Capturing the Moment

  1. Embrace Early Mornings & Late Afternoons The golden hours — just after sunrise and before sunset — offer soft, warm lighting that enhances the natural beauty of the Galápagos landscapes and wildlife. The cooler temperatures also make the animals more active, giving you better opportunities for capturing dynamic shots of creatures like sea lions, iguanas, and birds in their natural behaviors. The early morning light really brings out the yellow dragon scales of this land iguana. 2. Use a Zoom Lens for Wildlife To capture the diverse wildlife, from blue-footed boobies to giant tortoises, a zoom lens (70-300mm or more) is essential. Many species are protected, and you won’t be able to get too close without disturbing them, so a zoom allows you to photograph animals in detail from a respectful distance. My 400mm lens captures this Galapagos subspecies of the Yellow Warbler nicely ( Setophaga petechis aureola ) 3. Pack a Polarizing Filter The bright sun, vibrant blue waters, an...

  This behavior of opening its mouth underwater is a bit unusual. It gives a nice look at the tooth-like bony structures in the mouth that it uses to scrape algae off the rocks. The old Mala Pier on Maui, situated in Lahaina, is a poignant relic of the island's maritime history. Constructed in the early 20th century, this wooden pier was once a bustling hub of activity, crucial for the shipping and transportation needs of the region. Its location at the edge of the serene Mala Wharf area made it an ideal spot for cargo operations and passenger disembarkation. Over the years, the pier witnessed the ebb and flow of Maui’s development, reflecting the changes in the island’s economy and infrastructure. As time passed, the pier fell into disuse, overtaken by modern ports and updated transportation methods. Today, the Mala Pier stands as a picturesque, albeit weathered, remnant of a bygone era. The structure's aging pilings and rusted fixtures tell a story of resilience against the e...

  A magical world of fern and moss in the cave behind Twin Falls on the road to Hana in Maui. One of my favorite waterfalls on Maui is called Twin Falls. It is at the very beginning of the famous Road to Hana, and has pretty easy parking. The trail to the falls is lined with rainforest plants like wild ginger, bromeliads, and heliconia. It only takes about 20 minutes to get to the amazing falls at the end. The waterfall has a gentle pool that is great to swim in and cool off. But the real reason I love this waterfall is the fact that you can access a cave behind the falls. I think as a kid, I watched so many adventure movies where the characters walk through a waterfall and find a secret cave behind, that grew up always wanting to do the same. This is the closest I've ever come. The cave behind the falls is pretty wide, and provides some opportunities for stunning photographs. I got here pretty early, after a sunrise dawn patrol surf session at Hookipa, so the lighting was pretty m...

  I am on a very quick trip to Maui, Hawaii and I was eager to test out my new drone at some of my favorite photography spots. The closest beach to my condo is Sugar Beach, in North Kihei. It is a very long sandy beach, popular with locals. Imagine my surprise when I walk down to find a big shipwreck, cast ashore on the sand. The waves were hitting it and splashing up, but otherwise the wreck looked like it was in relatively good shape. I feel bad for the owner, but I wasn't going to pass the opportunity for a quick photo shoot. Morning at the wreck. It isn't the best lighting during sunrise here which is when I took this photo with my DJ Mini 4K drone. I planned to come back for sunset later. On my way to the wreck I had to stop and take a long exposure at this rocky outcropping. The beach is mostly sandy, so these rocks provided a very nice foreground subject while the sky looked afire in the background. A bit of a south swell was rocking the shoreline and crashing against th...

  What a week for sharks here in Hawaii! On our first snorkel at Shark Fin Rock, our small boat noticed a dolphin about 30ft away from me at the surface. So I quickly headed that way. I caught a glimpse of it as it swam away, but then was happy to see another headed my way. However, I quickly realized it was not another dolphin, it was a big pelagic shark! It looked like a sandbar shark while I was in the water, but after looking at the photos I'm not quite sure.  I followed it for a minute, then it turned right towards me. I snagged a couple of photos with my little olympus tough waterproof point and shoot camera. Rare encounter with a large shark off in the blue. This was a about a six to seven foot shark swimming with me. Seeing white tip reef sharks is much more common for snorkelers around Hawaii. We saw six of them at our snorkel spots this week! It is still rare to find even white tips, I was pretty excited. I've been checking under this ledge at Kealakekua Bay all seas...