Tag: Landscape

Shipwreck Beach Sunset 3

Shipwreck Beach Sunset 3

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During my most recent visit to Kauai, I was rewarded with this incredible sunset the very first night that I was on the island. I was especially lucky since this was the first time that I had ever tried to photograph Shipwreck Beach. Every once in a while I experience beginner’s luck, but more often I have to return to a location multiple times before I photograph a sky this colorful. During the summer months, the southern swell erodes the sand on the beach and reveals the lava rocks underneath, which I used as my foreground along with the wave action against the shore. As the sun sank beneath the western horizon, I anticipated that these clouds would not only light up, but also perfectly frame my overall composition. I was not disappointed.

Poolenalena Beach Palms Sunset 4

Poolenalena Beach Palms Sunset 4

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During my recent trip to Maui, I visited beautiful Poolenalena Beach at sunset and created this dramatic image. Over the years, I have tried to photograph this location several times, so it was especially rewarding to finally see all the necessary elements come together, including the dramatic clouds and golden light. I don’t often have an audience around me when I am working this hard, but there was a small wedding going on just to the left of this scene. Hopefully, I was not too distracting for their ceremony as I constantly shifted my tripod with the incoming waves in order to photograph the reflection of the coconut palms on the wet sand. Several times, a larger wave washed over me. When this happened, I had to run back to my camera bag so that I could dry off my lens and filters and then immediately run back into the surf to continue shooting. I’ve got several variations of this image with varying light and colors, but this is my favorite.

Puu Pehe Aerial 2

Puu Pehe Aerial 2

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Now that I have been successfully flying my hexacopters during my recent travels, I am trying to move beyond the novelty of flying and back to focusing on creating beautiful images. I am especially excited about returning to my favorite landscape subjects and exploring them from this new perspective. This aerial image of Puu Pehe, or Sweetheart Rock, on the south shore of Lanai is a perfect example of the possibilities that I am achieving. I launched my copter from the top of the cliffs on the left, then flew it approximately 200m out and 25m above the ocean to compose this dramatic scene. When I say compose, I do mean compose. While flying my copter, I am viewing the Live View from my camera via a wireless transmitter on my 5″ LCD screen. Once I decide to hover my copter in a particular location, I then remotely trigger the camera to take a picture. Of course, I am still looking for all of the normal compositional elements that I would if I were using a tripod to take a picture, including wave action, dramatic light, and dynamic clouds.

Ravenswood Slough Marshes Aerial 1

Ravenswood Slough Marshes Aerial 1

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I just returned from spending a fantastic week in the Bay Area of California. During my visit, I gave 4 presentations about my photography to excited audiences every night from Berkeley to Monterrey. I also finally had the opportunity to meet in person and spend time with many talented and amazing photography friends who I have only known online.

I also brought my remote controlled hexacopters with me in order to do some flying. The above abstract aerial image is from my second attempt at flying over the marshes located in the south Bay near Facebook’s headquarters. I spent one morning last week flying with my friend and acclaimed photographer QT Luong, but realized that I needed to return at low tide. So, on Sunday afternoon I returned with my old college roommate and new friend and gifted photographer Patrick Smith. It was a bit breezy during my second visit, but I got my copter up in the air right at low tide in order to frame up this beautiful composition. I am not yet sure where I am going with this new style of photography, but I am passionate about merging technology and art. To me, it is not just about the cool, gee-whiz factor of building and flying “drones”, but rather using them like any other creative tool to produce extraordinary images.

Halemaʻumaʻu Crater Twilight 1

Halemaʻumaʻu Crater Twilight 1

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I recently spent two nights photographing the Halemaʻumaʻu Crater in Volcanoes National Park. It had been several years since I last photographed lava, so it was like visiting an old friend. The first night, I was happy to share some conversation in the dark with my buddy CJ Kale, who also allowed me to borrow his Canon 24mm f1.4 lens. This image was from my second night shooting solo. It was amazing to observe the crater and the steam plume begin to glow red after the sun went down. I framed the crater with this ohia tree located near the Jaggar Museum.

