Hawaii

  • Photograph of a red Hibiscus Schizopetalus against a white backdrop
    Nov
    2017
    07
    2017 / Nov / 07

    Hibiscus Schizopetalus

    Photograph of a red Hibiscus Schizopetalus against a white background.

    I have always found these Hibiscus flowers fascinating and have been wanting to photograph one for a long time. The way they hang off of a branch with their long stamen delicately hanging and swaying in the wind in contrast to the thrown back, crazy petals makes these Hibiscus super unique.

    While on a walk, about a mile away from home, I picked this flowers off of a bush to photograph. The only thing was the day was hot and I worried that it would wilt before I got home, but it held up. Maybe it was my wife’s care that it survived. If it were in my large hands it would surely not have made it.

    With a magnetic bag clip magnetized to the inner screw of an upper cabinet door I clipped the flower and propped a white pillow behind for a backdrop. I used an off camera strobe to capture the flower still as it waved around with each small movement of air. Minor adjustments in Photoshop.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Trees are softly standing in a field covered in fog.
    Nov
    2017
    02
    2017 / Nov / 02

    Foggy Day

    Photograph of trees in a grassy field slowly disappearing into the foggy day

     

    On my diverted way to work I found myself navigating the roads in a cloud. Fighting my need to get to work on time I pulled off the road to photograph these beautiful trees slowly disappearing into the fog. I wanted to spend a couple hours wandering through the forrest to fully enjoy this moment. I don’t witness foggy days like this very often, so when I do I get very excited.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Hermit crab emerges from its shell with its angry eyes
    Oct
    2017
    31
    2017 / Oct / 31

    Angry Eyes

    Macro photograph of a small hermit crab giving its angry eyes

    This image is a more comical view of a hermit crab propped up on the end of its shell. When it emerged its eyes were together as if it was angry at what it saw… me. Or perhaps its reflection in the massive filter which it though was another hermit crab. Shortly after it realized the beauty it was looking at and began to relax. I on the other hand photographed the initial response.

     

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Pink sunset off of the Keahole Point coastline on the Big Island of Hawaii
    Oct
    2017
    16
    2017 / Oct / 16

    Pink Sky

    Photograph of a beautiful reflected sunset along the coastline of the Big Island of Hawaii

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    This was a surprising sunset. The colors came out of nowhere.

    I was standing in a different location when the sunset just seemed to fizzle in muted dull colors like I had seen so many other times before. A lot of times there is a VOG layer or clouds just off of the horizon that block the sun from hitting the underside of the clouds when it sets. So when the sun set and there wasn’t any sign of life I began to pack up. It was just then the pink under lit clouds began to glow. Filling everything with an amazing warm glow. The only thing I could think to do was setup my camera and jump into this reflecting pool to capture a full frame of color and landscape.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Water fills into a large hole in the Hawaiian coastline during a beautiful golden sunset.
    Sep
    2017
    28
    2017 / Sep / 28

    Golden Hour

    Photograph of an amazingly clear golden sunset from the Keahole Point coastline on the Big Island of Hawaii.

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    I stood precariously close to the edge of this Big Island blow hole in order to capture the details of water flowing through the seaweed and into the large hole. Luckily the tide and swells were low so that I could do this without too much worry or trouble. Like always there is the rogue wave that helps me to not get too comfortable and to always be prepared. I was pleasantly surprised there was a golden sunset to accent the golden foreground of the seaweed.

    Water fills into a large hole in the Hawaiian coastline during a beautiful golden sunset.

    Visit another golden sunset post Golden September Sunset.

  • Golden sunset from the Big Island of Hawaii shoreline.
    Sep
    2017
    17
    2017 / Sep / 17

    Golden September Sunset

    Photograph of a Golden Sunset along the coastline of the Big Island of Hawaii

    Golden sunset from the Big Island of Hawaii shoreline.

    Check out my Pu’u Poa Beach Sunset collection.

  • Photograph from Mauna Kea with the silhouette of an old tree in front of a bright milky way.
    Jul
    2017
    26
    2017 / Jul / 26

    Mauna Kea Milky Way Silhouette

    Photograph from Mauna Kea with the silhouette of an old tree in front of a bright milky way.

