Nine-Years Ago (18-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 1: Kailua Kona.

Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec).

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. (David J Mathre)

Eight-Years Ago (22-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 5: Volcano National Park.

Nene – Hawaiian Goose, Volcanoes National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/8, 1/180 sec).

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Nene – Hawaiian Goose, Volcanoes National Park Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/8, 1/180 sec) (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (19-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 2: Kailua Kona.

One of the first pictures I took while attending a workshop with Thom Hogan in Hawaii five-years ago was this small yellow bird in a palm tree. The workshop group was sitting outside at the hotel getting an orientation for the next few days. Ultimately, I was able to identify this bird as a Saffron Finch — which turns out not to be native to Hawaii.

Saffron Finch in a Palm Tree. Kona, Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/8, 1/640 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Saffron Finch in a Palm Tree. Kona, Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/8, 1/640 sec). (David J. Mathre)

 

Four-Years Ago (22-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 5: Volcano National Park.

Four years ago I attended a photography workshop on the Big Island of Hawaii led by  Thom Hogan . We spent Thanksgiving day in and around Volcanoes National Park. Later in the afternoon we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at the Volcano House Hotel with other guests at the Lodge and some local residents.

The day started shooting sunrise over the Kilauea crater. In order to record the wide range of light, I took seven images with different exposure times. These were then processed using Photomatix (a HDR program). While traveling to the next photography location, Thom and Tony spotted a Nene (the Hawaiian state bird, also known as the Hawaiian Goose). The Nene is probably distantly related to Canada geese, however the Nene do not migrate. I guess that once they found Hawaii, they decided to stay 🙂 .  The Nene almost went extinct and is now protected by the state. It can also be found on some of the other Hawaiian islands. Finally, Thom helped with a composition including a fern.

Sunrise over Kilauea Volcano Crater, Volcanoes National Park Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/5.). HDR composite of 7 images using Photomatix Pro (David J. Mathre)
Sunrise over Kilauea Volcano Crater, Volcanoes National Park Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/5.). HDR composite of 7 images using Photomatix Pro (David J. Mathre)
Nene - Hawaiian Goose, Volcanoes National Park Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/8, 1/180 sec) (David J. Mathre)
Nene – Hawaiian Goose, Volcanoes National Park Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/8, 1/180 sec) (David J. Mathre)
Fern Composition, Volcanoes National Park Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/6.3, 1/60 sec) with SB-800 fill flash (David J. Mathre)
Fern Composition, Volcanoes National Park Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/6.3, 1/60 sec) with SB-800 fill flash (David J. Mathre)

 

Four-Years Ago (20-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 3: Beach at Waipi’o Valley.

Three images taken four years ago while I attended a photography workshop on the Big Island of Hawaii led by  Thom Hogan . The first image is two women running to the ocean at the beach at Waipi’o Valley. The second image is of a palm tree overlooking  Waipi’o valley, located along the Hamakua Coast on the  Big Island of Hawaii. The third image is a sunset over the ocean (location unknown).

Running to the Ocean Waipi�o Valley Beach. Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Running to the Ocean Waipi�o Valley Beach. Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Palm Tree at Waipi�o Valley.Trail Overlook. Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens. (David J. Mathre)
Palm Tree at Waipi�o Valley.Trail Overlook. Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens. (David J. Mathre)
Sunset. Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 12-24 mm f/4 lens (ISO 100, 12 mm, f/11, 1/15 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Sunset. Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 12-24 mm f/4 lens (ISO 100, 12 mm, f/11, 1/15 sec). (David J. Mathre)

One thing that Thom helped me with during the workshop was how to compose an image with at wide-angle lens. You can see an example at Waipi’o Valley beach with subjects near, mid, and far distance at the following link: 20-November-2007. The other lesson was to include a human subject to give perspective and scale to the overall image. The image at the link above includes Thom as the mid distance subject.