My Kauai Photo tour - photographing Hawaii

Photographing Hawaii






Ok, this is my last post about my trip...I promise ;-) I wanted to share an interesting and unique activity that I did while in the state of Hawaii, on the Island of Kauai. On the island, there is a Photo tour company. The company has several different types of photo tours, the basis is, to take you to spectacular/scenic locations and let you have the opportunity to take photographs. It is a great concept, it is like having the best local photographer, take you to the prime sites. They do the driving and you just sit back and enjoy! I found this company to be professional and offer great expertise. Tips on shooting methods, settings are offered if you ask, and they will also grab your camera for a shot of you at the location. *** Please remember ALL these photographs are copyrighted.

http://www.hawaiianphotos.net/Kauaitours.htm is where you can find information on this photo tour.

Our day started out a bit cloudy, but our tour guide "Scott" assured us the sun would shine! After our first stop, an over look at a beach, the sun did indeed come out and shine for us the rest of the day. What a HUGE difference that makes in the water color.


During the day we visited several beaches. Each had their own unique scenery to offer and photograph. I can honestly say..no two locations were the least bit alike, certainly something that is a benefit when paying for such a tour. Scott showed me this method of photographing a tree...for a unique perspective. You lay the camera on the trunk, with the lenses up, and let the camera autofocus and shoot! pretty cool IMO!!! I hope that remember that trick, and find a cool tree to try it out on here at home.

I call this one, the "path to paradise".....trees over a path to the sea make an inviting path call to you! As you might suspect..this is NOT what everyone else in the group was focusing on...LOL...guess you have to see, I see things a little different ;-)

On the island of Kauai, there are chickens...chickens everywhere! They are protected, as they are thought to be decended from ancient native birds....what makes a better shot than a rooster crowing in a lovely back drop of green grass and leaves that match the chicken!
One of the beaches we went too, was at the town of Hanalei....you all know the song..."Puff the Magic Dragon"...you remember the lines..."Lived at the sea..and frolicked in the autumn mist on the land of Hanalei" well..this is it! and...no, I did not see Puff the magic dragon....What Hanalei is well know for though, it is gentle waves and beginning surfers...they were SO much fun to watch, and even funner to photograph, because of their expressions when they did, after try after try, finally catch a wave and succeed !!!


We then headed out to a beach that has massive rocks, and violent waves. Talk about fun practice !!! Scott said that many lives have been lost on this beach, tourist getting WAY too close and then getting swept out to sea. So, we all stayed back, but found the violent waves quite a draw, and certainly a challenge to photograph. This location was on a blind corner, with just an unmarked dirt trail to the beach, it is truly a location I never would have found on my own....in fact, they probably ALL were.
One more shot from that beach with the violent waves.....it crashed onto the rocks, and then make a little waterfall. COOL !!!

One would have to include a light house on such a trip..and we certainly DID !! but not just lighthouse view location..we had two locations....although the first location was closer, there were many people around, and being a bit of a purist..I like my scenery most of the time with out human subjects...so, this became my favorite lighthouse shot of the trip.

It was quite a day. Sharing photography with folks that are experts, and fellow tour members that are interested in photography. The owner also said, some folks take the tour to see the scenery, I certainly can see where that would be a good idea. There was a medical emergency on our tour, it made us somewhat time delayed , but the tour staff handled everything with professionalism and expertise. All turned out OK in the end...and it certainly did not damper our quest for great photography! Thank you Kauai Photo tours...owner Michelle and tour guide Scott !!!