One Island; Many Environments

After driving the entire coast of Maui, I have come to the conclusion as to why most of the population is centered in Kahului, Wailea and Lahaina.  You don't need to negotiate a 45 degree, hilly turn around a mountain to access these areas.


Yesterday we drove the Hana Hwy all the way around the island and through the Haleakala National Park (south side).  Let me issue some warnings about this drive.  First - rent a compact car or Jeep.  Driving an SUV around these hilly, very curvy roads will make for some nail biting if you're wheelbase spills over into the other lane.  I've found that locals aren't generally conducive to moving over.  Also, if you get car sick, stick to the beaches and try snorkeling instead.  It will be a miserable day in the car.


With that said, circumnavigating the island of Maui has given me an appreciation for the diverse ecosystems here.  From the marine coasts to tropical forest to dry Haleakala, Maui's environments change quickly.  If you're lucky to see them at the edges of the day, your eyes will be delighted.  It just requires rising early or staying late.


Surfer dudes in the high surf from a wind advisory:  70-200mm with Gitzo Carbon Fiber tripod, circular polarizer.


Rainbow Eucalyptus tree:  24-70mm on same tripod (obeyed private land postings)


Haleakala National Park:  south side - 24-70mm with circular polarizer.  Note how polarizer still can't cut the 'hot' haze @ 4:00 p.m.

Limited Time

This morning I did a scouting trip of some of the local beaches near our hotel.  At the first beach I noticed this Green Sea Turtle lying on the beach.  The tide was rising and this turtle was at the peak of the last high tide, 12 hours before I arrived.  The sun was starting to get warmer and I began to think the turtle was dead.

There was no indication that this turtle had moved.  The sand around it was pristine.  A fellow observer, a respiratory therapist, noted that it didn't appear to be breathing.  Through the lens, however, I noted that it's eye blinked, trying to shake off the small flying knats around it's eye.

Using a 70-200mm lens/tripod to observe the turtle, it was difficult to wonder how this turtle could eat and/or see.  A smaller tumor on the opposite side was also attached near the mouth.  I was heeding the 30 ft. safety circle and not disturbing the turtle.  They live to be 80-90 years, but I can't tell you how old this one was.

A local man, familiar with the beach and procedures for beached turtles, called the authorities.  Apparently it's been beaching itself once a week now.  It appears that it's time is limited.  I wondered what the cause of those cauliflower-like tumors was.  Marine beings are often harmed at the hands of humans due to tangled fishing line, broken netting around limbs, and of course pollution.

I would have loved to photographed a healthy specimen of this species, but I realized that I needed to share this photo anyways.  Not everything in nature is pretty, but the dignity of a green sea turtle beaching itself for might be one more time, was something that reminded me that all our time is limited.

That's why I'm in Hawaii - making the most of it!

It's Overload Time!

Day two of the SYNC conference (Seniors and Youth National Conference) for photographers is over and I think it's time to order me up a new 4 GB memory external hard drive. That would be the 'gray matter' kind of memory, i.e. brain power. Just not sure how to plug it into my brain. You see, there are meetings from 8:30 a.m. 'til 10:30 p.m. and I've been taking notes like a court room stenographer!

At these meetings, I keep a running "To Do List" going so I can make sense of all the information I've collected for when I get back home. It's a routine I adopted long ago when attending conferences in my previous career. Well, let's just say that my to do list seems to be about as long as the Master's Thesis I wrote years ago! OK, I exaggerate for effect, but I think you get the idea.

I'm excited about the changes that will come! The new sets I've planned for my kids and seniors portraits are going to bring energy and excitement into this new year! The new designs for Senior and Newborn Books are awesome! Lots to be excited about. So while I'm a bit brain dead tonight, I'll be ready for more tomorrow morning.

As for the image, on my first evening here, I strolled the beach in front of the resort at sunset time. There's nothing like facing the sun when it's done for the day; taking in it's last rays of warmth. I was making images of the rows of beach chaises and saw this man, sitting alone. When I made the image I thought I'd jokingly blog about how he was missing the snow and bitter cold from up north. Then today I realized that his body language emulated how my brain felt tonight! Every brain overload needs a brain dump. Good.n..i...g....h.....t.

DEEP FREEZE time

Nothing like starting the new year where 2/3 of the country is in a deep freeze. Gosh, in Florida, you don't need to refrigerate the orange juice. Just pull those succulent balls of Vitamin C right off the tree and you're good to go!

Once we hit mid December, it's usually time to pull out the 700 goose down coat for walking the dogs. It's day-glow, hunter orange and believe it or not, the dogs have matching colors! Yeah, go ahead and laugh. I do every time we stroll out the front door. But in these days of darkness, we're seen by oncoming traffic. "Look Mildred, it's a wayward, northwoods deer hunter, right here on the East Side of Milwaukee! Must be lost." It's purely a defensive move on my part, as we've almost been taken out on the corner of Lake and Bradford by all those folks hell bent to get to work at Columbia-St. Mary's hospital.

As the deep freeze rolls into most of the country, I thought you'd appreciate a view of Lake Michigan made a couple of winters ago. I had been inspired by another local photographer, who kept making images of the old pylons along Northpoint, on Lake Michigan. In mid-January, when the below zero nights are common, I had a fellow photographer visiting from Pennsylvania. I encouraged her to rise early with me, before the dawn, and go down and photograph the pylons with steam rising from the Lake.

She rose but only endured about 10' in the -4 degree weather with a -20 wind chill. As for me, I was dressed in the aforementioned coat, snug as a polar bear. It was a BEAUTIFUL morning! As the daylight brightened, my hands said 'enough." There's nothing like that searing, throbbing pain of cold fingers, slowly rewarming, to start your day!