In February I had the great fortune to instruct a photography tour/workshop on the Big Island of Hawaii. In the realm of winter photography, my experience and images stand out in stark contrast to the ones Kevin McNeal shared of photographing the aurora in Norway in his most recent article. Our Hawaii tour was organized by a trailblazing eco-tourism company from California called Destination Earth. Handling the photography instruction along with me was my good friend and colleague, David Cobb. As we have come to expect, our group of participants were fun, talented and ready for anything. It’s always the people that make our photography workshops such a wonderful experience. It was an amazing week long photography adventure with excellent housing, meals and transportation, as well as an adventurously full schedule, all organized by Destination Earth.
Click on images to view them larger. Use the back button to return.
Receding surf on black sand. Pololu Valley. One second exposure. Four of us made the steep hike into the valley near sunset. The light was flat so we spent an hour running back and forth with the surf, taking dozens of slow shutter speed images and trying to capture dynamic patterns of white foam on the black sand. It was addictive and only the prospect of a hike in the dark pulled us away.
The Big Island really is…well, big. To quote from www.gohawaii.com, “it is the youngest island in the Hawaiian chain and is also by far the biggest, nearly twice as big as all of the other Hawaiian Islands combined. You’ll find all but two of the world’s climatic zones within this island’s shores. This is the home of one of the world’s most active volcanoes (Kilauea), the tallest sea mountain in the world at more than 33,000 feet (Maunakea) and the most massive mountain in the world (Maunaloa). All but two of the world’s climate zones generate everything from lush rain forests to volcanic deserts, snow-capped mountaintops to beautiful black sand beaches. The lush east-side town of Hilo gets more than 130 inches of rain annually, while the Kohala Coast near Kawaihae usually gets no more than five inches a year. Ranging from the fern forests of Puna and the cool, misty breezes of Waimea, to the sunny lava plains of Kona and the dry heat of Kau, Hawaii Island is a place of stunningly distinct environments.”
Looking east, the shadow of Maunakea stretches over the Pacific Ocean at sunset. Did I mention that the Big Island is really big? At the high point, where this photo was taken, the elevation is nearly 13,800 feet above sea level and there is frequently snow. Breathing up here is challenging. If you have ever climbed a 14,000 foot peak you know what I’m talking about.
Stand-out features of the trip were how much of the island we were able to see, how much diversity of landscape and climate we experienced and how varied the photographic opportunities were. We visited both well known and off the radar corners of the island and were able to experience Hawaii in ways that most beach vacationers or tour groups never get to.
Colorful bamboo at a the Hawaii Institute of Pacific Agriculture (hipagriculture.org), a farm that cultivates a diverse collection of Polynesian crops and operates as an educational site offering sustainable agriculture courses, youth programming, community workshops and events.
While instructing photography in the field I don’t photograph with the same kind of focus and stubborn determination that I do when traveling on my own. My priority is providing instruction, pointing out photo ideas and being on hand to answer questions. But I do make a point of getting out my camera and putting some effort into my own photography as well. I find that I’m better able to evaluate light and composition and provide helpful suggestions if I’m in photographer mode and sizing up the scene through my own viewfinder. I also find that one of the best instructional tools in the field is to teach by example and actively demonstrate my approach and techniques.
A lone vessel, stormy clouds and pools of light off the Kona Coast, viewed from our lodging at 1,500 feet of elevation on the side of Hualalai Mountain. 70-200mm f/4 lens at 183mm. 1/15 of a second at f/11, ISO 100. Tripod.
Thanks to our expert guides and the action packed itinerary I had the chance to photograph locations I might not have otherwise visited and take photos using techniques and lighting which are outside of my usual golden hour light, tripod mounted comfort zone. I find that changing things up and operating outside the comfort zone is important for learning and expanding one’s mind creatively. As a result, I feel that the images I’m sharing in this article represent something a little different than my usual fare. Photographically they stretched me a bit and were stimulating and energizing to visualize, capture and develop. I have also thrown in some sunsets and waterfalls for good measure. I hope you enjoy viewing them.
