Visit Maui, HI

[Bob Salomon]

All kinds of opportunities. I like the views up on Haleakala dawn as well as mid day. Just be aware that winds can often be intense on the higher parts of the crater, and view camera use can be tricky. The highway on the NW of the island has many rewards, but the Hana highway is slow and winding and rather rushed for a day trip; it's best to book a night or two in the Hana area itself. Forget galleries - some of the worst tourist trap trash on the planet (that applies both to paintings and especially Lik and his Fauxtoshop fakeries). .... Let me add that the mid-elevations on the mountain, as you drive up, can have spectacular lighting and wonderful views. Reminds me of the vivid green ranch lands near here in Marin County. I also
like taking shoreline shots of lava and surf where we stay at Napili.

I disagree Drew, I enjoyed looking in a Lik gallery, but the high pressure sales people were a turnoff.

Last time I visited was his gallery in Vegas where the Managing Director of Rodenstock and I stopped in. Since Lik uses a Linhof Technorama 617S lll and we were the distributor for Linhof it became a great way to turn off the salesman when I started pressuring him that Lik should update his equipment. Then we could peacefully view the images.
Print technique, too garish, compositions, very interesting.

[Drew Wiley]

First time I bumped into Lik images was accidentally in a lobby gallery near a trade show I was attending in Vegas. I almost vomited (literally). I've never seen such blatant contempt for natural light or actual natural beauty. The prints were big poorly printed inkjets - basically oversized cutesy postcards, horrendously colorized, often Photoshopped composites.
I've heard that his previous Aussie Cibas (printed by someone else) were better, but have never seen any. Why bother with a camera at all, if that kind of blatant fakery is the objective? I think his sales people are well compensated. They're pro and slick - the kind I'd never personally hire (we had a zero tolerance for BS policy). Otherwise his business ethics are similar his role model, Tom Kincade, and highly questionable. He pulled some dirty tricks to force out neighboring galleries in Lahaina. I'm very very skeptical those prints get anywhere near some of the alleged asking prices. I'm sure those sales people would negotiate them down to 10% unless someone is a complete sucker. They're basically shrewd car salesmen. If someone wants big loud decor glitz, Fatali is a fifty times better camera and printing technician than Lik, and much more skilled in his use color. Lik has far better mounting skills. I've seen better big prints for $200 from Ikea. It's all just above-the-sofa color splash decor as far as I'm concerned.

[Bob Salomon]

First time I bumped into Lik images was accidentally in a lobby gallery near a trade show I was attending in Vegas. I almost vomited (literally). I've never seen such blatant contempt for natural light or actual natural beauty. The prints were big poorly printed inkjets - basically oversized cutesy postcards, horrendously colorized, often Photoshopped composites.
I've heard that his previous Aussie Cibas (printed by someone else) were better, but have never seen any. Why bother with a camera at all, if that kind of blatant fakery is the objective? I think his sales people are well compensated. They're pro and slick - the kind I'd never personally hire (we had a zero tolerance for BS policy). Otherwise his business ethics are similar his role model, Tom Kincade, and highly questionable. He pulled some dirty tricks to force out neighboring galleries in Lahaina. I'm very very skeptical those prints get anywhere near some of the alleged asking prices. I'm sure those sales people would negotiate them down to 10% unless someone is a complete sucker. They're basically shrewd car salesmen. If someone wants big loud decor glitz, Fatali is a fifty times better camera and printing technician than Lik, and much more skilled in his use color. Lik has far better mounting skills. I've seen better big prints for $200 from Ikea. It's all just above-the-sofa color splash decor as far as I'm concerned.

When we went he still had the TV show on, I believe, The Weather Channel, gallery was pretty busy and there were people buying, unless they were shills, but I don’t think so.

We were working the PMA show, which is the major photo dealer show in the USA and some of those customers were wearing show badges.

[Two23]

I remember watching the Lik show. In one episode, he was at a location in Montana I've been to, and was going on & on about how deadly dangerous it was. I knew exactly where he was because I had hiked there a couple of years before. It didn't strike me as dangerous at all. In fact, I allowed my six year old son to play on the rocks in that exact spot by himself. LOL here! Wife & I were watching the show and looked at each other and said, "Huh?"


Kent in SD

[Drew Wiley]

Interesting. I've never seen his TV show, but there's a popular "wilderness survival" series on network TV these days, and several episodes were filmed very close to my tiny home town in the Sierras, and I recognized every single spot they filmed. In one case, the two daring adventurers (one being a celebrity) were dropped off by helicopter way "deep in the wilderness" - actually beside a popular lake about twenty yards from a two-lane highway. Then off "alone" they go to live on berries and rattlesnake meat, and climb remote rocks miraculously pre-roped (the film crew, rope riggers, safety people, and whoever set that dead snake there are never shown or mentioned). In another case, the wilderness guru crossed the range with no supplies at all; but every spot shown I knew to be less than a couple of miles from a road or occupied cabins - hardly backcountry - pretty much an area equivalent to a day hike of hunting when I was a kid. I find these shows entertaining because of their sheer stupidity. But up in the real mountains these last two weeks I did run into a few real Darwin Award candidates conspicuously under-equipped for the elements. It rained awfully hard, with some snow.

[Tin Can]

1983 I won a sales award from Snap-On tools. Free everything, but I still spent way more than I expected.

Odd place to me. Walking with my wife after breakfast out of a Hilton, I was rudely accosted by a working woman. She said, 'Dump her and come with me'.

We were warned to not hike in the woods, as the marijuana growers were dangerous.

So we didn't.

And I won't ever go there again.

[Drew Wiley]

Guess you won't ever visit Colorado, or California, or Oregon, or Washington, Randy. Far more pot growers here than on Maui, and probably even more dangerous. 95% of it is still illegal. The last two weeks I was backpacking in Kings Canyon NP. Perfectly safe provided one is properly fit and equipped. Even the bears are polite. But the brush down in the Natl Forest lands below is infamously filled with heavily-armed actual Cartel pot operations. Nobody hikes there. Too hot and brushy anyway; that's why they hide there. Same on the coast here. The trailed scenic areas tend to be quite safe; and that applies to Maui too. My biggest worry there is always having to negotiate my wife waiting out a large format shot in exchange for taking her window shopping in Lahaina. I hate Lahaina, or actually, any kind of shopping row. But it comes with the marital territory.

[Tin Can]

I won't go to Maui as I won't fly again.

I prefer to travel back roads if possible and have camped in nearly every state. 1/2 of Canada. and some Mexico.

Maybe I will get to Alabama and Alaska, maybe not. But they would make 50.

May the road rise to meet you.

[John Jarosz]

Haleakala is a crapshoot. No clouds and it an ethereal occasion. Heavy clouds and it's meh. Been there 3x and only got the no clouds view once.

[Drew Wiley]

I go up Haleakala specifically for the clouds. They can be incredible, especially as one begins to get above them. But if you wish to avoid clouds, be at the top at dawn itself. Looking at the sun rising over the Pacific from there is like witnessing the birth of the world, with the added benefit that tour buses won't be around for a few more hours. But due to the probability of high winds at the summit, I've given up on LF "kites" and switched to MF gear.