Maui Cane Burning:
Ok, this is photo dedication.  Last 2 mornings up at 2am so that I can go out and photograph some of the last cane fields to be burnt in the State of Hawaii.  This is the end of a historical era as HC&S discontinues the production of Sugar Cane on the Island of Maui. When the last field is Burn in the next couple of months there will be no more green sugar cane fields on Maui. After 144 years of cane production on Maui, HC&S is closing down cane production here. They are suppose to be replacing cane with alternate crops? We will have to wait and see what those are!

These shots are from the two fields across the Hwy from The Maui Tropical Plantation.

 Amazing sparks spiraling above the flames

 Love the flames reflection off of the electrical wires along the Hwy

 Unbelievable sparks pattern rising in the heat above the flames.

 Backfire along the Hwy is drawn towards the main fire from the interior of the field

Oheo Gulch & The Haleakala National Forest.

Had a great day at Oheo Gulch. Waterfalls, trails & the bamboo forest.  40-50 ft tall bamboo growing on the mountainside in the Haleakala National Forest on a 2.0 mile hike to the top and Waimoku Falls. But the 400 foot Waimoku Falls (it sure looks taller) is well worth the effort.  3+ hours of hiking and photos.  What a day!

Enjoy....

 Waimoku Falls, Ohea Gulch

 

 Refreshing mists waif across the rocks, as the waters 

from the 400' drop hit the pond at the end.

 Entry to the Bamboo Forest

 

Trail thru the bamboo to Waimoku Falls

 

Ancient Banyan tree. Halfway point to the falls 

 Have a wonderful Photo week.  Don't forget your camera. ;0)
Aaron

Aloha Friday and getting ready for a Hana photo trip.  Bamboo Forest & Waterfalls here I come. Look for photos next week.
On Wed afternoon I did a photo shoot at the Four Seasons Wailea for Moan Lisa Maui's Product release of her unique Blossom Band at the Adult Beach Day Event. We had 3 models showing off Blossom Bands that allow you to insert a flower bloom into the band and have a flower in your hair that will stay fresh and not fallout on a windy day. The Four Seasons Wailea was the perfect spot for the product release and we were able to have a little fun shooting down on the beach afterwards.

 

Mona Lisa Maui Blossom Bands

 

 

                  

 Fun on the Beach 

  

 

 

Well it's the middle of the week and as I was browsing my emails this evening a YouTube video popped up on how to photography water drops. So lacking anything better to do I fired it up and watched 3 different photographers explain how they photographed water drops. Of course each has a different way to do it, but the basic theme is have a bowl at least half full of water sitting in a cookie sheet or some other large container to help catch any exuberant water that deems to exit your bowl.  One off the camera flash set on a low power setting (suggested 1/16 power, which seemed to work fine for me), wireless trigger for camera and flash and of course a bag of water suspended above your bowl.  Poke a hole in the bottom corner of the bag and watch the drops descend into your bowl. They will drop at a steady pace and in the same spot (as long as you don't do something dumb-Like Me- and bump the bag). Put a knife in the center of the area the drops are falling in and focus the camera. Switch to manual if you were using auto focus as the camera will keep trying to auto focus on the drops as they fall.  I used my Canon 6D at 100iso, 35mm 1/200 at f/10. Bounce the flash off of a white surface (I used 24"x36" coated foam board), not directly at the water. Once you are sure you have good focus and exposure you can experiment with colors.  First change your WB to Tungsten to get a nice blue hue to the water in the bowl and the drops. You can add different color paper behind the bowl to get more color in the water. You can also add food color to the water.  The biggest challenge is TIMING the drops.
So my boring evening turned into a very fun and enjoyable evening of photographing falling water drops.

Of the video's I watched  First Man Photography was the best. Check out some of his double (mushroom) drops at the end of his video.
http://www.firstmanphotography.com/tutorials/water-drop-photography

Here are a few samples of what I did tonight.

 WB Set to Tungsten

 WB Set to Flash

 WB Set to Flash

 WB Set to Flash

 WB Set to Flash w/Dark Blue card behind bowl

Hope you enjoy them. I sure did taking them!

Aaron

Aloha Friday...No work till Monday!
Insomnia can be a good thing, work flow wise. Up at 4am this morning and decided to finish off and post 3 new photos to my Etsy Store.  Check them out and don't forget the SpringSaleBration coupon.
Did a test print of the Three Boats Photo last night and it was great on Canon Pro Semi-Gloss paper. Think it would be fabulous on Metal Paper. Will really make the Blues and water pop. Going to have to try that one next.

Kawaihae Road, Island Of Hawaii

 Three Boats anchored in the Castle De Ovo Harbor, Naples Italy

 Residence San Marco, Venice Italy

Have a wonderful Photography weekend.  Take pictures.