Thursday, January 14, 2010

Sunset: Hapuna Beach, Kohala Coast

Today was another busy day driving to the North Coast to a little village called Hawi then onward to the end of Hwy 270, south to Waimea then back to Hapuna Beach to catch the sunset. We have been trying to photograph a sunset since the day we arrived in Kona, which is now known as Kailua-Kona. There have been events beyond our control which has conspired against us.

Our plane arrived after midnight on Saturday. Sunday found us at Lu'au. Monday we were caught in torrential rains on the way back from Hilo. We thought that we would be able to capture a sunset yesterday (Tuesday), but due to a fire on top of the hill overlooking Kailau (Kona) the sunset was less than spectacular. When the sun nearly reached the horizon, the smoke layer blocked out the sun and it disappeared.

Today we made a deliberate attempt in trying to capture the sunset far away from the city, nearly an hour north of town at Hapuna Beach in the hopes of avoiding the smoke from the fire. The fire has worsened and has broken through 2 fire breaks. It is on top of the mountain where it is difficult to get equipment. Everywhere you look you will see the smoke/haze layer.

Lucky for us the view at Hapuna Beach was clear. Hapuna Beach is a surfers' paradise where the ocean waves are rolling in like thunder.

P1000504
(Sunset: Hapuna Beach State Park)

P1000510

Tech Notes: The first image was taken just after the sun went below the horizon. The second image was probably taken 5-10 minutes later (the afterglow). Using the same camera, Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3, exposure comp -2/3, 25mm Wide, Vivid setting

12 comments:

  1. Bobskoot, very nice sunset pics, all you needed was a motorcycle in the foreground.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great photos, thanks for sharing. Is the LUMIX a new camera? Looking forward to more. GAW

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great pictures! Thanks for the extra effort to get them, it was worth it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice sunsets! Is the horizon a bit curved or is it my imagination? And thank you for the exposure info, I'm trying to learn this stuff. I stopped shooting almost 25 years ago and just getting started again.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very nice pictures. Hope you are not spending all of your vacation time looking for sunset pictures. Be sure to take some time for yourself and your wife

    ReplyDelete
  6. Firstly, I sincerely hope you are experiencing a tremendous amount of enjoyment.

    Now that I actually have an awareness of light, I'm also noticing how amazingly fast a good shot can disappear in mere moments.

    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Bobskoot,
    Very lovely sunsets! I can't decided which I like best. Hope you guys are having a wonderful and refreshing time over there!
    kari

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great color, Bob. You've had your trials and I'm glad you were ultimately successful with your goal!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely sunsets, I can never get enough of them. Thank you! I hope that the photo session ended in a romantic dinner for you and Mrs Skoot.

    ReplyDelete
  10. See, life is just better at lower latitudes.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just wanted to comment on the video and pix. It took me back to my visit nearly 30 years ago. I would love to go again. We took the road to Hana on Maui. That was an adventure. Don't know what it is like now, but then it was just a two lane dirt road at best, some places it was only one lane going around a very sharp turn. Had to have a 4WD to take the whole drive. Loved the sunset pix. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete