Hawaiian Dream Sequence

Haleakala Clouds

It is an unnerving experience to be looking down at the clouds. In this view the color of the sky seems exaggerated, but it is our proximity to space that gives it the dark tint: there is less air above us at this elevation. The clouds we are looking down upon take on the reflected color of the sky. This makes a stark contrast to the rust-red landscape of the volcano’s summit. The island of Hawaii can be seen in the distance, apparently floating among the thundercells building up around it.
Haleakala Crater, Maui, HI
April 2001

Maui Moon

The moon is bright enough to show during broad daylight. Here a nearly full moon is framed by branches of palm trees that line the beaches of Kanapaali. As the day progresses to evening the powerful effect of moonlight will add to the already potent romance of this Hawaiian island.
Kanapaali Beach, Maui, HI
April 2001

Windy Night

Not an ideal night for star pictures! The moon is full, clouds and haze fill the sky, and nearby lights conspire to wash out the darkness. Even so, the pattern of the Big Dipper constellation behind the palm trees is enchanting.
In most startrail pictures a fixed camera records a static landscape and the only motion is from the clocklike rotation of the stars. In this case the palm trees are turned into flowers waving in the wind, even as the startrails keep their sharp focus. The rising full moon and the lights of this Hawaiian island color the clouds, furthering the dreamlike quality in this picture.
Maui, HI
3 April 2001
Pentax 67 w 55mm lens at f/8
15 minute exposure on Provia-F pushed 2 stops

Orion at the Beach

It looks like a daytime picture but there was only the full moon. With enough exposure, what looks like black sky to me becomes sky blue to the film. The dreamy quality is made by the passage of light clouds blowing through during the exposure, and by the cumulative misty effect of waves breaking on the shore. A rogue wave climbs far up the beach and glistens in the moonlight for a moment before sinking back into the sand. A close look will find masts waving as their moored sailboats maneuver against the wind.
The constellation Orion is hiding in the clouds. The three belt stars make a characteristic cat scratch during the time exposure. To the left, undimmed by faint clouds is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
Kanapaali Beach, Maui, HI
06 April 2001
Pentax 67 w 55mm lens at f/8
16 minute exposure on E200 pushed 1 stop

Orion over Kilauea

Kilauea is an active volcano on the Big Island, Hawaii, and the central feature of Volcano National Park. In the previous years there had been lava flows from vents further down the slopes of the edifice, but the crater at the top maintained a relatively stable pool of molten rock and gas emissions, stable enough that roads, trails, and a visitor center were constructed along the rim for visitors to enjoy and learn from it.
The visitor center was very popular, especially at night, and on this evening we enjoyed the spectacle of a lake of hot lava, along with many others that overflowed the visitor center parking lot. Park rangers gave presentations as we watched the boiling cauldron emit a plume of gases and steam. As I prepared a camera on a tripod, one of them made a suggestion that I could step beyond the tourist line and find a position along the crater wall that would offer a more photogenic view.
I was very appreciative of this implicit permit, and soon found a position along the trail where I could include the fiery exhalation of the lake of lava, a tree that had survived these conditions for its lifetime, and a view of the sky that included the constellation of Orion.
Volcano National Park, Hawaii
28 December 2014
Canon EOS 60Da, 10-22mm (10mm), ISO 800
30 sec at f/4