Where's Toto?

I'm not in Kansas any more but I I'm finding sunflowers on the island.

They started growing the sunflowers here last year. The flowers were planted by the Maui Bio-diesel company in some of the old sugar cane fields. I'm not sure if they are actually using them for bio-diesel or something else but it does make for a strange site!

I was about a week late getting this shot because the flowers, except for one or two, had lost there color and on their way to drying out.

String of pearls...

No not pearls... More like a close in shot of dew drops on a cobweb and a bit of post processing in Photoshop. Amazing builders those spiders!

More from the "7 Pools"

This is one of the waterfalls coming from one of the pools down into another pool. The day I was there they had the pools closed because of falling rocks and they didn't want any swimmers getting clunked on the head.

It made it great for photos because you didn't have any people you had to try to shoot around. The lighting wasn't great but after driving the winding Hana road for two hours I was going to take some photos!

Stunning eclipse pictures...

  

NOT! 

Northern Vancouver Island was socked right in all morning with fog and when that was done there were more clouds above that. For once the weather forecast for fog and clouds was actually right... Only thing noticeable is it got darkish for about 20 minutes. Oh well there's another solar eclipse in 25 years...

The Seven Sacred Pools

This place has been called the 7 scared pools for decades. The problem is, there aren't seven of them and they aren't sacred.

It seems that the owner of the Hotel Hana, way back when, needed a hook to get people to come all the way to Hana and stay in his hotel so he came up with the name to draw in the tourists. People here on the island now refer to them as the "7 pools" or Ohe'o Gulch, which is where they are located.

The pools are about 10 miles past the town of Hana and are part of the national park system here meaning the federal government is going to charge you $25 per car load of people to enjoy the pools.

This is THE busiest place on the east side of Maui because people come to swim in the pools. The adventurous (or foolish depending on your view) come to jump off the different cliffs into the pools. Some even jump off the bridge you see in this photo into the pool below. You're probably starting to lean towards the description of foolish right about now.

It is a great place to visit but you want to arrive early, very early! I got there about 7:00 a.m. and there were already several people there. By noon this place can be a mad house of people. There is limited parking, enough for about 50 cars, but there are restrooms and a visitors center.

Don't leave anything of value in your car because this place is notorious for break ins.

Cushy!

Mother Natures version of a cushy insole!

Just a ho-hum sunset

That is the island of Lana'i off in the background. Not to be confused with lanai, which is a porch here in Hawai'i. :~)

The sun is setting earlier and earlier every evening. When we first got here in July sunset was around 7:15 p.m. Just over a month later and it's setting around 6;55 p.m. I know that doesn't seem like much but 20 minutes in a month is a lot of light to loose.

I am looking forward to winter here though. No cold, no snow and the whales arrive!

Sunrise out the back door...

Fifty feet from my back door the "Temperate Rain Forrest" begins. This was the scene that greeted me a few days ago as I headed out for the day so I took a few pictures... If you look real close in the bottom middle of this picture you can see the path that leads down to a nearby creek and a favorite place to walk the dogs.

Sunset from 8000 feet above the sea

Once again I headed back up the volcano. This time with my wife so she could learn a little about her camera and shooting sunsets.

These were both taken during the same sunset. The top photo was taken a little earlier and looking off to the left (southwest) and the bottom photo was taken just as the sun went below the tops of the clouds.

Haleakala, the dormant volcano on Maui, is considered to be a sacred place by the Hawaiians and for some reason I continue to find myself drawn to the mountain.

There's a big controversy going on now between the Hawaiians and the federal government because the government, in their infinite wisdom, has decided they need another telescope on top of the volcano and they don't care that it is sacred ground.

There have been protests here, with people laying on the road in front of and under the big trucks hauling the equipment to the top of the mountain and several people have been arrested.

I have to say, I am siding with the Hawaiians on this. They already have telescopes at the top of the volcano and they have several on the Big Island. If they want a new one then why don't they just replace one of the ones that is already there instead of disturbing new ground.

OK, I have put my soap box away for now. 

Just waves

I drove the road to Hana again on Sunday and went about ten miles past Hana where I found a nice point to sit out on. I could have sat there all day watching and photographing the waves but, I got hungry!!

That led me back to the pier at Hana where I found a little restaurant that had some really good fried rice. As much as I hate the road to Hana when it gets busy, I will be going back several times to photograph the many waterfalls along the road. 

If you are thinking about taking the road to Hana during a visit to Maui the trick is to leave as early as you can (before the sun comes up) and go during the week. The locals get to the good pools and waterfalls early on the weekends but it take the tourists a few hours to figure out where they are during the week.

Roadside Fireweed

A bit of roadside Fireweed on my morning commute... For whatever reason this year's Fireweed seems to be a little brighter and blooming longer than usual. Must be part of a larger cycle?