Green Sand Beach Sunset 4

Green Sand Beach Sunset 4

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Lately, I have been rediscovering my passion for landscape photography. It’s not that I ever stopped shooting landscapes, it’s just that I have too many different types of images that I like to shoot in a wide variety of environments. This image of Green Sand Beach located near South Point on the Big Island of Hawaii is a perfect example of my recent focus on dramatic landscapes. The last time that I visited this location was close to 10 years ago with my medium format film camera. Since then, I like to think that I have grown as a photographer, plus camera technology has evolved so that it allows me to better photograph dramatic scenes like this. If this storm front had rolled across the sky 15 minutes earlier, I would have missed my opportunity to photograph the colors in the clouds.

Kona Coast Sunset 3

Kona Coast Sunset 3

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While visiting the Big Island of Hawaii, I experienced a lot of crummy, winter weather, but these conditions allowed me to photograph a variety dramatic sunsets. This area of lava ledges and blowholes along the Kona shoreline has always been one of my favorite locations. I composed this scene while standing very close to this series of lava tubes that would flood with the incoming waves and then suddenly drain to expose these dramatic waterfalls. On this particular night, the setting sun flooded the sky with golden light and turned the clouds neon red. This entire composition briefly came together for 1 second in time.

Kona Coast Spectacular Sunset 1

Kona Coast Spectacular Sunset 1

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This spectacular sunset took place during my recent visit to the Big Island of Hawaii. The weather that day was miserable, but like any dedicated landscape photographer, I kept hopefully checking the satellite view of the islands. I could see that there was a cloudless sky just beyond the horizon. It was pouring rain all day, so when I finally announced to my brother and sister-in-law that it was time to go shoot the sunset, my optimism must have made me sound like a deranged prophet. I rushed down to the shoreline just as the sun started to poke beneath the clouds and a dramatic double rainbow appeared behind me, but my real prize was the heavy low hanging clouds out over the ocean. I originally found a scene that I liked and set up my camera while trying to keep it dry with my under performing umbrella, but the clouds were moving so fast and the light so dynamic, that I quickly had to reposition my gear and settled upon this nearby composition. The entire light show lasted less than 10 minutes, but it allowed me to produce a number of dramatic photos during this orgy of light.

Kapoho Tidepools Aerial 1

Kapoho Tidepools Aerial 1

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I just got back from another amazing trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. I was planning to spend most of my trip photographing humpback whales and also flying my remote controlled hexacopter. The whales and the weather mostly conspired against me, but my trip was long enough that I was able to take advantage of a few good days of weather between storms in order to fly my copter. This aerial image of the Kapoho tidepools is a beautiful example of the kind of abstract image that I have envisioned ever since I started flying copters. This intricate lava and coral reef system is located on the south end of the island in the Puna District. The interesting thing about an aerial image like this is that the scene looks better once the sun gets high enough in the sky to flood the terrain in high contrast light. I’m talking about the kind of light that would send a landscape photographer into a long diatribe about it being too harsh and unshootable.

Kee Beach Sunset 1

Kee Beach Sunset 1

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Over the years, I have photographed a few epic sunsets while on our family vacations, which in some instances have paid for the entire trip. I do occasionally get some push back from my girls for getting up too early or disappearing in the afternoon, but it’s the price I pay for being a husband and father that makes his living by selling pretty pictures. During our recent trip to Kauai, I returned to Kee Beach seven days in a row to shoot sunset. Wouldn’t you know it, but my best image was photographed on my first attempt. I guess I should have stayed at the beach more with my girls. Oh, well. While setting up for this dramatic scene, I got hit by a few waves and right at the critical moment as the sun was touching the horizon a large wave washed completely over me and almost swept me out to sea. Yikes!