Kauai – Page 2 – A Photo's Worth

Street Photography in Kauai

Along with the lush scenery I tried to capture the flavor of the Island with some street photography. Laura brought an up-to date guide book. The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook. Mine was 19 years old, and prices and recommendations have changed. My son, who lived in Kapa’a in 2000 provided me with points of interest also.

My Fuji x100f is suited for street photography, and came in handy at the airport and when we explored towns. Along with my xt2 I brought along lenses for landscapes, and distance, lowlight, and all around general shooting. The dilemma my friends and I faced each day was what lens should we take with us. We joked around thinking there should be an app for that purpose. And who knows, maybe there will be an app for this someday?

Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is a delightfully easy to navigate, and a great point for departure.

There is no direct flight to Kauai. My flight landed in Honolulu in over 5 hours. Traversing this airport is quite a task. I took note of this and planned to use an airport cart for my carry-ons next time.

Off to Lihue. The bright Hawaiian shirts and big “Aloha Greeting” puts me in a holiday mood.

Baggage claim in Lihue is open-air. Right away you know you have arrived in the tropics.

Keeping my friend caffeinated with the “perfect” cappuccino!

Old town Koloa is a quaint town with a sugar plantation past. Had a lot of fun exploring here.

Monkey Tree brought us here, but the charm caught my photographic eye.

This is part of a beautiful sculpture depicting their history.

Chickens and Roosters everywhere. Just like my town of Fair Oaks, Ca.

Koloa has this great ice cream shop, Koloa Mill Ice Cream and Coffee. Be sure to stop by, you won’t regret it! Another treat on this Island is Shave Ice. Not only is it fun to eat, it is fun to watch it being made. It does take a bit of technique to eat it without looking like an amateur.

Guide book recommended Jo Jo’s. First tried Shave Ice in the town of Waimea. Our second stop was in the town of Hanalei.

Hanalei is another fun town to check out. Had to pull out our rain gear to protect our gear. The rain comes and goes quickly.

Wandered in and out of shops. This owner was learning a new song.

I end here today with the hope of getting time tomorrow to continue with some more of my photo images.

Kauai – Looking for Water on the Coconut Coast

The last time I visited the Garden Isle I spent much time at the beach visiting my son and daughter-in-law. This time photography pushed us to explore, explore, explore. There are 4 distinct areas to visit. West Side: Waimea Canyon and Hanapepe, North Shore: Kiluea, Hanalei and Princeville, East Side: Coconut Coast – Lihu’e, Wailua and Kapa’a, and South Shore: Koloa, and sunny Po’ipu.

Surrounded by ocean, with waterfalls and rivers interspersed there is no shortage of water. Landscapes full of green provide much appreciated photo opportunities. Especially when you travel from California after a summer of drought.

Looking for a closer view, a longer and heavier lens might do!

Our trusty Nissan rental provided our only means of transportation. Maybe if I return I may plan a trip down the river by boat. Not being able to get close to the waterfall kind of took away some of the excitement for me.

Wailua River found on the other side of Opaika’a Falls.

On to our next waterfall of the morning.

Beginning of a muddy trail to find the Secret Waterfalls

Meeting a much younger and experience hikers returning, I decide the Secret Waterfalls will remain as such. My friends and I enjoy the jungle atmosphere.

Looking out from the jungle path is a clearing with goats and bird friends.

Muddy, broken flip flops abandoned by a more adventurous hiker.

Lunch in Kapa’a at Bubba’s Burgers and a quick stop at Kapa’a Beach. Ocean

Plenty of wait time. Amusing signs always capture my attention.

Last stop of the day is the Wailua Waterfalls. Picturesque, but did not get my heart thumping like Niagara Falls. What can I say.

I guess this sign does not apply to the lizard attached!

This ends the exploration of the Coconut Coast. Didn’t photograph any coconuts. I understand that this side of the Island has groves of coconuts. Something to see, next time?

Exploring Kauai – Waimea Canyon

Our first day on the Island of Kauai we head toward the Waimea Canyon. This proved to be our most adventurous day. Anxious to see as much as three photographers in our mature condition we started early with a stop at our local Starbucks. With a perfect cappuccino, cameras, lenses, batteries, and hats we are off.

The colorful restaurant begged to be photographed!

Driving along we stop at every lookout point and admire the lush, green landscape

With camera in tow we explore the trail. Our traditional shadow selfie.

I am feeling pretty good about my choice in camera equipment. For this portion of the trip I am switching between my 18-55mm zoom lens and my 10-24mm wide angle lens. I am able to clip the lens case to my jeans, and travel light.

An easy trail to follow
Swaying grasses
Group of Palm trees
Love the color
Canyon lookout
Lichen creates texture

Continuing up Waimea Canyon we arrive at Waimea Canyon Lookout. I have not yet witnessed the Grand Canyon so I marvel at this wonderful landscape.

Waipo’oo Falls
First glimpse of Waipo’o Falls
A river runs through the canyon
Can you see the profile?

We started early and we were ready for a break. All along the canyon there are no commercial fast food places. We came across the Koke’e Lodge, and stopped for lunch. Located in Koke’e State Park the view is a stark contrast to the canyon views I have seen all morning. Enjoyed lunch, and then headed back to Hanapepe.

Kekaha Beach our next destination will always be filled with good and bad memories. Happy to see the ocean, after all Kauai is an Island. But as a reminder just as I am leaving the beach, I fall. My lava rock is hard and not forgiving. Luckily my jeans protected my skin, but my right leg, ugh. No one wanted to take that photograph!

Getting into some people photography. Looks like an enjoyable stroll along the shoreline.

Sandpipers going in the other direction!

When I was last in Kauai I remember going over a Swinging Bridge. Too tired, and not quite in condition to go across I viewed it from afar.

Hanapepe Swinging Bridge over the river.

This first day ends with a sunset view from the Waimea Canyon.

So ends my first day on my photographic journey in Kauai. More days of exploring, photographing, relaxing and enjoying time with good friends.

Vacation photo adventure

Time to share my photographs from the Island of Kauai. A first with my new Fuji cameras. I recently purchased a Fuji XT-2 with the following lenses. The wonderful 18-55mm proves to be an exceptional kit lens. I added the 10-24mm f4 for landscapes, and the 55-200mm for getting up close and personal with nature. My last purchase was the prime lens 35mm f1.4 for its low light capabilities, and small size. Armed with my Fuji x100F for street photography I was prepared for all occasions.

My goal was not to be hauling equipment that was too heavy to handle. I bought a Kipling bag that I modified with padding to keep my equipment protected. I packed my lightweight Rick Steve’s backpack in my suitcase. I also purchased some inexpensive neoprene lens cases so that I can safely throw individual lenses into the backpack. I brought along my Mac Pro in its Think Tank Bag. I usually only travel with my iPad, but my friends planned to use their computers in the evenings. Anyway the Think Tank bag helped me stay organized during my travels.

The first day was one of travels, and we arrived at the Lihue Airport at about the same time. I travelled from Sacramento via Honolulu, and they left from San Jose via Maui.

My Fuji x100F was handy to grabbing this image of the tropical garden at the Honolulu Airport. It is a large, spread out airport, and I decided that on my return flight I would grab a cart for my carryon luggage.

Boarding plane to take me to Lihue, Kauai

We unload our stuff at the condo, and head out in search of food. Dinner and then a quick trip to Safeway to get provisions for our stay. Tomorrow we plan to get an early start for a full day of exploring!

Tag: Kauai