A quick look on the internet would suggest that Fireweed was used traditionally by various groups as medicine and food.

Bridal Veil Falls Near Vancouver.

I love the rain...

I'm a Bald Eagle, I love the rain...
I eat Salmon, I love the rain...
I live in a temperate rain forest, I love the rain...
I'm a national symbol, I love the rain...
I fly effortlessly in the sky, I love the rain...

Who am I kidding, I'd rather be a Duck!

The Hana Pier

The road to Hana is a destination all to it's self. Getting to Hana is all of the fun because you are traveling along the coast and through the rain forest where you can stop and see (and even swim in) several different waterfalls. Tropical plants are abundant as this side of the island gets 400 inches of rain per year.

The water is funneled through natural and man made creeks to be saved and is used as the source of fresh water here on Maui. 

This photo is another one from the pier at Hana. The water here is crystal clear and makes for good snorkeling and swimming since the pier and the bay it is in protects the waters from the high waves most of the year.

End of the road...

... Quatse Lake.

Some Beach...

Some where...

....along the road to Hana. 

Free parking

No need to pay for space at a marina with a boat like this!

Spotted this beauty catamaran at a nearby beach a few days ago. A sailboat this size woud be just right for long distance offshore adventures.

Makaluapuna Point

This is a spot near Kapalua on Maui. There is a great big sign asking people to stay out of and off of this "maze" as it is used by the Hawaiians in cultural practices. There is a scared burial ground near this spot that thankfully most people just walk by because it isn't obvious unless you know it is there.

Unfortunately for the Hawaiians, a lot of the tourists don't seem to care about the culture or protocols and they walk over, through and on this without any respect what so ever.

I had to stand and wait for 30 minutes for people to get out of this so I could take some photos. Parents were letting their little kids kick over the rocks and throw them to different places and when you explain to them that this is a Hawaiian cultural site and they should not be in it, much less letting their kids tear it apart, they just shrug their shoulders and keep doing what they are doing.

This probably isn't very nice of me but...  I was hoping Madame Pele would send down a bolt of lightning or drop a hot rock on some of these people!

 From the internet:  

Pele the Fire Goddess – Pronounced peh-leh or pel-lə – is one of the most well known and revered in Hawaiian mythology. As a sign of respect you may hear her referred to as Madame Pele or Tutu Pele.

She is a goddess of fire, lightning, dance, wind, volcanoes and violence.

 Her poetic name is Ka wahine `ai honua or the woman who devours the land. She is both a creator and destroyer. She throws molten fountains into the air and governs the great flows of lava. With her power over the volcanoes, she created the Hawaiian Islands and to this day, she has been known to reveal herself throughout the beautiful islands she crafted herself.

Busy Bee

This industrious little fellow was moving from flower to flower quicker than I could point and shoot, look at the pollen fly!

The big picture

Paul asked for it so here it is. This is the un-cropped version of Ho'okipa beach I took yesterday morning. It was low tide so the "turtle food" was showing. As the tide comes in this is all covered with water so the turtles can float around and eat.

Just in case you were wondering, the Hawaiian green sea turtles get their green color because this is what they eat.

A wall of water

This is cropped from another photo I took this morning. I really liked the splash so I made it into it's own photo. This is along the beach at Ho'okipa on Maui

Last night's moon

Recent forest fires several hundred miles away in the interior of British Columbia combined with a slow moving warm front has made for quite a bit of hazy smoke lingering high in the atmosphere on Canada's West Coast where I live. This was last night's moon, tonight's moon might be even better...

Once again to the top!

This is a panorama of 8 shots put together to capture the Milky Way on top of Haleakala.

I'm really liking the fact that it's not 30 degrees with 40 mph winds on top of the volcano. Not to mention the fact that the Milky Way is just fantastic up that high!

What a great idea!

Thanks Paul!!

I took Paul's great idea of blending the two previous photos together to get a different look. That still leaves a lot of the foreground in the photo but the mountains are now larger in the photo. Not too much larger but just enough to bring them out a little more.

I may have to give you a commission on this one Paul!

Two Versions

I took two different versions of this photo because I couldn't decided which I like best.

Even though I have looked at them over and over again I still can't decide which one I like best.

These are the mountains in the area they, well, we, call West Maui. If you looked 180 degrees from this spot you would see Lahaina and the ocean.

Looking into Haleakala

This is looking down into Haleakala, the dormant volcano on Maui, from a viewpoint about 1000 feet below the summit.

It's been pretty nice up that high this summer. Normally when I go to the summit it's about 35-40 degrees but this summer the coldest it has been is 52. When I went up during the day to take some more shots it was still 65 degrees at the top. That's great weather for the top of the volcano and it meant I didn't have to put on long pants and a coat.

Being here for just a month has gotten me very accustomed to shorts and sandals. I only own 4 pairs of socks now!

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.