Puaena Point

This is was taken just north of the area where I learned to surf while on the island.

After briefly attempting to surf 5 years ago I wanted to make sure I learned how to do it right and ended up finding Buttons. He turned out to be a local legend and former touring pro. He had me up and surfing on the very first wave and probably inspired a life long love of the sport.

Portlock Beach Sunset

Out of the few sunsets that I have taken here on Oahu my one regret so far was that I had not grabbed a truely pink one yet. The weather conditions have been a little too nice here which has lead to a relatively clear sky, which in photography terms is boring.

We spent the day touring the South East side of the island like tourists without the intention of grabbing a sunset. This included a trip to Moana Falls and Waikiki. Just before deciding to head home for the day I caught a glimpse of the beach and decided to check it out. I hadn’t expected much but after a few minutes the light changed drastically and the sky turned pink.

Portlock Beach is surrounded by million dollar homes. Thankfully the beaches are still public property and there are public access to all of them. When I was taking this picture there was a small group of locals taking advantage of the public access to fish and enjoy the sunset as well. I couldn’t help but appreciate how very fortunate they are to be able to enjoy a million dollar view and fish every day.

This is a 102 second exposure done using a Neutral Density 1000x filter. The filter acts to block out the light requiring the picture to take 10 times as long to properly expose. During that amount of time the water and light change and over time evens out leaving the glassy look that you see.

Kaena Point Sunset

Today marks one week on the island and on vacation.

I had wanted to get out every night to grab a sunset while here but family obligations began to take its tole on me and required that I take some evenings off to get some rest.

Today we rented a car and decided to tour the island. We began with a trip across the island to Lanakai Beach - which many consider one of the best beaches in the world. I was able to swim to one of the Mokulua Islands and enjoy the bird sanctuary there before swimming back.

Despite being here for a week I had yet to have some Ramen. Thankfully we stumbled upon Rai Rai Ramen in Kailua which was superb. Then we made our way to the Valley of the Temples to visit the Byodo-In Temple.

We continued north to grab a quick shave ice from Aoki’s in Haleiwa then finally made our way to Kaena Point on the west side of the island to grab this sunset.

Haystack Rock

Spring is starting to peak it’s head out from the rain and the snow here in Oregon. I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity and spend the weekend at the coast shooting Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach.

The weekend promised clear skies and warm weather (for the Oregon Coast at least). Unfortunately I was cheated out of a glorious sunset and instead had to settle for this.

Despite my inactivity for posting pictures over the last 6 months - photography has still been on my mind. The new year has brought about a ton of postive changes and I am as excited as ever.

Stay tuned for many more pictures to come in 2012.