Wolf Attack!

Sunny just lives for this kind of fun. Buster feigns indifference but it's just a big act.

A White Sandy Beach

That's what I wanted to see this morning however, I woke up to a foot of blindingly white snow and a temperature of 3 degrees with wind chills of 20 below. It's supposed to be -10 tonight without the wind chills. 

I should have stayed in Hawaii!

I did get out while it was snowing and attempt to take some more snowflake photos. I'm still learning but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. After about and hour and a half in the freezing weather I ended up with four shots that were decent. Focusing on such a tiny object is very hard to do!

What is it?

Three guesses what this might be. Tomorrow I'll post the answer.

The Sunset Wizard at work

I know how much Tex just loves Hawaiian sunsets so I thought I would give her two! LOL

These shots were taken about two minutes apart with the sun setting behind Lana'i. Both are HDR images.

Valleys of coral

I talked with a couple of underwater photographers on Maui and they gave me a couple of new places to take photos. We had a few days of really clear water so I ended up with some pretty decent photos.

 

I was surprised at both of these locations. You can drive to them both, park for free and walk right out into the water. There were several of the snorkel and scuba boats that would take you to the exact same spots but charge you $75-$90 each. A little research and talking to the right people will save you lots of money.

Sunset! (with the green flash)

Ever since Paul posted his photo of the green flash from Oahu I have been wanting to take one of my own. I finally got the chance this trip as we were coming down from up country on Maui one evening.

 

It's not as good as Paul's photo but I consider myself lucky just to get what I did. Maybe next time I will get a better flash.

Sunrise!

This was the view off my lanai (porch) a couple of mornings ago. A view like this and a nice hot cup of coffee, can't think of a better way to start the day!

Moonlight on Maui

 

We had a full moon for a few nights while on Maui and one morning when I was up early I walked out to the beach in front of our condo and took a photo of the full moon shining on the ocean.

Not a soul in sight

 

This is Front Street in Lahaina right in front of the Banyan Tree Park. The street is usually filled with cars and people because it runs right along the coast line but a 4:00 a.m. it was just me. I was compelled to set my tripod up in the middle of the street and take a photo. All of the smart people were still in bed.

 

This is a slightly different view of the Banyan tree in Lahaina.

Some of you probably already knew that tomorrow is Chinese New Year, and it's the year of the Horse!  I Just want to wish everyone Happy New Year! This picture captured on my kitchen counter, with 2 flash attached with a snoot.  To get the reflections, I make the counter wet, and use a cement board for the background.  

The Road to Hana

Fifty two miles with 620 curves and...

 

 

...fifty nine bridges.

 

 

 And the trip, if done right, will take you all day long. The trip to Hana isn't about getting to Hana, it's about seeing the sites along the way including the rain forest, waterfalls and breath taking views of the coast line. It's well worth the day it takes to do it right, stopping along the way to take in the sites and have a picnic lunch because there are no restaurants along the way.

 

You can eat in Hana as long as you are willing to pay a very high premium for a mediocre sandwich or burger.

Another shark bait sunset

 

I took these in the waters out in front of our condo in Honokowai. Shooting a sunset in the water is kind of like bobbing for apples but in reverse. I had to keep wearing my mask and snorkel because my head spent more time under water than above.

A Unexpected Encounter

These were taken on another day a field setting up a hunting blind. I was slowly making my way down a field edge taking pictures of smaller birds flying in and out of the trees on the fence line. When ahead of me I noticed a large bird fly out of the field I was heading into. I knew for sure that the bird had probably head for the hills with me walking his way so I just kept taking pictures of the little birds. 

 

As I entered the field I scanned the tree line across the from me and low and behold he decided to stick around and take up residence in a tree about 100 yards from me. Knowing at anytime he could take flight and leave me with nothing I kept my camera at the ready and slowly entered the field . Walking into the field another 20 yards or so proved to be to close for his comfort and to the wing he took. The great thing was he had to pass bye me at a very close distance.  These are all hand held at 500mm, none of these have been cropped at all, just to give you a idea of how close he actually got.

Sunset Swim

I was looking for a different perspective on a sunset so I went for a late swim on a couple of different evenings to see what I could get from the water.

 

Later on of course I found out that you shouldn't swim in the water when it was dark or wear high contrast clothing (I had a bright orange and black suit on) because it makes it easier for the sharks to confuse you with dinner.

Going to school

 

I took these in Mokuleia Bay on Maui. From above the water this school of fish looked like a reef in the water but then the reef started moving. The only thing I could think of doing was swimming right through the middle.

"That's the biggest one I've ever seen"

I had just gotten out of the shower and walked out onto the lanai when a lady passing by looked up and said that exact phrase.

I smiled and thanked her for the compliment and went on with what I was doing.

Get your mind out of the gutter Tex, she was talking about my 600mm lens. At least I think she was. LOL

Most of the breaching whales were waaaaay out there this year. I tried some shots using the 600mm lens with a 2X teleconverter just to see what I could get. I got some photos but they weren't great. This whale was close to a half mile away and the image is cropped about 50%.

I've got some better whale shots but I thought I would tease you with the bad ones first!



All I need is a hammock

We're back and it sucks! LOL

 

I'm still downloading photos onto the hard drive but you will be seeing lots of photos from Maui over the next few weeks.

 

I'm not quite sure how many photos I took but it will probably end up being around 8000 with a couple of hundred being the shots I wanted to end up with. I did take over 2000 underwater photos this trip and several of those look like they will be good ones.

Inside the Navigational Vortex

I Found The Way!

My last post I promised to take you to the very core of the vortex. Follow me for I think I have found the path!

Mirrors-But No Smoke!

Last night, during the midnight hours, the sextant was oriented to Polaris. Latitude and longitude are well established. This day at high noon it is noted that the Sun is reflected to a northern position to align with the reflected position of the North Star. It took many Mirrors to accomplish this course; But no smoke!

A Picasso Moment!

As I looked up to see down, the very ground that the compass rose was standing on appeared in my lens. The blue sky which is really up appeared down to complete the scene. I wonder if I have discovered Picasso's inspiration?

In The Storm!

At least we have discovered how to orient ourselves to the horizon inside this vortex. Up is down and down is up. One other thing of note is how the designer of this sculpture brought the surroundings, or environment, into this vortex as well. Genius design. Although for me if I stared to long in the core, tunnel vision began to develop which made me feel if I was being tossed in a storm!

 Past or Future?

After the journey from inside the navigational creation it felt good to have my feet back on good old terra firma!  What had we just been a part of? The past or future or maybe just a fantasy. Decided it was all three. Enjoying sculptures like I do, finding one that inspires to challenge the visual and mental senses as this one did is a rarity. Sure beats a guy on a horse with his sword drawn!  

Dusk on the Ocean

It's our last day on the island, you feel sorry for me don't you? LOL

 

It's back to the real world unfortunately (after a short stop in Las Vegas!)

The Banyan Tree in Lahaina

This tree was planted in Lahaina in 1873. It was eight feet tall when planted and now stands over 60 feet tall and is more than 200 feet wide. The banyan tree survives by sending out "shooters" from it's branches to the ground. Once the shooters touch the ground they form a secondary trunk and root system to help support the massive size of the tree. This banyan tree has the main center truck and eleven other major trunks.

 

I took this photo during one of my early morning trips when no one else was in the park.