Keep your Eyes on the Road

I'm not sure which is more dangerous, the drive up and down the volcano or the Road to Hana. If you blink for too long on either road you're going to end up someplace you really don't want to be!

Yes, that is the ocean you see on the horizon.

This was taken at about 7000 feet up the side of Haleakala as I was going back down the volcano. I have to admit that standing in the middle of this road wasn't one of my brightest moments. Between the cars and the bicycles I had to move back and forth pretty fast. I think the people on the bicycles were more dangerous than the cars!

Next Island over from Maui...

Here is a beach scene from the next Island over from where Ron lives. Did I mention that the next Island over is 2600 miles to the North East... So close yet so far!

Walking on the moon

Aloha from the top of the world!

This is a shot looking down into Haleakala. That's really what it looks like!

Back to the beach

This is part of the pier in the Hana harbor. There were several people fishing off the pier when I took this photo but I used some photoshop "magic" to take them out of my shot.

More from the Volcano

I took this one on the way up to the top of the volcano. I was some where around 8000 feet in elevation and the sun was just starting to hit the top of the clouds as it was going down. 

I found a couple of spots about around this elevation that I want to go back to for sunset photos. I think they will be pretty good.

This is another shot of the milky way. I was at about 9000 feet in elevation when I took this one. It was an easy shot because I was standing in the parking area right next to my truck. I didn't have to climb any rocks in the dark to get it.

I will definitely be going back for some more night shots this month. The Milky Way will disappear this fall so I want to get those shots while I can. I'll be getting some day time shots of the volcano also so you will get to see what it looks like from different spots.

Shooting stars from the House of the Sun

Haleakala, Hawaiian for the House of the Sun, is the dormant volcano here on Maui. Driving to the top of the 10,023 foot peak is a definite must when you are here. Just make sure to bring some warm clothes because it gets a little cool at that elevation, it even snows every once in a while.

Last night the skies were clear so I grabbed the camera gear and headed up the volcano. One of the best things about living in up-country Maui is I'm only about an hour to the summit from my house so it's not a bad trip.

The milky way is visible here during the summer months so I took advantage of that fact and got some long awaited Milky Way photos.

When we came here for vacation during January every year I couldn't see the Milky Way so now I am looking forward to making the trek to the top of the volcano several times this summer for some star shots. I'm hoping to hike down into the caldera in the next few weeks and get some night shots from that vantage point.

Sunset pine trees

There are two kinds of pines tress here on the island, the Cook Pine and the Norfolk Island Pine.

The difference between the two species is easiest to see in mature trees. Cook pines, as their name A. columnaris implies, have a much tighter, more columnar form, while the mature Norfolk Island pines have a wider, looser branching structure with more open space between the limbs.

These happen to be a mix of both kinds of pines (I think anyway). In upcountry (part way up the dormant volcano where we live) the pine trees are very abundant and give a different look to the island.

It's a guacamole tree!

The house we have here on Maui has a couple of fruit bearing trees on it and one of them happens to be an avocado tree.  My wife really likes the guacamole that I make so she is extremely happy.

My recipe, which was given to me by a friend (thank you Bridget!) is;

Avocado of course, mashed with a fork so it is creamy but with some small chunks left in. To that you add finely chopped onion (I prefer red onion but white or yellow will work), jalapeno, tomato, cilantro, a little salt and some fresh squeezed lime juice. Finely chopping the onion, cilantro, tomato and jalapeno makes all the difference in the taste so don't get lazy with your knife skills.

Add a bag of tortilla chips with a cold beer or margarita and you're good to go!

An "old guy" photo

And it even has a bench I can lay down on when I get tired!

The life of a Maui photographer

It seems that being a photographer on Maui may be harder than I thought. 

You have to get up very early in the morning to take advantage of the sunrise light, you have to haul all of your equipment and some props with you and apparently you need to be able to contort your body into some awkward positions just to get the shot.

It's going to be tough but as Q said "suck it up young man", so I will! 

Wolves on the morning commute...

Though I've lived on the West Coast for my whole life and most of that time in rural settings I can count on one hand the few times I've actually seen Wolves in the wild. In fact I've seen more Cougars than Wolves over the years.

I spotted these two Wolves on my way up to Quatse Lake about a week ago and managed to get a few pictures from about 1/4 mile away before they disappeared into the woods. The close up picture is a crop and enhancement of the picture above it. 

A random sunset photo

We were headed home from the west side of Maui the other night and saw this as we were driving. I decided to pull off to the side of the road and grab a couple of shots. 

I am now pretty much keeping a camera and tripod in the car with me where ever I go.

Random driftwood pics.

A couple of random driftwood pictures from a few weeks ago... I was more playing around with the settings on the camera at the time but still managed to come up with these two pictures anyway.

sunrise sand

I'm starting to really like taking sunrise photos because of how the light is. Well, except for that whole getting up early thing!

Just for Q

I think this is a better shot of the outrigger canoe on the beach so I thought I would taunt Q with it. LOL

This was taken outside of one of his favorite restaurants very early in the morning when no one was around.

These are from in Port Hardy, and near the airport.  When I arrived in Port Hardy, somehow my Nikor 200-400mm lens failed to operate on me.  Lucky enough, Paul have extra telephoto lens for me use.  The first 4 pictures are from Sigma 200-400mm, and the bottom two photos are from 17-35mm with 50-60% cropped.  Good advice for everyone!  We need to check our camera equipment before take it on our trip...  It could be disaster if Paul wasn't there to loan me one.  I'm a lucky guy on this trip, I have a free personal tour guide, and extra camera gear on standby.  Thanks Paul!

Sunrise Storm

Because of the time difference between Hawai'i and the mainland (5 hours from where I was), my internal clock is still trying to reset itself. Because of that I've been waking up around 4:00 a.m. everyday since we've been here. It has made for some very long days but I have been able to see lots of sunrises!

I took this shot a couple of days ago of a storm on the horizon as the sun was coming up.

If you ever decide to move to Hawai'i and bring stuff with you, I would highly recommend using Matson shipping. Our container from the mainland arrived this past Thursday, a week early, and everything was in perfect shape! They were extremely organized during the whole move and made that part of our move very simple. We are spending the weekend un-boxing stuff and getting the house set up so we can live. We had our first night on a bed since we've been here last night and at my age not sleeping on the floor was a big bonus!

Q's Happy Place!

I managed to find some Eagles for Q when he was up to visit me on Northern Vancouver Island earlier this week. He was one happy camper to say the least!

I can't wait to see how his pictures turned out!

Stop The Truck!

So I'm showing Q around Northern Vancouver Island, as we drive through Coal Harbour where I live Q says "Stop The Truck"! Go back, go back! So I do... It would seem I've been driving past this scene so many years I've become blind to it. 

But Q sees the possibilities in this scene and sets his camera up with a fancy filter system to limit the amount of light coming in to the camera. Going for the long exposure in the middle of the day.

Long story short here is his impressive result! 

Just one problem... my Wife is going to kill me when she sees me looking on line for a set of filters for my camera!

Beached

This in an outrigger canoe sitting on one of the many beaches of Maui. This one happens to only be about 15 minutes from my house.

I'm still in denial that I live here. It seems like we are just on vacation except we're sleeping on the floor until our furniture arrives. I can't wait to sleep in a bed!!

Paul Play Ground!

While we visiting Vancouver with my wife families, I have decided to take a day to visit Paul in person.  I'm glad I have make right decision to do that.  Paul is very interesting man to meet, and his wife is a sweet lady.  Paul took a whole day to show me around of his paradise.  What I have seen, I wish, I could have more time on this island.  There's a lot of things to see, and photograph.  Like Paul said I will be back, you're absolutely correct.  I would recommended to take another an hour flight from Vancouver, then you will find yourself on a paradise.  Unless, you preferred a night light, stay in Vancouver, and put up the horrible traffic.  Thanks Paul!

Finally!

No not finally Paul actually posted something... Finally Q came to visit me on Vancouver Island!

Though Quynh, Ron and I have been colaborating on this blogsite for a number of years this is the first time I've actually meet Q in person. Hope to meet Ron in person one of these days too.

Q was only up for a day so I gave him a whirlwind tour of my little patch of paradise and found as many photo opportunities as I could while dragging him from place to place. Hopefully he posts a few of the shots he got!

Vancouver Island must have left a good impression as he swears he'll be back!

Blue Skies

What can I say? I have found paradise!

The same sunset

This is the same sunset as the last photo but this time I'm facing the sunset. I don't think this will ever get old!

A sunset on Maui

You will be seeing a lot of these sunsets. Not as many as me but I will post enough that you will want to come to paradise yourself, even if it's just for a vacation!

This shot was taken with the sun setting behind me. The sunset was lighting up the high clouds better than the ones around the sun itself so I changed my perspective.

The Hoku Moon

 

According to Hawaiian legend, the Hoku moon is the third day of the four Hawaiian full moons. It was believed to be the fullest moon and was good for anything that was planted in rows.

 

Aloha!

the road trip

The road trip is over! We spent four days on the road driving to California and we get on a plane early tomorrow morning for Maui.

I can definitely say I am ready to get out of California!!!