Landscape, nature and underwater photographs, tutorials and workshops.
A good friend invited my wife and me to share her table at the Old Lāhaina Lū‘au over the weekend. The Friends of Moku‘ula held a fundraiser with the theme He Lei Hulu, He Lei Makamae— a tribute to Akoni Akana, their founding executive director.
Hula is one of the most beautiful and complex dance forms in the world, and being able to capture it intimately is a rare treat for any photographer. Here are some of the special moments from that night.
When my friends Kim and Craig invited me to their house for the Premiere Party celebrating Season Two of Self Made in Hawaii, in which our Social Media Users Group was featured, I couldn’t resist asking if I could come early to shoot the sunset from their roof. When they built the second story addition to their home, they included a spiral starway leading to their rooftop so they could enjoy their South Maui vistas from a higher elevation.
As always, I was hoping for a lightshow in the clouds, but there was too much moisture (as usual) and it didn’t happen. However, the softbox effect on the horizon did allow me to get great shots of the fireball that powers our world from 93 million miles away, and follow it down to the slopes of Lana‘i on the horizon.
After living on Maui for a few years, you do tend to take these sunsets for granted, but I try not to. There aren’t many places in the world that offer views like this.
No matter what I tried with the earlier shots, I couldn’t get rid of the lens flares, so I decided to do some artistic renderings of the scene in HDR. This one consisted of six frames processed in Photomatix Pro 4.0, and finished in Lighroom 3.4.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not your typical dinner guest. If I know I’m going to be at a location with superb views, I’ll show up with a car full of gear. It’s a good thing I have understanding friends.
Last night, my wife and I had a lovely pizza making party with our friends from Kula Fields, who do actually live in Kula, on the slopes of Maui’s Haleakalā volcano. We were headed for a pretty clear sunset, but the clouds started rolling in just as the sun neared the horizon.
A mentor of mine once told me that a sunset isn’t over until all the light is gone, so I kept watching. Turned out, the clouds added a wistful, mysterious feel to the scene.
From the beach near our house in Kihei. Consolation prize for not being able to get a supermoon-rise. Haleakala is all socked in.
You know, iPhoneography is cool. It’s a lot of fun and you can do some pretty amazing things. Having followed digital photography from the beginning, I have to admit I’m hooked.
But nothing beats taking my DSLR out, putting it on a tripod, setting it up with an ND grad to get shots like this. I’m still a big camera guy at heart.
Aloha Sunday. Hope you have a great week.
New Year’s Eve sunset, Keawakapu Beach, Maui, Hawai‘i. Here’s to a happy and prosperous 2011.
Aloha 2010…
Here’s something that doesn’t happen every day. Shortly after I wrote the blog post about the Cotton Carrier, I received an email message from them letting me know that they posted a link to it on their blog, and asked if I would be interested in swapping mine out for their latest and greatest model with the camera tethers.
It’s almost as if they were reading my mind. One of the reasons I love the Cotton Carrier is it eliminates the straps around my neck, but the downside to that is it also eliminates my drop prevention strategy, so I’ve been a little nervous about that. I accepted their offer gladly, and they shipped me a new system, complete with the tethers and handstraps.
In exchange, they asked me to post a photo of myself with the system against a Hawaiian backdrop, update the blog and send my system back for R&D evaluation. Easy enough.
Thanks, Cotton Carrier. Great system, great folks.
Peter Liu sporting the Cotton Carrier at the beach in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. Photo by Kathy Becklin.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of shooting the vow renewal of my old Bay Area friends Kim and Steve at Makena Cove during their vacation on Maui. It was an intimate ceremony presided by their 18-year-old daughter Korie, whom I haven’t seen since she was a toddler.
To be clear, I am not a wedding photographer. Many of my peers are much better at this and have a lot more passion (and patience) for it than I do, but when an opportunity like this arises with dear friends, there’s no saying no. I hope you enjoy this moment in time as much as I did.
I make a point of going on a photowalk of some kind on my birthday (though sometimes it’s a photodive). I turned 50 a couple of month ago and went for a drive out to Kaupo, but haven’t had time to do anything with the photos until now.
Here’s a panorama of the Kaupo church. I don’t normally shoot landscapes at the height of the day like this, but the colors were striking and I loved the different shades in the water. Now all I need is some wall space.
Wire Coral Goby (Bryaninops yongei), Pipe Dreams, Kona, Hawaii.
My wife and I went on a scuba diving vacation in Kona a couple of months ago. We used to do this kind of thing at least once a year, but recently, life has gotten in the way and we haven’t been able to find the opportunity as often. With my social media consulting practice in full swing, work has been busy and the time off was very welcome.
Of course, life underwater isn’t complete without a camera, so I brought back a few photos to add to the portfolio.
In case anyone is wondering, I still shoot an old Nikon D100 underwater in a Light & Motion Titan D100 housing with two Sea & Sea YS-90DX strobes. Old gear, but it works well, and I never felt the need to invest in an upgrade.
Enjoy!
Longfin Anthias (Pseudanthias hawaiiensis), Garden Eel Cove, Kona, Hawaii.
Dwarf Moray Eel (Gymnothorax melatremus), Kona, Hawaii.
Blackside Hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri), Big Arch, Kona, Hawaii.
Belted Wrasse (Stethojulis balteata), Kona, Hawaii.
Whitemouth Moray Eel (Gymnothorax meleagris), Gardem Eel Cove, Kona, Hawaii.
Undulated Moray Eel (Gymnothorax undulatus), Manta Ray Bay, Kona, Hawaii.
Yellowmargin Mora Eel (Gymnothorax flavimarginatus), Manta Ray Bay, Kona, Hawaii.
Devil Scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus), Pipe Dreams, Kona, Hawaii.
Commerson's Frogfish (Antennarius commersoni), Driftwood, Big Island, Hawaii.
Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea), Garden Eel Cove, Kona, Hawaii.
Fuchsia Flatworm, (Pseudoceros ferrugineus), Three Room Cave, Big Island, Hawaii.
Winner of the 2009 Monterey Bay Aquarium World Oceans Day Photo Contest
The first camera I ever brought underwater was a 3MP Olympus C-3040Z in 2002, … [Read More...]
