Archives for Hawaii category
What’s the first thing you do when you get a brand new Canon 1Ds Mark III? If you’re me you strap it to your chest, attach an intervalometer/cable release and jump on an 800 foot long zip line in Maui. Well not just (1) one zip line, but (6) six.
Back in early February my first trip out with the new camera body was to Maui, Hawaii. I couldn’t resist capturing the zip line adventure in photos. Fortunately with a little pre-planning and a bit of self-coordination no harm came to my camera or lens as I jumped off wood platforms and zipped along dangling from a harness. Needless to say my wife thought I was nuts, the zip line staff thought it was cool and well I had a blast.
Zip Line Adventure - Maui, Hawaii
Technorati Tags: Maui, Hawaii, zip line, zip lining, adventure, photo, photography, stock photo
One of the neatest areas of Maui is the northeastern portion of Haleakala National Park. To get to this side of the island you have to brave the road to Hana, but its well worth it. The lush tropical landscape is a lot of fun to hike and explore particularly the bamboo forest that turns day to night.
Hiking Through A Bamboo Forest
Haleakala National Park - Maui, Hawaii
Technorati Tags: Maui, Hawaii, Haleakala, National Park, photo, stock, photography, bamboo, forest, nature, lifestyle, Hana, hike, hiking
Sadly it seems like months ago, but only two weeks ago this was my “office” view. Kayaking off the coast of Maui with numerous Humpback whales in the area was awe inspiring. I have to admit one whale came up right behind my wife and I and scared the hell out of us. The loud exhale of this giant animal can do that when you don’t see them coming.
Pictured below is a whale and her calf diving. Before they disappeared they had been casually hanging out and putting on quite a show for roughly 20 minutes. We were very lucky to see such an extended display of mother/calf interaction and I have to admit I’m hooked. The next time I’m in Maui I’ll be quite eager to whale watch via kayak again.
Humpback Whale Tail and Calf Peduncle Arch - Maui, Hawaii
Technorati Tags: Humpback, whale, tail, calf, peduncle arch, Maui, Hawaii, wildlife, photo, photography, stock, whale watch, kayak
It’s official I’m back from my trip to Maui. The weather was rather stormy making landscape work challenging, but it was a peak season for Humpback whales sightings. Approximately 10,000 whales were congregating between Maui, Lanai and Moloka’i. The whales are the star attraction this time of year and have become the focus of a lot of ecotourism activities. Locally a great balance has been struck between man and whale, but on a national level this isn’t quite the case.
An on going battle has been raging between the current administration and environmentalists to keep high powered sonar from being used by the US Navy. Back in January President Bush decreed that the Navy was exempt from environmental laws restricting the use of high powered sonar. In the middle of my trip a federal judge ruled that President Bush overstepped his authority and the US Navy is indeed subject to environmental laws. The ruling specifically dealt with no-sonar zones closer to home in Southern California, but set an important precedent impacting whales in Hawaii and ultimately worldwide. Not to be too graphic, but the sonar used by the Navy in these exercises is so powerful it can create sound strong enough to circle the globe and cause internal organs of sea mammals to hemorrhage. Lets hope this ruling is final and isn’t escalated further.
Bush OKs military training off Calif. that critics allege harm whales - MSNBC 1/17/08
Navy Not Exempt From Sonar Restrictions, Judge Rules - National Geographic News 2/6/08
Technorati Tags: nature, travel, photography, photo, ecotourism, whale, humpback, cruise ship, cruise, Maui, Hawaii, tail, stock photo, sonar, court, ruling
This is one of my favorite panoramic photos and is comprised of 50 vertical images for a final resolution of roughly 425 megapixels. The thumbnail may not be impressive but if you click through you’ll see just how expansive this area really is. If you have sharp eyes you might just find a helicopter.
Take your time in enjoying this massive landscape of Kauai’s most famous canyon over the next week as I will be away photographing Maui, Hawaii.
Read more on how to take panoramic photos:
Mastering Digital Panoramic Photography
Technorati Tags: Kauai, Hawaii, Maui, landscape, Waimea Canyon, erosion, canyon, panoramic, photo, photography, stock photo, stock
The northwestern Hawaiian islands are said to be among the most beautiful in the world. I’ve only been as far as Kauai so far, but while there I was able to see quite a few species of seabirds that call this area home. One of the most impressive birds to see soaring along the coast is the Laysan Albatross otherwise known as the Moli. The majority of the time these birds spend their time out to sea, but from November to July they nest. The flight of a bird for many may seem quite ordinary, but seeing these birds with their 85 inch (2.2 meter) wingspans soar by is quite a sight to see.
To see the environmental risks these majestic birds face see my previous post The Impact of Waste & Plastic.
Technorati Tags: Kauai, Hawaii, wildlife, bird, Laysan Albatross, Albatross, fly, flight, avian, Phoebastria immutabilis
The past few months I’ve been making efforts to minimize my waste footprint by choosing products that utilize less packaging particularly those using various forms of plastic. If products I or my wife use contain plastic we’re now more aggressively checking to see if it can be recycled. My wife has begun a loose phone campaign to inform manufacturers and resellers of “organic” products, as we learn their products are not in recyclable containers, that we’re concerned about their choice of shipping material/product packaging. We tend to get frustrated with the responses we hear back, but it’s got to start somewhere. Additional things we’ve done to control excess waste have been to cut down on plastic wrap, foil, plastic bags (of all sorts), etc. We surprised ourselves in learning how much excess material we had been using.
Anyhow I do my best not to be preachy regarding environmental issues on my blog, but I read and watched something over the past couple of weeks that really impacted me. It really emphasized the importance of what we’ve been doing in cutting down our plastic use. What I read was in the September/October edition of Sierra (the magazine of the Sierra Club) and what I watched was in the August 2nd podcast episode of National Geographic’s Wild Chronicles.
In both the magazine and podcast the same subject was highlighted, the death of a juvenile Albatross near an observation station in the northwestern most islands of Hawaii. The cause of death was the consumption of 1/2 pound of floating plastic debris picked up by its parents and fed to it via regurgitation while being nurtured.
Viewing this is not for everyone so consider yourself warned.
Whether you choose to click the links below or not, to see what I’m referring to, I hope you’ll take it upon yourself to re-evaluate what you use thats plastic and why.
Sierra - Last Words: Ocean-borne trash plagues the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
***A higher resolution photo from my copy of Sierra magazine***
National Geographic’s Wild Chronicles: Archipelago Birds (mp4)
The Hawaiian landscape is a pretty incredible sight. One of the more notable locations is the Na Pali coastline on the island of Kauai. Whether looking from a boat or high up on the cliffs, it makes no difference. Odds are when you catch a view of this area you’ll have to close your mouth after your jaw drops. On this particular outing this shot was my last. High surf and looking through my camera with a telephoto lens for a long period of time was the perfect combination for a gigantic headache and a bit of seasickness. Discomfort and all… in my book it was worth the effort to get this shot.
Technorati Tags: landscape, photograph, photography, Hawaii, Kauai, Na Pali, coast, napali, spire, tropical
