Trip '09 Plans - A Haleakala Decision

For almost the last year now, I (alone) have been gearing up to make the trek up Haleakala bright and early to see the sunrise. And as our next trip gets even closer, we have a tough decision to make...

Haleakala Sunrise vs. Haleakala Sunset/Star Gazing?

There was a similar question posted on Go Visit Hawaii back in October, but I didn't pay too much attention to it at the time because I had my goals set on a sunrise. Yet, looking at a few guided sunrise tours (which as it turns out, there are only a few) that 2am-3am departure time from Ka'anapali still seems a little underwhelming. We were planning to do go up to Haleakala that first morning we were there, which is recommended because of the time difference and the jet lag coming in from Chicago, but we still aren't that sure about it.

Seeing the limited selection, and pricing, of the guided Haleakala Sunrise tours, I started weighing the option of driving ourselves, and not knowing the road very well. As a comparison, we've taken two guided tours on the Road to Hana on our past trips, and it's only now do I think I'm ready to brave the drive myself.

Then I started rationalizing against the sunrise on Haleakala this trip because we're planning to spend a night in Hana, and could see a spectacular sunrise off the East Maui coast. Added to that, I began comtemplating a replacement for the Haleakala sunrise by doing a star gazing tour with Star Gazers Maui. That would include both the sunset and star gazing on top of Haleakala, and includes dinner, down jackets, and hot chocolate to keep us warm. There is no transporation provided, however, so we'd still have to drive to and from the summit ourselves.

There wasn't a lot of information on the Star Gazers' website, so I emailed them a few questions yesterday and am waiting to hear back. I did find a few reviews on Trip Advisor that seemed very encouraging. Cindy's aunt and uncle also did this tour a few years ago and had nothing but good things to say about it.

A Tough Decision

While this is turning out to be a tough decision to make, I guess by most standards, this is a relatively nice problem to have. At this point, I'm starting to lean towards the side of caution and just saying we'll do both. Driving up to do the sunrise ourselves would still mean leaving too early and not knowing where we're going, but doing a trial run down from the summit in daylight will certainly help for when we'd have to do it in the dark for the Star Gazers. 

There's a lot of information on the Haleakala sunrise in guidebooks and in the blogosphere, but not too much about stargazing up there. I know you can see the stars from Haleakala before sunrise, too, but I think a night tour would give me more time to add to my Maui Stars collection. We'll probably make up our minds sometime next week depending on what we hear back from the folks at Star Gazers Maui. In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions, experiences, or other guidance that you'd like to share about either of these options (or doing both), we welcome your input. 

Mahalo.

Hawaii Sky Watching in November

I read a nice article from the Honolulu Advertiser on Sunday that I wanted to pass on here for fellow stargazers who also fancy the islands in the Pacific:

Venus and Jupiter light up the night in November

Anyone that has spent a nice, romantic, after dinner stroll along their favorite beach in Hawaii has no doubt noticed the incredible display of stars that can light up the sky on a clear night. If you're like me, you can't help but be mesmerized by the vast amounts of sky glitter that you otherwise might not be able to enjoy back home near the big cities. Just another one of the many things that makes Hawaii so special.

For me, it's not just enough to see them while we're there, but to capture the moment to have whenever I miss those quiet, peaceful nights along the shores of Ka'anapali Beach just staring up at the sky in amazement (oooh, chicken skin moment). One of my favorite photos that I have ever taken (so far) was of the Milky Way over Black Rock in Maui. And although I didn't know it at the time, I was actually staring straight at Jupiter as mentioned in the article above (minus Venus, of course).

If you're looking for more, you can read about stargazing on Maui as well as view my Stars over Maui set on Flickr. You can safely bet that I'm already planning time to spend watching the skies on our next trip in February, and it's no coincidence that the two weeks we chose for our trip include the night of a new moon (Feb. 24th). Not too geeky I hope. :)

Monday, Week 2

Aloha,

It's our second Monday on Maui this trip, and Cindy is getting ready for her spa day at the Westin. Normally, she likes to jump right to the spa in the first couple of days, but this year, her silly husband booked almost all of our activities the first week, so it was delayed just a little. She still enjoys it, though (and she certainly deserves it).

