Going to Kauai in early Sept with She Who Will Be Obeyed. ;-) Anyone been there shooting b&w? Normally, I shoot TMX but noticed I had a lot of trouble with it on the Big Island due to the constant breeze....can be a bugger to shoot plants when they won't stop moving and your exposure is around a 1/2 second or more.... Anything cool I shouldn't miss? Will be there about 9 days.
When you're there... be sure to visit The Princeville Hotel & Resort. It's a beautiful place and if you get out to where the pool is... look out towards the ocean. It appears as if the pool and ocean are contiguous. The inside of the hotel is pretty spectacular too!
Although we didn't make it up there on our trip... ask about the Black Beach (I think that's what it was called.) I've been told it's a great place to shoot.
Henry, Thanks for that. We're thinking of spending about 2-3 days on the south coast and then 2 days in Kokee and then the rest of the time up on the north coast. Thanks for the info! I have one question, I'd like to try making one of those beach shots where the sea foam gives the water a misty appearance. Are those a) a single time exposure or b) multple short exposures? If so, what sort of exposure times are we talking about? I realize it depends on the individual situation but just got to thinking about it....
If you're talking about making the waves seem as if they are fog (or misty), I've always had success with a single long exposure. Depending on the wave frequency, I've had to use ND filters to slow the shutter down to around 4 to 8 seconds. Have a great trip, I'm green with envy. Cheers
I have not yet released my images of Kaui, but will do so on July 1st at the address:
http://www.terragalleria.com/pacific/kauai
Be sure to check them at that time for ideas. A terrific location to get the images you are talking about is at the W end of Kee beach with boulders in the foreground with the Na Pali cliffs in the distance. There is at times heavy surf. You'll see what I mean on my gallery. Best results will be obtained 15 min after sunset around f22 30s/1 min at
100 ASA.
Waimea Canyon has great interplay of light and shadows in the afternoon.
First thing, go for a helicopter ride. The helicopter ride will aquaint you with the entire island and itshistory, and you will see many astonishing views not visible from ground level, not accessible by foot, etc. I would put the helicopter ride in the same category as my first visit to the Grand Canyon. It's that awesome an experience, especially if you've never been in a helicopter before.
Be sure to sit in the front seat. If you don't like helicopters, buy their video. In fact, even if you take the ride, buy the video. When you try to shoot through the floor or windows of the helicopter, you get tons of glare and dirt. When they shoot their video, they do it under ideal circumstances, with a steadycam, etc. etc.
Much of the natural beauty is in the center and north of the island. If you like walking or packing, travel to the northernmost portion of the highway, which is after Princeville. There you will find the beginning of the trails which go around to the unspoiled portions of the island, the Na Pali coast, etc.
Helicopter rides: Inter-Island based at the Port Allen airport near Hanepepe flies without windows. Take the widest lens you have, since the pilots fly *very* close to the formations. My 24mm (on 35mm) wasn't wide enough.
Totally unrelated to photography, but for the time of your life, there is an ultralight flight out of the south coast area. You can arrange for a 1/2 or 1 hour flight. Somewhat pricy, but well worth it.
...one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, Lumahai Beach on the north side before you get to Princeville...It was the "nurse's beach" in "South Pacific" and it's a beauty. Also, the charm of Hanalei...
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