Just got back from our annual vacation. This year, we headed out to Hawaii for two weeks. We spent a week in Oahu and another in Kauai. We had a great time. I have yet to go through all of the photos I took but have some to share, mostly from Kauai. Unfortunately, I lost two days worth of photos due to a faulty backup. I will add more photos to this thread as I proccess them. The photos are in no specific order.

1 -This first set is of Lumahai Beach, off the north shore of Kauai. Several movies have been filmed here. The most notable is South Pacific. Although the beach seems like a nice place to go swimming, there have been several deaths here due to unsuspecting tourists getting swept off the rocks by large surf. So of course, what do I do? Go out on the rocks to shoot this pano of the beach. You can see my wife on the left. She was not very happy with me. LOL. No worries, my wife and I sat to watch the surf and tide for 30 minutes before we ventured out on the rocks... Common practice for me when I surf or swim at any beach.


2 - Here is another shot of the rocks and tide pools. Lots of little critters in them. Unfortunately, we made out here at midday so lighting was not great. The clouds were working with me a bit to help though


3 - My wife taking in the view and watching for that "rogue" wave. She worries too much.


4 - The next few are of another beach in Kauai called Salt Pond Beach. Not many tourists at this one. Seemed to be a locals hang out. Quite a few families camping or hanging out, enjoying a day at the beach. There are some great rock formations just off the beach.


5 - I sat and watched the surf roll in and out here for a while. These mini-waterfalls were very cool.


6 - Sunset was quite a site here.


7 - There was still time for a couple more shots after the sun fell well below the horizon.


8 - Another beautiful beach in Kauai was Lawai. A bit more tourist action here but nice all the same. Many people come out to Lawai to catch the sunset. We visited it on our last night and unfortunately, the sunset was not that spectacular. This shot was the best of the evening. The sky actually go more drab looking as the sun fell.


9- Here we're jumping islands to Oahu. This was taken on a beach in Haleiwa. What a special treat I got when I came just to shoot the sunset and was visited by this huge sea turtle. And no, it's not dead, just taking a nap.


10 - This is also Haleiwa but facing the other direction as the shot above. I took this well after the sunset in very low light. The green algae was amazing in contrast with the black lava rock. This is how green it was in real life. It's not pushed in post.


11 - Also on Oahu is Paradise Cove in Ko'Olina. This spot is quite popular with wedding and engagement photographers. There were at least half a dozen couples getting there photos taken while I was there. I heard a few of the photogs arguing over spots. It was quite amusing. I'm pretty sure they didn't appreciate some Cuban in swim trunks wading around the water with his camera in the background!!!


12 - Check out the storm cloud and rain pouring down on the horizon. Very cool sight!


13 - Now back to Kauai and a shot of the front portion of Waimea Canyon. I took quite a number of photos of the canyon during sunrise but I'm afraid none of them are that great. I have to go back through them for a second look. This I took about an hour after sunrise and during our drive back out of the canyon. It's actually quite a wonderful photo when viewed large. I've linked the photo to a larger version so click it if you'd like to see it.


14 - These next few are of a historic spot in Kauai called Russian Fort Elisabeth. Apparently, some dude in the 1800s, who worked for a factory owned by Russians, built a fort on this location as part of a plan to take control of the island of Kauai from King Kamehameha and give it back to the original King. I guess his plan didn't work out. All there is left is a sign and a bunch of rocks that were used to build the fort. Not really much to look at but it does have a nice beach.


15 - It appears that this would be a great spot to surf when the swell is bigger. I sat and watched the nice lefts peel away for a bit then this guy on SUP board paddle on by.


16 - The beach has a small stream that spills into it and black sand. Pretty cool and so different than the beaches I'm used to surfing at in So Cal.


That's it for this post. I will share more as the days progress and I get through more of my photos. I promise to include other types of photos and will not bore you too much more with my attempts at landscapes.

Hope you enjoy these... stay tuned.

way good!

You've got some real stunners in here! Love that sea turtle and glad it was just a nap. I'd need one too, hauling a shell like that.

Did you use any off-camera flash on these? A few of them look like you could have, which means you've captured a very Hollywood-esque feel.

great set! the sea turtle shot is very cool

Great set, I started keeping track of my favorites then gave up. Very productive trip, good stuff.
.....and just to be sure I understood you correctly...whoooo was taking in the view in number 3?

Nice set! My favorites are the sea turtle (#9), and the green covered rocks on the beach (#10). That one made me feel like I was standing right there.

--- Denise

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments. It's funny because I posted some of these in the landscape forum and got few to zero replies. I know the lack of replies doesn't mean anything but it is nice to know people are at least looking at the photos one posts.

The trip was a lot of fun we have friends on Oahu so we got to see a the island from a locals POV. We hiked, kayaked, I surfed... You name it we, we did it. Kauai was more relaxed. We spent the traveling the island and taking in all the sights. I kind of bummed because I lost two full days of images. I was pretty heartbroken because we hiked to couple waterfalls on one of those days. My wife may have some pics on her P&S so not all is lost but I took some photos that I was pretty proud of. Well, lesson learned.

Steph... I don't think I used flash on any of this photos. All are single exposures except for the first shot and the shot of Waimea Canyon, which is also stitched from a few frames. I really got a lot of use from my cokin GND filters on this trip. It was challenging yet fun learning to use them.

The turtle shot is probably my fav of all the photos I took. Only because it's something not everyone gets to experience. I feel quite lucky to have witnessed it but even more that I get to share it with you guys.

I have many more pics to share. Hopefully they don't disappoint.

Very nice!

These are all awesome!!! #10 might be my favorite, but I just love them all! They're magazine quality I feel :)

Very nice pictures, thank you. 8 and 9 would be my favourites, 3 is also nice,

Ed

Love the shots- 6, 9 and 10 in particular. Hawaii is on the short list of places to visit; will need to give all of these a shot.

Great work!

After seeing these pics, I feel tempted to visit the place, carving out with my plans for the same.

Awesome. I love Hawaii.

One of these days, I am going to win the lotto and just spend the rest of my life shooting the islands. One could make a lifetime out of this, and still just scratch the surface.

amazing set, loved the sunset!

turtle shot is just wicked!

All great shots! Favorites are #1 & #6

Nice, nice, nice...liked'em all. Good work, especially the long shutter as the water flowed over the rocks.

Thanks guys. It was a great trip. This year's trip is in the planning stages. Two weeks in Cuba. Can't wait.

amazing ...

Lovely series