Rain forest vines and roots. Glowing light filtered into this jungle scene David Cobb and I found near Hilo. Although it was mid day the light was very dim. With an aperture of f/16 for depth of field and a polarizer to enrich colors in the wet leaves and bark the exposure time was 10 seconds at ISO 100.
Coral fragment on wave tumbled lava rocks. I was intrigued by the graphic simplicity of this bleached coral on the black lava. This was taken handheld at mid day with bright overcast filtered light. I knew that exposing for the light coral would underexpose the lava and further showcase the contrasting tonal values. I developed the image to further enhance this quality wanting the coral to appear to almost float above the inky background shapes.
Health inspection fail. At one beach we explored an abandoned and decaying resort. At one time this stainless steel commercial kitchen gleamed and produced gourmet meals. Now it looks like something from a post apocalyptic sci-fi film. I’m glad that in the gloom I couldn’t see what types of crawling creatures were living there. 30 seconds at f/10, ISO 100.
In the Waipio Valley one of the participants found this old fishing boat in a pool of light filtering through the canopy beside a dirt jungle road. In addition to the moody spotlighting I liked how the red of the boat complimented the greens of the forest. Low light, a polarizer and an aperture of f/16 required a 5 second exposure even though it was the middle of the afternoon.
Fish pond at sunset. What’s a tropical island without palm trees and a beach at sunset?
Flowering banana (Musa ornata). Walking through the rain forest on the wet side of the island I was looking above my head for silhouettes of lizards on the translucent banana leaves. I didn’t find a lizard, but I was enthralled with the quality of light filtering down onto this large banana flower. Apparently, at this moment, the light was streaming in rays through clouds over the nearby waterfall, but I was glad to have discovered this smaller scene.
Go gecko! Sometimes wildlife wanders into my nature photography and steals the show. This gecko was a natural performer. Handheld, 100mm macro, 1/160 of a second at f/2.8, ISO 400. Without a tripod I had to take several frames until I got one with the focus spot on his eye.
Black and white image of hala trees in the Waipio Valley.
The historic, ornately painted and aptly named, St. Benedict’s Painted Church. In the late 1800s, Belgian-born priest and self-taught artist Father John Velge painted the walls, columns, and ceiling of this Roman Catholic church with religious scenes in the style of Christian folk art found throughout the South Pacific.
Northern California? Along the old Saddle Road high above the arid beaches and lava fields of the west side of the island and the steamy jungles of the east side of the island there is a region of open temperate grasslands that make you forget you are in Hawaii. This part of the island is home to one of the largest cattle ranches in the United States. When we passed through the area we found carpets of yellow flowers and dramatic cumulus clouds and had to stop for a photo.
Forest in the fog on the rim of the Waipio Valley.
Kona sunset. Rocks, wave patterns and the last light of the setting sun.
The jungle waterfall, another icon of the Hawaiian landscape. This is the well known and often visited Akaka Falls.
Aquamarine water in motion along the rugged and remote North Kohala coastline.
The abyss. Taken at a turtle lagoon on the Kona side of Hawaii. I shot this handheld from a lava outcrop looking down into the aquamarine water, but I love that it gives the illusion of being taken deep under the sea. A polarizer helped cut surface reflections.
Sunset on the snows of Maunakea, taken on the high point of the island on our final night of the trip. It was a grand send-off to a spectacular week of exploration and photography.
Sean is an outdoor photographer, digital image developing enthusiast and photography educator based in Ashland, Oregon, where he resides with his wife and two sons. His previous career as a science teacher makes photography education a good fit. Sean teams up with fellow Photo Cascadia members leading workshops. He also teaches digital image developing classes, lectures and offers a series of Photoshop video tutorials.
More posts by Sean Visit Sean’s Image Gallery Visit Sean’s Website