As for me, I'm just working on some of my homework for my digital photography class and trying to come up with a few more good poster-quality photos while we're here this year.

Yesterday was a little slow, which most of this last week will be. The focus now is really on unwinding and relaxing before we have to head home to our stressful jobs. Speaking of stress, I must have spent 3 hours yesterday trying to save my whale watching videos in a file format that YouTube wouldn't absolutely destroy the quality of. At this point, I haven't had any success, but will keep trying.

We went to the new Outback Steakhouse last night across from the Lahaina Cannery Mall, which was somewhat of a taste we're used to back home. They've only been open for 7 days, so the service still needs a little bit of work. It was quite a bit of food, though, so no one went home hungry.

Last night, the clouds did stay away long enough for Cindy and I to lug all my gear down to the beach. I tried taking a few photos of the the stars, but it wasn't long before than giant full moon came in and had plans of it's own. We were down their pretty early, too, relatively speaking. It was about 8pm, so the torches on Black Rock were still lit, and many of the rooms at the Sheraton still had their lights on, so it wasn't the ideal conditions we had last September.

Either way, we just put the camera away and took out the binoculars instead. Using my handy little PDA and a very cool little piece of software called Pocket Stars, I spent the next hour playing tour guide and astronomy teacher with Cindy. It was a pretty entertaining and productive night for the most part as the clouds stayed over the mountains where they belong. We ended up finding both Saturn and Mars, saw Orion, Gemini, Leo and parts of Taurus, just to name a few. Gaging her interest and her willingness to listen to me ramble on and on, I think tomorrow's Tour of the Stars at the Hyatt is going to be just as much fun for her as it will be for me. That is, if it doesn't get canceled again.

Really not much else to report at the moment. Not as exciting to blog about, but still worth it's wait in gold being out here and not having a care in the world.

Mahalo.

Maui '08 Trip Update - Planned Photo Projects

Keeping with our countdown theme to our latest Maui trip (11 days), I thought I'd list off some of the many photography projects I have planned. As you can see here, we already have quite a collection of photos from our two previous trips, and with so many wonderful and inspiring photos of Maui being added to Flickr every day (Maui is still no ka 'oi), more ideas are coming to me all the time.

1) More stars over Maui - If I had to pick one photo project that I'm most excited about, it would have to be adding to my collection of photos of the stars over Maui. Last year was pure luck and little skill and knowledge. However, this year I've done quite a bit of reading and research and am ready to have a more educated approach. I have more gear to bring with me, and have setup the software on my Dell XPS to connect to my camera and use it for controlling my Canon 20D by taking multiple 30 second exposures over a set time and combining (aka stacking) them with software afterwards. Here's one of my favorites from a source of my inspiration on Flickr.

In addition to combining those single exposures into one composite shot, I also plan on importing the entire sequence of photos as a time lapse clip, since those stars (actually the earth) will be moving through the setup. It should make for quite a view in the end. Lastly, I was planning to try out a few longer exposures with my remote switch and do some star trail photos, too. Boy, nights on the beach are going to be busy for me.

2) Road to Hana Photo Tour - This is something I tried out last year with the Ka'anapali Beachwalk and had a lot of fun with. By using my GPS Travel Recorder, I was able to log the location during the times I was taking pictures along the beachwalk, and then later on, sync'd those data points up with the timestamps of my photos and imported that data into a Google Map. Combining the two, I have myself a little interactive slideshow of photos that includes a satellite view of where each photo was taken.

Since we're going back to Hana, I'm going to attempt the same thing on even a grander scale.

3) Time Lapse Sunset - I already mentioned creating a time lapse clip above with the stars in the sky, but I also want to setup my laptop and camera on our lanai at the Sheraton looking out into the horizon and Molokai. We often see sail boats and catamarans drift on by, too, so that should add nicely to the effect.

4) Motion Blur Photos - One of the photos I see a lot on Flickr when looking at Hawaii photos are waterfalls with a motion blur effect (examples). I understand the concept, yet for some reason have not quite stopped to try it out. From what I figure, I have the waterfall in front of the Sheraton to get my feet wet (pardon the pun) and once I get the hang of it, I can test it out at the Westin waterfalls while Cindy is at the spa there. The real test will be on the Road to Hana, so I want to get as much practice in as possible.

