Casting for a Sunset

Kite Boarding Breeze

Splash 6

Kona Clouds

For the past month we’ve had light trades and hot days.  Today it was just hot. Today the trades died and for awhile this morning it went Kona.  That meant the clouds you see are moving left to right angled towards me. The normal trade wind flow would angle them away from me. The trades will be coming back next week.  For this weekend it’s fans and air conditioners. Enjoy the last weekend of summer!

 

Surfer in Sequence

I’ve done a bunch of sequence shots with my hang gilding and paragliding friends.  Today I saw the same possibility while getting some surf shots.  There’s a spot called China Walls.  A shelf along the shoreline of Koko Head where a south swell will run almost perpendicular to the ledge. A surfer gets a nice ride if the wave breaks at the correct angle to the ledge. I got this handheld and at noon.  I’m generally pleased but it does lack a sense of depth. I don’t get a sense of the swell as it moved thru the frame propelling the surfer along. Maybe earlier in the day or late afternoon would improve the composition.

Tweaked Clouds

Took a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon. Too much sedentary exercise! I needed to move the rest of my body. It had been a mostly cloudy and muggy day.  Knowing at some point I’d see something I could make an image of I brought my camera. The sky contained mostly indistinct clouds but for a short period these clouds formed just above a nearby ridge. Quickly I composed several shots for a panorama.  I saw this as a Black and White to bring out the different structures in the clouds. After stitching them together in Photoshop, I ran thru some presets in Lightroom and used on called Dynamic Silver III created by Gavin Seim. A little more tweaking and here you are.

Take a Hike

The Island of Oahu has many great hiking trails. In my neighborhood there are four (five if you include the walk out to Makapuu Lighthouse). The hike to the top of Koko Crater provides a 360 degree view of East Honolulu and across the Kaiwi Channel to Molokai and Maui.  Many people reach the summit walking up the tracks of the incline railway.  The railway was built in WW II to move soldiers manning the observation/radar site.  It’s a steep hike in parts plus there are sections of the railway elevated above the ground and you must step carefully from railway tie to tie. I got this shot when I carried my Maxxum 7D up to the top a few years ago.  On the left is the main area of Hawaii Kai with Kuapa Pond next to Maunalua Bay.  From this height you can see up the coast to Diamond Head and some of the of the buildings in Waikiki

Morning Panorama

Avatar in Christmas Lights

Hot Sunset