Hawaii

  • Kilauea From Above

    Celebrating our 16th anniversary, my wife and I went on an amazing helicopter tour around the Big Island with Blue Hawaiian. We began towards the volcano, then made our way north along the Hamakua coastline to the amazing valleys north of Waipio. This is one of the coolest, most breathtaking Hawaiian adventures I have ever taken. I strongly recommend going.

    This post is mainly to show images of the smoke that is coming out of the volcano. I will be showing the valleys in a later post.

    Enjoy!

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Night Lights

    Photograph of the starry night behind tall palm trees in Hawaii

    This night just happened. The moon wasn’t due to rise until 2am and the humidity was low, all while the wind wasn’t really blowing hard. A perfect opportunity to attempt a concept that I was thinking of for a while now… palm trees in front of a starry night. I didn’t have the energy to drive to a preferred location, so instead I walked to a location close by, which happens to be near a hotel. I thought the lights from the hotel might kill the night sky with light pollution, but I decided to give it a shot first. If I am successful my next attempt would be at the location I had in mind, which would by a long bike ride in the dark.

    I was pleasantly surprised with the shot; even with the red of the nearby lights. The under lighted palm trees really helped bring a lot more color into the shot.

    Prints are available for purchase on my FineArtAmerica store

    Palm trees standing tall amongst a starry Hawaiian night

     

  • Life

    A hike over the old lava flow… and soon to be new lava flow, but don’t tell the fern. A brilliant reminder that life will always find a way.

     

    This image was taken near the new lava flow at Kamokuna in the Volcano National Park… fairly close to the lava flow. I deviated from the gravel road a bit to find this fern growing through the crack in the lava. The vibrant green leaves contrasting against the deep tones of the lava is a great contrast to life growing out of a harsh environment. I was captivated by the way the lava crumbled under my feet and sounded like glass breaking as I ventured to this spot. The wind was blowing and waving the small leaves of the fern making it difficult to shoot. My patience was definitely tested as I waited to the breeze to die down long enough to still the shot. Much more that I wasn’t even to my final destination.  Watching this new life was a bit calming as I began to realize how crazy it is that this fern is growing nearly five miles away from any other plant. I thought to myself how strange and foreign this environment is that is being created by the Hawaiian volcano.

     

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Volcanic Activity

    A photography trip to the Kamomuna lava flow and Halemaumau Crater

     

    A last minute decision to see the lava flow from the Kalapana side made a lot of amazing memories. My wife an I were amazed to see the island expanding right before our eyes and inches from our feet.

    A 4.5 mile trip, I would recommend riding a bike, will get you to the flow that covered the gravel emergency access road. Where you park there are a lot of people renting bikes, selling food, water, and artwork.  Bring as much water as you can pack. They park service recommends 1 gallon for each person.  This is not a leisure activity. The trek is long and hot.

    It took us about 45 minutes to make the bike ride to the lava flow at a mild pace. The sun was setting as we arrived and we decided to venture up the hills of lava to see the lava flowing over the earth. Immediately I was in total amazement as I witnessed the lava slowly pouring down the hillside amongst a crowd of people. It was amazing to feel how hot the lava was. Like opening an oven door. I stepped up close to get a few close shots, but had to step back quickly to cool down.

    After about 20min we retreated down to the ocean entry where the cliffside was outlined with spectators. Watching the waves battle against the hot molten lava. The energy explodes and lets off smoke and steam which is highlighted by a red glow as it blows over the landscape. We sat until we ached from sitting on the hard ground and then decided to venture back up to the lava flow again.

    The masses of people continued to populate the area, so we decided to leave and check out the Volcano National Park.

    It was an amazing adventure that hooked me on volcanic photography.

    © Christopher Johnson

     

    Check out my new image of the Halemaumau Crater - http://www.fromhereonin.com/halemaumau-crater

  • Akaka Falls

    Akaka Falls framed with the ferns in the foreground.

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    This magnificent waterfall has been photographed a million times and mostly the same way. I wanted to photograph it with a different approach. Framing the waterfall with all of its surroundings in order to accent the subtleties of the area was my goal. The ferns in the foreground, small waterfalls along the left side of the falls, the moss along the walls, and the way the water catches smooth rocks along the cliff walls as it falls were all the details I set out to capture that are normally lost in a wide angle view.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Peaberry & Galette

    I displaying artwork from June 10th to August 1st, 2016 at the Peaberry & Galette Cafe in the Keauhou shopping center located next to the Theatre.

