A collection of aerial photographs of spinner dolphins
A pod of dolphins swimming just off the Kona shoreline in the morning. The ocean was clear, made up of beautiful shades of blue. This was a perfect setup for photographing these majestic animals.
It didn’t come without difficulty. I made 7 separate trips. Most of the time the dolphins were nowhere to be seen and I discovered that the presence of tiger sharks scared them off. Other times they were around, but my shutter settings were too slow. I walked away with a lot of blurry images. Nothing more frustrating. This last trip was a huge success.
A collection of aerial photographs I captured from Princeville to Haena on the beautiful garden island of Kauai.
It is always a pleasure to be able to visit another island. The Big Island is beautiful and has a lot of very unique qualities, but it is a young island. Erosion hasn’t taken place like it has on the other islands. Kauai is the oldest island of the Hawaiian island chain with an estimated 5 million years. Stepping from a landscape of lava rock and gentle sloping mountain to a lush green landscape with towering chiseled mountains and waterfalls is exciting for me.
With the Mavic 2 Pro drone I went exploring. I took advantage of the early morning and late afternoon’s warm light which accented the tropical landscapes. This is a collection of the images I created from the beautiful sandy beaches of Hideaways and Pu’u Poa as well as along the coastline to Haena.
I look forward to returning to Kauai so that I can continue to explore this magical island.
The Hanalei river reflecting the surrounding mountains during sunset.Shoreline designs of Hideaways Beach in PrincevillePanorama of the mountains surrounding the small town of HaenaHaena beach on the island of KauaiThe point where the Lumaha’i river meets the Lumaha’i beach.Beautiful Hideaways Beach in Princeville KauaiA panorama of the beautiful Hanalei bay in Kauai.
Purchase prints of the above images by visiting Fine Art America or by contacting me through my Contact Page.
I was waiting for the moment to photograph and video Humpback whales through the eyes of a drone. I kept a close eye to the ocean along the Big Island but didn’t have much luck scouting any whales. It wasn’t until I had an opportunity to visit with my parents on Maui that I saw an abundance of spouts and splashes peppering the ocean. A very exciting moment for me. What I didn’t expect was how difficult it was to find the whales from the air.
Along the cliffs on the west side of Maui we stood looking for some whales close by. We were extremely lucky to find a couple whales within 400 yards from us. Now all I needed to do was get to them.
From 400 feet in the air, you would think finding a 50-foot, 30-ton mammal would be easy to find, but it’s definitely not. Thinking you out far enough is a huge challenge. Often times I was way too close and had to go out way further, however, once I determined I wasn’t far enough the whales had either swam away or drifted. By the time I was 500 yards away I couldn’t find the drone in the sky to determine if I was nearby, so I had to fly back until I spotted it and adjusted and began the search.
My heart raced the moment I finally spotted the whales and then I had a huge smile on my face when I noticed what I was looking at was a mother and her baby. It was so peaceful watching the baby coming up for air, swimming around, and twirling before diving back down to mamma. Super amazing moment that I felt very privileged to be watching.
After this first trip we made several attempts to capture more amazing moments and with patience we were lucky to find another mother and her baby close to the first location. These photographs are a collection of the two successful flights.
Photographs were taken with a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone and Smart Controller.
Mother and baby humpback whales in the blue Maui oceanMother and baby humpback whales swimming side by side.Mother and baby humpback whalesMother and baby humpback whales together in the beautiful blue Maui watersA humpback whale tail seen before the final decent.A mother Humpback whale and her baby breathe a rainbow with mist as they take their breaths
First flight of 2021 over Kiholo Bay with a Mavic 2 Pro drone
It was morning before any wind or people showed up. The sun had been up for an hour. Kiholo Bay was perfect. I couldn’t wait to fly the drone and capture the beauty of this magical place.
Immediately I noticed two black figures in the water from 100ft in the air and came down lower to check them out. A pair of Eagle Rays were playing in the turquoise waters. I followed them for a bit and then took off to explore other parts of the coastline. Schools of fish, turtles, and unique designs of the lava rock shoreline captured my attention for a while. At the end of the flight I noticed a family of five Eagle Rays swimming together.
Marine life in Kiholo BayFive Eagle Rays swimming in turquoise watersThe turquoise blue of Kiholo Bay contrasted with the blues of the oceanThree Eagle Rays swimming together in the beautiful turquoise waters of Kiholo bayAn aerial view of Kiholo Bay
If you like areal images of marine animals check out this Humpback whale post.
My daughter wanted to meet some friend to surf dawn patrol at Pine Trees beach. Usually this means I have to sluggishly get out of bed, drive her down half asleep, and hurry home to drink more coffee, but not this time. For my birthday I got a DJI Spark drone and look for any opportunity to fly it. This was my opportunity to get out at sunrise and practice getting beach pictures while my daughter happily surfed with friends. Best of both worlds.
8/22/2022 Update
I am not sure how I was able to fly the drone during this morning at this spot. I have returned multiple times and have been restricted due to the proximity to the airport. The flight path extends past where I was standing. It’s a shame since now I have upgraded the drone to a Mavic 2 Pro and would love to recreate the beauty this surf spot has to offer.
Aerial photograph of Pine Trees beach at sunriseAerial of Pine Trees beach on the Big Island of Hawaii
A section of the lava river from a Paradise Helicopter tour over the fissure 8 eruption of 2018 in Pahoa. I wanted to focus on the patterns the lava was making as it flowed to Kapoho, so I used a 70-300 telephoto lens to tightly frame in the lava with the dark surrounding areas. What I wasn’t expecting was how amazing the patterns are within the lava itself.
Photographed just east of the Kapoho lava flow ocean entry as we were flying away from the devastation. This was a small look into the recent past of what the coastline along the Kapoho coastline looked like before the lava destroyed it a month ago.