     

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Split view photograph of the fish underwater and the palm trees above.
    Jul
    2017
    16
    2017 / Jul / 16

    Split View

    Photograph of an underwater-land split view from the shoreline of Hawaii’s Mahaiula beach.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • photo of a green sea turtle while snorkeling at Mahaiula beach in Hawaii
    Jul
    2017
    06
    2017 / Jul / 06

    Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

    Photograph of a Hawaiian green sea turtle as it swims off the shoreline of Mahaiula beach.

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    © Christopher Johnson

  • Milky Way curve over the Big Island of Hawaii
    Jul
    2017
    01
    2017 / Jul / 01

    Milky Way Panorama From Mauna Kea

    Panorama photograph of the milky way from the slopes of Mauna Kea.

    This image is for sale on RedBubble.com

    Three images were stitched together to create this panoramic image of the milky way as it spans across the night sky connecting Mauna Kea to Mauna Loa. The lights along the landscape are from Hilo on the left, the lava glow of Kilauea in the distance, and cars driving down Mauna Kea through the fog. Seeing this night sky on a moonless night was simply breathtaking. I hiked a hill just down from the visitors center in order to get this view point.

    Hiking was an adventure. I couldn’t find the start of the path since it was so dark. I stumbled upon a couple laying under a blanket and out of courtesy I turned off my light and passed by only to trip over a rock and and completely fall down on my side. I continued up the slope embarrassed and aching, but super excited to shoot the night sky. I stopped to shoot a tree on the slope only to be lit up by another photographer which I then felt compelled to look for another location out of their way. I finally found the location that I shot this series from… out of breath. While shooting an exposure I started to notice my knee was throbbing. I reached down to notice a large tear in my pants and a lot of blood. “Bummer” These were my good pants. Then just as I was getting into shooting I got a call from my wife, waiting in the car, that she and the girls were ready to go.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Milky way photograph over the rugged landscape of Mauna Kea
    Jun
    2017
    30
    2017 / Jun / 30

    Milky Way

    Photograph of the milky way above the rugged landscape of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Night sky seen from a hilltop on Mauna Kea. The Milky way stretches from Mauna Loa and over Kilauea.
    Jun
    2017
    30
    2017 / Jun / 30

    Mauna Kea Milky Way

    Photograph of the beautiful Milky Way over the Big Island of Hawaii.

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  • Sunset photograph from the rocky coastline of Keahole Point on the Big Island of Hawaii
    Jun
    2017
    23
    2017 / Jun / 23

    Big Island Sunset

    Photograph of a Big Island sunset from the edge of a large blow hole along the Keahole Point coastline.

     

    This point along the Keahole coastline is made up of black rock that outstretches toward the ocean and ends as a cliff. A long jagged 50′ sliver cut in the rock allows the ocean surges to flow in and out, filling the void with a beautiful light blue color. There are so many places to setup to photograph this scene, but they all come with the harsh challenge of merging the bright sunlight with the dark rock. This shot is not a typical composition that I would normally pick, but the lines from the land bridge through the reflected water path to the sun really caught my eye. I shot a few images to capture the movement of the water the way I wanted as well as a few bracketed shots  for the shadows and lights. All combined in Photoshop for an image that shows a Big Island sunset.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Hawaiian sunset from the coastline of Keahole point on the Big Island of Hawaii
    Jun
    2017
    19
    2017 / Jun / 19

    Follow Through

    Photograph of the Hawaiian sunset near a large blow hole in the rugged coastline of Keahole Point.

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    The sunset wasn’t progressing like I had hoped it would on my re-visit to this familiar blow hole. I setup further away from the blow hole in order to capture the water streaking back towards the hole with the sun setting just beyond. With the storm clouds stretching toward to horizon I had to wait for the small window where the sun peaked out and casted its beautiful orange sunset color over the coastline surface and underbelly of the clouds. Unfortunately once the sun disappeared the colors went as well, but I waited for the hope of a surprise that didn’t come. 🙁

    © Christopher Johnson

  • A second photographic look at the June Blow Hole
    Jun
    2017
    14
    2017 / Jun / 14

    Take Two

    Beautiful Hawaiian landscape photograph of the energy surrounding an awesome Big Island blow hole at sunset.

     

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    Take Two is a second photographic look at the blow hole I posted earlier. Instead of the calming reflected water there is a more energetic rush of water.

    © Christopher Johnson