     

    Artwork is for sale.

    The 30X40 framed Chameleon, Sea Arch, and Purple Flower canvas prints are available for $380 each.

    The 16X48 framed Wave canvas print is available for $200.

  • Hawaii

    Golden sunset shines through the beautiful silhouetted palm trees during sunset

     

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    On my way down to the shoreline of Kailua Kona to view the sunset I was taken back by the beauty of the palm trees silhouetted against the vibrant Hawaiian sunset.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Noio Point Arch

    Photograph of a sea arch along the western Hawaii coastline during sunset

    Sunlight streams through the large opening of a sea arch off of Noio Point along the Kailua Kona coastline.

    See the aerial version I shot with a DJI Spark drone, ‘Sea Arch Aerial‘.

    © Christopher Johnson

    Available backlit from Big Naked Wall. Check out the website and see the cool things they are doing for artwork with their interchangeable prints on backlit frames.

  • Two Fifteen

    I visited this location two days in a row when the sunset had some promise. The first day was disappointing when the sun popped under the clouds as a dull glowing ball surrounded by the colorless grey haze, blocking any chance of color and light. I was successful when I shot while the sun was high, but during the finale the absence of light pushed my shutter speed too slow. While I wan’t going to compromise any more on aperture and ISO I packed up. However, the next day I was graced with the appearance of the sun. Again I watched as the sun faded behind the low lying haze that trapped the sunlight from under lighting the belly of the clouds, but I was happy to witness some color on the horizon.
    My goal with this shot, against this sunset, was to capture the color and texture of the seaweed with a 1 second shutter. The surf was high and I didn’t want to risk a tight ground shot, so instead, I framed a glimpse of the foreground.
    Enjoy…
    © Christopher Johnson

  • On Location

    My wife had taken a picture of me while I photographed a large hole in the Keahole Point coastline. For over 3 years I have been visiting this, and many other, blow holes along the coastline, but I never really understood how big they actually were until now. Seeing an image of me standing on the edge with the water completely drained may have me second guess my approach the next time I re-visit any one of the six blow holes I frequent, but I hope not.

    The next image is the shot I took from this location. I think it’s cool to see these images together.

     

    © Christopher Johnson

     

  • Eucalyptus Forest

    Large Eucalyptus trees along the Hamakua coast on the Big Island.

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    I have been meaning to stop and take the time to venture into these trees for a very long time, but every time I drove by I was either in a hurry or the lighting wasn’t right. This time, however, was perfect. The sun was setting making the harsh highlights from the sun non-existent, but instead offered a soft even glow around each tree.

    Entering the forest was a challenge since the grassy trail was taller than me.  As I made my way through the grass and spider webs 🙁 …. and the deeper I went into the forest, the grass was a lot shorter and more manageable to photograph.  With the light quickly fleeting I was able to shoot a handful of images. Two of which are what I set out to capture.

    © Christopher Johnson

    Purchase a print by visiting my RedBubble page

  • Shoot RAW

    Shoot Raw … a Rude Reminder

     

    Long breaks from shooting have proved to be bad for me. This is following my Failure To Focus post from last month. This next lesson came from an entire shoot that was mostly of un-useable images. Such a drag since the location I walked to was a couple miles along a treacherous terrain. Hopefully I won’t make the same mistake again.

    12 years ago I made the change from shooting all JPEG to shooting all RAW images. It didn’t really matter if the subject I was shooting needed to be RAW because it was going to be shot RAW anyway. Well now I have become so custom to developing RAW images that I forgot what the difference really was. Well I learned the difference today.

    My camera is getting old. The last photo shoot I had was underwater at Mahaiula beach. Unfortunately the housing leaked and when I removed the camera, although the camera worked fine, the settings began to change on their own. ISO, focus, white balance, and PASM; I just didn’t realize the RAW capture settings changed as well. I had thought something was different when I noticed the 1250 number on the screen, but it didn’t dawn on me what that number actually represented. The 1250 was the available images I could shoot on the memory card, where that number usually is around 200. Thinking it was the ISO I went to adjust the settings, but it was already at 100. It was at this moment I should have stopped to figure it out, but of course I didn’t and proceeded to shoot the new location.

