In September of 2004, I took a three-week trip to the state of Hawaii especially to take photographs. This was my seventh visit to The Islands, so I pretty much knew what I wanted to see. I booked five days on Oahu, three on Kauai and five each on Maui and Hawai`i. I also arranged a day-tour of Molokai.
Unfortunately, it was my first time there in September -- I hadn't expected the temperatures to be quite so high. Some of the activities I had been planning to do were not possible for me because of the heat. But I still managed most of them, including experiencing a spectacular night sky on Mauna Kea and an eight-mile hike in the summit crater of Mt. Haleakala.
When I was done, I'd shot over 1500 frames. I probably averaged four hours a day behind the camera. On a typical day, I took around 100 shots. Almost all of them were carefully thought out and composed; I rarely succeed when I "shoot from the hip" and on this trip I had deliberately planned to take minutes rather than seconds per shot. Nearly two years later, I still think it's some of my best photography.
The collection of over 1500 CRW files has been winnowed down to a "mere" 780 JPEGs to make this gallery:
September 2004
The gallery is divided into groups constituting (usually) one day's worth of photography from the trip. I haven't attempted to caption these pictures beyond indicating on which island they were taken. I may come back someday and add captions; for now, just enjoy them as pictures -- and if you have been there and seen it, say hello to an old friend.
Come take a virtual tour of my favorite spot on Sol III: these are my photos of Hawaii. (Or as the Hawaiians would say: "Ka`u mau ki`i o Hawai`i keia.")
