Oh-oh...

These definitely weren't dog prints on the beach I was exploring earlier today... 

2 1/2 inchworm...

Everyone has heard of and likely seen an inchworm, right? And it was likely an inch or so long.
I don't know what the story is with this one but it was easily 2 1/2 inches long if not a bit more... Be interesting to know what kind of Moth or Butterfly it will turn into.

Sunrise on Ke'anae Point

I took another trip along the road to Hana yesterday morning. I really love that road during the very early times of the morning because you pretty much have it all to yourself.

My intentions were to spend the morning shooting waterfalls however none of the falls were running with water, not a drop! It's been a little dry here the last 10 days so I'm hoping for a little rain and then I will head back out on the road again. It has actually just started raining as I am writing this post so the falls should start "falling" soon.

Since I couldn't find any waterfalls I headed to Ke'anae (pronounced kay-ah- nigh) Point which is about 18 miles before you get to Hana. Ke'anae Point isn't known to most of the tourists and the water is rougher and not something you would want to swim in so you don't see too many people there during the week. It does make for some great photo opportunities during the sunrise and a for a few hours afterwards.

It's a great spot to visit if you are ever on Maui. The rocks at the beach are all volcanic in nature with a lot of dark tones and black so it contrasts dramatically with the blue water.

More Maui Waves

Just a couple of more wave shots from last week. I went out this past Sunday and spent a couple of hours shooting different things and didn't come back with anything good. I'm getting a lot pickier in my old age about my photos.

I'll be heading out early in the morning along the road to Hana to shoot a waterfall or two. Hopefully I'll get something good and will have them up in a few days.

Coal Harbour 70 years later...

While looking around on the internet a few nights ago I came across some WWII era photos of Coal Harbour when it was a Royal Canadian Airforce Base (Seaplane operations). Just for the fun of it I put together a few before and after pictures. Still a few of the old buildings left...

Famous last words...

"Just one  more cast"

Maui Waves

Just another wave from last week. This spot turned out to be pretty good for sunset wave shots. I may head back out there today.

Some seaplane pics...

Some seaplane pictures from Coal Harbour this morning. 

Later this afternoon I found out they were practicing for a fly-by for a dedication ceremony to do with the RCAF station that was here in Coal Harbour during WWII.

Warp Speed

While on my last trip with Ron to Hawaii we went to the summit of the volcano to take photos. This was the last car to leave the top and then we had the top all to our selves. 

Stressful commute!

Between the Geese and Deer blocking the road this morning it took forever to get to work, nearly 5 minutes... Don't know how much longer I can handle these stressful commutes!

Sunset wave

I was out Sunday afternoon looking for photo opportunities when I saw some waves breaking really nicely along one of the beaches. This made me pull over and my wife and I spent an hour sitting on the beach photographing waves. 

This shot was taken about five minutes before the sun went down behind the clouds and the island of Lana'i.  The hardest thing about getting this shot was trying to get it without any surfers in the photo. We weren't the only ones that noticed the waves. Within about 30 minutes of us stopping we had about 15 surfers show up and head out into the water.

Hana

This is a little church I found while in Hana last time. It's in the actual town and just a few blocks away from the beach.

I don't know any of the history of the church but it seemed to be fairly old, probably from the early 1900's

Split decision

A true "local" of the islands.

Add to wish list...

Woodstove........................................... check
Woodshed............................................ check
Pickup truck......................................... check
Chainsaw.............................................. check
Wood splitter........................................ check
Good bush dog..................................... check

Excavator with log grapple................... add to wish list!


This a picture of some log salvage work taking place near to where I live, the fellow doing the log salvage is using an excavator with a log grapple to bring the wood out of the bush and up to the side of the logging road. This machine can move an amazing amount of wood in a short period of time, very impressive to watch!

Dragger...

Dragging for Hake in Hardy Bay. (Grainy crop of a much larger picture...)

"Dragging" is a method of fishing for bottom fish by dragging a large open mouthed net across the ocean floor. "Hake" are the target species of fish these days.

(Hake picture plagiarized off the internet)   

Now Paul....

... you should know better than to give me ideas!!

Watch that turn...

...or you might wind up in a black hole!

Just another milky way shot. I had stopped to shoot the night lights of the city below when I saw the milky way behind this sign. I'm not sure why but it just looked different so I took a few photos.

Another Haleakala Milky Way shot

The Milky Way is slowly moving across the sky here. I think by the end of October I won't be able to see it again until next spring. I've got a few more photo ideas for the milky way once it moves farther across the sky so you'll be seeing a couple of more of these types of shots before it's gone for the winter.

This was taken at the summit of Haleakala, 10,023 feet at the top. The building you see with the elevation sign is an enclosed observation room so that the visitors can get in out of the blowing wind. It has plexi-glass windows all around so you can still see out but they aren't any good for taking photos through.

Viktoria Viking

This is the latest and I think largest fish farm vessel to be working out of the Port Hardy area.

The Viktoria Viking is 187 feet long and almost 40 feet wide!

From the depths of Molokini

I took these underwater shots on a drift dive at the Molokini Crater. It is a dormant volcano that is off the shore of Maui. This is looking up at the back wall of the volcano from 60+ feet down. I love how the sun rays are broken up by the water and I can't help but always want to take a picture.

Seal of approval...

As long as we're posting old pictures from our Hawaiian vacations... Found this local sleeping on the beach at Waikiki a few years ago. 

Hawaiian Waterfall

 

This was on the road to Hana from the last time I was on Maui.

Same waterfall just from different angles. 

Nighttime on the island

The title pretty much says it all.

This is a shot from the volcano looking towards Kihei and McGregor Point on Maui. You can see the island of Lana'i in the background lit up by the full moon.  

The large mass of lights on the left is part of Kahului, the big city here on the island.

Wind Power

I would say that one day I will try this but.....

I'd probably be lying! The wind surfing and kite surfing looks like an awful lot of fun but I have been sitting behind a desk for so long I would have to go to the gym for about two years before I could ever think about doing these kinds of activities.

Moving to Maui has made me more active and I continue to do more and more the longer we are here. My goal is to get to where I am only working 3-4 days a week and enjoying Hawai'i the rest of the time.

I'm looking forward to my vacation this winter because all I'll have to do is get into the truck and drive to the beach!

The Island

Part of the island anyway. We headed out the back way to Hana today to shoot some on what is to us, "the far side of the island". We stopped along the way to take in the sites and this happened to be one of them.

It just never gets old!

Black sand beach

There are only a few of these in Hawai'i. This one is located along the road to Hana at the Waianapanapa State Park. You have to get there early though because the park fills up quick with people. That's partly due to the fact that they allow camping here and it seems the camping sites fill up quickly, especially on the weekends. 

You can't tell it but the beach was full of people when I took this shot. There was one end of the beach where the water wasn't as calm as the rest of the beach so the people were shying away from it. By carefully zooming and cropping I was able to get a shot with no one in it.

The "black sand" is technically not sand. It's pulverized lava rock that has been made smooth over centuries of wave action. This beach is relatively young, just 300 or 400 years old I think, and that's why the lava rock or "sand" is still there instead of the golden sand you normally see on a beach.