    I left thinking I may have gotten some great shots… I was wrong. Once I saw the JPEG at the end of the files while loading them on my hard drive I was mortified. “Maybe they will be fine” I thought to myself. That was until I began to work on the images.

    The first thing I began to notice was the amount of artifacts in under exposed areas. Then the minor adjustments in the highlights and shadows really started to make the images look fake. Instead of having the ability to fine tune these areas, small adjustments would completely blow them out or flatten the image. Then there was a lot of blotchy areas where the pixels try to make up the detail in dark and highlighted areas. Followed by the objects in the distance at the far end of focus had a weird sharpening look to them. Almost like the objects were wrapped in plastic. These camera compressed images were total crap. All flexibility for development is gone. The only way this JPEG setting worked is if the image shot was technically perfect and in a tight focal range.

    The shot I posted needed very little development and for the most part worked. With a little bit of loss in the shadowy areas I am fairly happy with it, but as for the rest, it was a sad night.

     

  • Failure to Focus

    After 3 months of not shooting anything I was pretty rusty that I forgot one of the most fundamental steps in photography.

    On November 22, I ventured out to a hidden spot in Kohanaiki with hopes of a great sunset shot. Earlier this year this spot was brought to my attention and on my first trip noticed the sun set just right of the spot that I thought would be the sweet spot. The two rocks converged just below the ocean, leaving a small triangle where I would have the sun set on my next trip. This was my next trip.

    In the rush to make it to the location in time I hurried to assemble my camera and get into the surging water to compose the shot. Now setting up the tripod I noticed I was a month too late because the sun was now setting too far to the left. In attempts to make the composition work I was getting into a rough surging area and with the on shore winds the sea spray was covering the filter. Needless to say I was getting frustrated. Instead I retreated back to explore the composition at my original location, 10 feet back.

    With the hurrying, attempting to set up, and then the filter cleaning I forgot to perform one fundamental step… focus! How could I forget to focus the camera? It wasn’t until I shifted locations to another area 50 feet away that I began to realize I hadn’t been focusing. It didn’t even dawn on me right away. I continued to shoot a few frames when I began to kick myself. “Well it’s nice to be out shooting and enjoying the sunset.” I told myself.

    After I had loaded the images into Lightoom, I was pleasantly surprised that this time I got off with a warning. The majority of my images were in focus and that with very little post processing I had come home with a handful of nice images.

    Cheers to f22!

  • Kohanaiki ‘S’ Curve

    I had a great time shooting at a new location with Mark Rogers for this sunset. This spot is so complex with so many compositional possibilities. I can’t wait to see what images Mark came up with.

    My first impression of this location is a view through the passage toward a large hole in the reef. I wanted to capture the colorful seaweed with the strings of water as it flows gently through them while the sun colors up the clouds above. I think that with this composition in the winter the sun may be in the opening above the ocean, so I look forward to that possibility.

    This photograph of the beautiful Hawaiian scenery can be purchased as a fine art print for home or office or licensed for usage.

    Please contact me for more information.

  • Keahole Sunset

    A wide photograph to show the character of the Keahole shoreline.

     

    Being too busy to go out and shoot is no fun and that is where I have been for most of 2015. Today I was able to retreat to the beach and noticed the calm ocean. It was then I slated a time to shoot the sunset. When the ocean is calm and the tide is low, the seaweed is more prevalent and I knew exactly where to go. A spot I haven’t been to in a while just north of Kailua Kona where the shoreline has a unique character to what we think Hawaii should look like.

    This location, unlike the others, is more violent when the waves surge in and out of the large holes in the rocky shoreline. Extra caution is needed when setting up. I setup low and close to the opening in-order to capture the water flowing through the seaweed. Because the surf was calm I felt safe from being pulled into the opening.

    I was lucky that the sunset came together at the right moment. I shot several frames, but this is the one that brought the entire scene together… Enjoy!

    © Christopher Johnson

    Waves rush through the blooming seaweed along the terrain of the Keahole coastline

    Purchase a print on paper, canvas, or metal at RedBubble.