s hard for me to stay still on a beach. One thing I have noticed quite a few places is these stacks of rocks. I have always found this interesting, but a recent bit of research into them seems they are actually perhaps disrespectful of Pele (goddess of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes)! In many places on the Big Island, the practice has elicited the installation of signs saying not to stack the rocks. I have always seen these stacks in places frequented by tourists and I think most people assume they are being respectful. It is perhaps a good lesson to do as you see the locals doing and perhaps abstain if you aren’t sure of a custom. When in Hawaii, Please, Don’t Stack the Rocks!

Rock Stack in Oahu
Rock Stack in Oahu by W. Brian Duncan

Sunrise from Lanikai Beach

Posted on February 6th, 2014 by

Talking to Locals

If there is one thing I need to do more when traveling, it’s making friends with people who live where I am visiting. They know the best places to go! I took this fantastic photo of sunrise off Lanikai Beach one morning in Oahu. Later that day I went to check into my hotel and was talking about hiking and sunrise and the girl at the hotel checking me in said she had been hiking Lanikai that very morning. Wait…I was just there! In reality she was hiking Lanikai (mountain) up to the pillboxes while I was chilling on the beach. Regardless, the next time I am in Oahu I found yet another amazing location to catch sunrise! It just goes to show you being friendly pays off.

Sunrise from Lanikai Beach
Sunrise from Lanikai Beach by W. Brian Duncan

Shangri La Garden

Posted on January 16th, 2014 by

Richest Little Girl in the World

What an interesting place Shangri La must have been back in it’s hay day! Not that it isn’t interesting now…there is perhaps no finer Islamic art collection in the Western world. It’s just the people that inevitable came and went from the mansion must have been an interesting counterpoint. General a sanctuary for Doris Duke from the world, the mansion was know to host Andy Warhol and Truman Capote among others…what a life.

Shangri La Garden
Shangri La Garden by W. Brian Duncan

Lanai Lookout Oahu

Posted on October 28th, 2013 by

Pulling off the Highway

I kept thinking…don’t make me stop this car…while driving around Ohau. The problem isn’t screaming kids in the back, but rather gorgeous views that are ALL over the island. Driving around the coast (or anywhere really) there always seems to be a new terrain, some new rock formation, a different type of beach to take in. It takes me FOREVER to get anywhere, but them again, on island time I don’t much care!

Lookout

This particular location is called Lanai Lookout. If you hop over the fence (normal in Hawaii for me) you are presented with a really wonderful rock formation where you can see the ocean eating away a layers of ancient, now cooled but once molten rock. Someone had spent a good deal of time in this spot and took the time to carve some sort of sun sigil in the stone formation.

Lanai Lookout Oahu
Lanai Lookout Oahu by W. Brian Duncan

Waikiki Lifeguard Stand

Posted on October 17th, 2013 by

Baywatch

I couldn’t help but think of David Hasselhoff when I came across the occasional lifeguard stand on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. I caught the 2E stand at sunset before following my monk friends down an ocean walkway. It really Waikiki is a wonderful place for a sunset if you can get over the cheesy beach vibe and overlook the throngs of tourists. It’s a great place to spend a bit of down time!

Waikiki Lifeguard Stand
Waikiki Lifeguard Stand by W. Brian Duncan

Waikiki Sunset

Posted on September 30th, 2013 by

Mahalo Sunset

One of my favorite things about Hawaii is watching the sunset over the water on a isolated beach. Now while you can’t really call Waikiki isolated, it is one fantastic spot to watch the sun sink below the ocean. And somehow when I walked down this little strip, I felt right with the world.

I should also mention that when I walked to the end I did so with a group of Buddhist monks visiting from Asia. I felt a bit awkward as I wasn’t quite sure the exact decorum. They seemed to not speak much English and they had a guide translating to English. I went all the way to the end to get some photos when a big wave came up and completely splashed me. I was done taking pictures as I walked by sopping wet, I said to the guide, “It’s much the same with life.”

HDR Photography
Waikiki Sunset by W. Brian Duncan