Capturing the Moment

Sunrise and surf at Eternity Beach Halona Blowhole   I have been working on learning my new island home here in Oahu since the start of the new year. My plan is to add island photography tours to the agenda so I want to find the best places for differing light throughout the day. For sunrise the East coast of the island is the obvious choice but there are lots of potentially great spots for sunrise photos from Hanauma Bay to Lanikai. I stopped at a few of these today and had a wonderful time. The woman on the cliff adds some perspective to the blast   The first stop on the tour was the Halona blowhole. There is a popular scenic overlook here but I am always looking for new and different angles. Heidi and I found out about a secret beach down under the scenic overlook called Eternity Beach that is a great scuba dive spot so I headed down to the beach. The sun came up right in the middle of the channel heading out between the cliffs. That was what I was hoping for. After a c

Skinny trail to the Lighthouse   One of my new favorite hikes is the Makapu'u Lighthouse hike on the southeast side of Oahu. There is a parking lot for this trail shortly after Sandy's beach but before you get to Makapu'u beach. The trail is nice and paved, although quite steep in some sections and no shade at all along the trail. A few offshoots of the main paved trail lead around to the lighthouse itself and down to some incredible tide pools at the bottom of the cliff. The tidepools are big enough and deep enough to snorkel in. Beautiful East Coast of Oahu There is foliage in every shade of green along the trail but the magnificent colors here belong to the ocean. From here the turquoise tropical waters are breathtaking. If you stop and scan the ocean for awhile during the winter it is also a great place to spot migrating humpback whales. Once you are at the top of the trail you are awarded with a majestic view of the coastline heading North as well as a few

Start of the Hike   The bustling district of Waikiki can easily overwhelm the senses with all of its high rise resorts, fancy eateries, and expensive shops. Luckily a quiet piece of nature sits just beyond the concrete jungle. Diamond Head crater has always been a famous backdrop for Waikiki pictures but the crater is worth exploring up close.    Being so close to the city, the trail that winds its way up the crater rim to the summit of Diamond Head is one of the most well trodden paths in Hawaii. However, once you pass through the tunnel to the inside of the crater all the noise of the city is gone and a huge green field replaces buildings. When it rains a lot there can even be a beautiful little pond inside the crater depression.   Diamond Head Lighthouse The Royal Hawaiian in Pink                            The path heads up in a switchback style before going through a dimly lit tunnel. Here you have a choice of climbing some very steep stairs to an old

  The biggest swell of the winter has been pounding our north facing shores in Hawaii for the past two days. High winds yesterday made the surfing here in Oahu basically unsurfable, although I did get some reports that Jaws (Peahi) on Maui was going off. Seems like Laird Hamilton was back in action being towed into some giant waves at Jaws. The word is that he was being filmed as part of a movie in production...Point Break 2!   Heidi and I tried to drive to the North Shore yesterday afternoon but the the entire island must have had the same idea. The traffic was so slow that we couldn't make it to Waimea before sunset. Not to lose hope I woke up at 5am this morning and drove back to the North Shore to bring in the dawn with massive waves at Waimea Bay. I had my camera, tripod, and a mug of coffee on a nice cliff spot overlooking the surf. Who said four is a crowd? The church overlooking Waimea Dream Waves   The winds had died down a lot since the day before and

See the tiny surfer? Cleanup Set at Waimea   Right now there is a size where if the waves exceed it I feel very comfortable taking pictures from the shore. Being winter time in Oahu the waves on the North shore exceed my limit quite often. When people ask what my limit is I often respond with 'double overhead'. So if the wave is more than twice my height I wouldn't paddle out. We'll see how long that holds. But for now I have been enjoying taking pictures of these crazy big wave chargers at places like Waimea Bay, Pipeline, and Sunset Beach. Party Wave at Waimea Bay Beauty in every wave These pictures are from the swell a few days ago which was dwarfed by the swell we are having now. Unfortunately, high winds have made most breaks unsurfable. I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring. Monarch butterfly caterpillars near Waimea A lone surfer high on the wave at Bonzai Pipeline

  Shore diving is not the usual method of diving here on Oahu. Most of the nearshore reefs are very shallow and not very colorful. It is almost certainly related to the amount of people visiting, building, and living here. However once you get off the beaten path there may be a few surprises in store for the Oahu shore diver. One such place I have been hearing a lot about is a dive called the Halona Blowhole.    The blowhole is a popular tourist stop right along the highway a few miles past Hanauma Bay. Being on the southeast corner of the island it is a great spot for sunrises as well as the most popular whale watching spot on the island. Winds and waves have created layered rock formations along the cliffs. These cliffs also make it a risky spot to scuba dive. If the conditions are bad or if there is a strong current, finding a different spot to get out can be very hard.     A steep rock path winds its way down to a secret beach just next to the Halona Blowhole overlook parking lo