When it rains in the rain forest

We were headed to this very tall waterfall on the Hana side of the island and it had been raining off an on during our hike but nothing too major.

 

We had just crossed the creek that is fed by this waterfall and stopped to take a quick photo.

 

Before we could get to the pool at the bottom of the falls it became obvious it was time to get out of Dodge quickly! It was like someone turned on a spigot. All of the sudden the water volume of the falls quadrupled from rain farther up the volcano.

 

We had to cut that part of our trip short and head back across the creek before we got stranded by rising water. Within ten minutes of us crossing back over the creek the water level in the creek had rose by about 3 feet an was still rising.

 

I will be going back to this waterfall for better photos but on this day common sense prevailed, for once!

Can I borrow a lawn mower?

I went on a hike with a friend through the rain forest near Hana last week and...

 

...it rained!

 

We also came across some very tall grass, a bamboo forest and a very tall waterfall.

 

More photos to come!

More from Secret Beach

 

A second nighttime shot from the beach.

 

 

And a shot before the sun went down.

Truly Paradise

 

I went shooting with a fellow photographer last night at a spot called "Secret Beach" here on Maui. There is a tiny hole in a rock wall that you walk through to find this little gem. The milky way and my light painting partner were both perfect last night.

Crimson and Clover...

Acutally a Columbine and a Clover but the Crimson part made for a better post title! 

These are both hand held but it was a nice bright day so the shutter speed would have been fairly high making for nice sharp captures.

I'm a day late but....

 

...Happy 4th of July!!

 

I spent the day working an art show on Ka'anapali beach. It was great to be able to walk out of the booth and into the ocean and then right back to the booth selling again. I couldn't ask for a better job!

 

I know, you feel sorry for me for having to work on a holiday don't you? LOL

 

After the show another photographer and I spent some time on the beach watching an amazing sunset. Since we both were working the show neither one of us brought our cameras so we looked like a couple of tourists with our cell phones taking photos.

Big bird, little bird...

Two of ninety odd pictures from the "Airport Beach" in Port Hardy. Push the shutter button enough times you're bound to get a good picture or two. Kind of like playing the lottery with much better odds! :)

Windows to the world, windows to the soul...

Composition Mistake!

This is what I get when I'm lazy or in the rush.

Hawk yes, but what kind?

Usually I have no problem identifying what kind of bird I've taken a picture of but this Hawk has me a bit buffaloed... Might be a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk or might be a Cooper's Hawk or it could be something altogether different. Any ideas?

What a beauty!

This beautiful old wooden vessel was built in 1960 and served as a Forestry Patrol Vessel for 37 years before being retired. After that the vessel went into private ownership and is used as a yacht.

Smoked Salmon first batch of the year...

Secret recipe brine, light Alder smoke and honey glazed but you wouldn't like it, it's an acquired taste... :)

West Coast kindling...

I only got a few pieces of firewood today, can't understand why I'm sore and tired! 

Minutes old...

I came across this Doe and her just born Fawn this morning and took a few pictures. Later as I drove back past this same place I saw that she'd had twins.

Iris in the rain...

Whenever I see one of these beautiful Lilly's I am reminded of these two verses from the "Sermon on the Mount": 

Mathew 28 And why are ye anxious concerning your clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Just a splash

I went out last night to shoot the sunset but it was less than spectacular so I started focusing on the waves and splashes.

Sunsets here are always good but the ones I want to photograph are the amazing ones that everybody talks about. I will get some more of those in the future.

McGregor Point, Maui

I've been having an itch to do some more night photography, especially since the core of the Milky Way is now visible above the horizon.

This is a small lighthouse on Maui that I photographed during an almost full moon last week. You couldn't see the milky way because of the moon but I was running some test shots for when the moon is gone. I will be returning for this shot again during the New Moon with the milky way across the sky.

Happy Aloha Friday!

Sunset in Kihei on Wednesday night. 

Sitting on the beach listening to the ocean and watching the sun go down never gets old. It's one of the most relaxing things I have ever found to do. I've started to do it a lot more lately and I would recommend it to everyone!

Cookies? What cookies?

No VOG on Maui

Nothing but clear skies here even though the volcano on the Big Island is making a mess of things there.

I just took this photo yesterday morning. This is actually 35 photos made into one. I wanted to make a panorama of the top of Haleakala and because of the lighting I shot it in HDR. This is 7 pieces, 5 frames each layered and stitched together to get the one image.

Cruising the Universe

Aloha!

I apologize for being away so long. The last few months have been different to say the least.

I went camping with a friend near Hana this last week. We had intended on shooting the sunset, the Milky Way and the sunrise over a two day period but for the most part it was cloudy during all of those times.

I crawled out of the tent about 2:30 a.m. the first night and saw a small break in the clouds so I took the chance to get a milky way photo before the clouds closed back in. I set up in front of the vehicle as a souvenir photo of the trip.

#Viper...

I had a pretty close look at this rig but for the life of me I couldn't figure where you'd put the dogs, the chainsaw and all the firewood after you cut it... Be lucky to get 1/4 chord in before it bottomed out!
On a positive note I see it does have a rack in the back I'm assuming for ladders, lumber, or a small fishing skiff. :)

Ok I admit, it's a nice car. But for that kind of money I'd rather have a Unimog!

Making exceptions...

I'm a GM guy, I love my GMC and Chevy pickup trucks. Over the past 35 years I've owned at least ten 1/2 and 3/4 ton GM pickups and will probably own a few more before I'm too old to drive...

But in this case I think I could make an exception. What a rugged beauty, definitely someone's labour of love and it shows!

Looking for a project?

Several months ago I found this old gutted airplane and took a few pictures of it. More recently I got curious to know more about it. Near as I can figure it was a Beech 18 and likely a source of spare parts for blue and white Beech 18 float plane in the bottom picture.
If these old planes could talk, what stories they could tell and what places they've been...

Serious pollen!

Serious amounts of pollen this spring! 

The first picture is what landed in the lake and drifted up against the dock.

The second shot is the windshield of my truck one morning!

Time to break out the decongestants!

Same scene, different zoom...

Here are a couple of pictures of Hardy Bay from last weekend. I didn't realize it until I went to post these two shots that they are both of the same view just different zoom settings. Amazing difference a few hundred mm can make...

My new excuse...

 

I just finished reading this article. Apparently we aren't supposed to cut the dandelions when they first show up in the Spring. The bees, beetles and birds need them...

Perfect, a new excuse not to mow the lawn! 👍

Light as a feather...

I watched this little Seagull and several others like it touching lightly on the water barely getting their feet wet. Each time flying away with a small fish in their beaks.

Big Mooch...

"I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a nice big fish today..."🐟

Sea Lions are like icebergs, only 10% show above the water. These big guys can weigh anywhere from 1,200 to 2,400 pounds!

Bird's eye view...

Found this majestic bird doing lazy circles on the thermals this afternoon. What a view it must be from up there!