Saturday, August 12, 2017
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.
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
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-lÉ™ – 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.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Busy Bee
This industrious little fellow was moving from flower to flower quicker than I could point and shoot, look at the pollen fly!
Monday, August 7, 2017
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.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
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
Saturday, August 5, 2017
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...
Friday, August 4, 2017
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!
Thursday, August 3, 2017
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!
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
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.
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
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!
Monday, July 31, 2017
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!
Sunday, July 30, 2017
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!
Saturday, July 29, 2017
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.
Friday, July 28, 2017
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.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
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.
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