The other place I want to try this out on is Front Street at night, trailing the tail lights of cars against the street lights and signs in front of the shops. I saw a few of these done on Flickr a while back, and instantly wanted to give it a shot.

5) Whales in the Distance - Since we are doing a whale watch with the Pacific Whale Foundation (on my birthday, I might add), I wanted to test out my reflex and reaction skills to snap a few breaches at least. I know it's late in the whale season, but I have a my trusty 300mm telephoto lens (with stabilizer) and by throwing the camera into sports action mode, I could just get something worth sharing.

Those are going to be my main projects as it stands now, although with over a week left to plan, it could change. There are also the usual suspects, like the unbeatable Maui Sunsets. I also want to get back to the Maui Ocean Center and snap a few more (aka better) shots of the sharks up close in their Open Ocean exhibit. Last year, the large tiger shark managed to elude my lens and now its time for another chance.

Lastly, and I think the most optimistic on my part, would be photos from the luau at the Sheraton. I know seating will be a big part of it, but the low light of night and the variations between the spot lights and the dark reek havoc on my not-so-quick camera setting skills and my trial-and-error approach to capturing the right settings. I will say this, whenever I see someone's luau pictures and they have one of those shots with the fire dancer and the rings of fire just come out so perfect, I truly appreciate the art of photography and the magic of Hawaii.

My Perfect Maui Birthday

As I've posted previously, we're headed back to Maui this April and we'll be on our favorite island for my birthday (on the 16th). While it's still a ways away (77 days to be exact, but who's counting) I can't help but think what my perfect Maui birthday would be like.

We're still in the planning stages for booking all of our activities this trip (likely starting the end of February), but here's a little glimpse of what I would dream of.

1. Watch the Sunrise - Maybe not all the way up top at Haleakala this year, but definitely be out on the beach or somewhere to catch the sun greet me on the anniversary of my birth. Staying in West Maui, it might be a little tricky with the west mountains, but I think I could manage.

2. Whale Watching Tour - When it comes to watching the whales in Maui, April is getting a little late in the season. However, part of my perfect birthday would be heading out on a boat with the Pacific Whale Foundation, of which we are members, and hearing them sing Happy Birthday for me. Okay, maybe not singing a birthday greeting, but being up close enough to get just a few great photos and some memorable video would be just amazing.

3. Relaxing by the Pool - Why the pool when Ka'anapali Beach is right there? Just a little slower pace, and being able to order pineapple wedges and spiked lemonade which listening to HAPA on my iPod and reading whatever book I end up bringing with on the trip (probably something techie). I bust my hump 50 weeks of the year, so it'd feel nice to take it easy and try not feel too much older than I really am.

4. Dinner at Leilani's - While Cheeseburger in Paradise is hands down our favorite place to eat on Maui, we always reserve that for our first full day of a trip. Seeing that would be Monday this trip and my birthday will be that Wednesday, you get the idea. Besides, what better birthday cake could you want other than a slice of Hula Pie while watching the sunset over the horizon between Lanai and Molokai. I get chicken skin (pidgin for goose bumps) just thinking about it.

5. Touring the Stars - Most people would consider a gorgeous Maui sunset the perfect end to an evening, with perhaps the quiet stroll down the beach afterwards. We'll, it's my birthday and I want to stay up past my bedtime. After falling in love with stargazing on Maui during our first trip, it's been a big part of our trips ever since. Why not make this one even more special by having a guided tour of the stars, from the resident astronomer at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort. Their nightly Tour of the Stars sounds like the perfect way to enjoy the heavens above and create memories that will be the envy of birthdays for years to come. Besides, what better way to feel younger on your birthday than by watching stars that are billions of years old. :)

So that would be my perfect birthday on Maui. In all honesty, just being on the Valley Isle for my birthday is more than perfect enough. Having the chance to do just two of these things would be absolutely incredible. Getting to do all five would be truly unforgettable.

Gearing Up for Our Next Trip

In addition to planning and booking activities for our trip this upcoming April, I'm also "gearing" up to hit the sand after dark and point my camera to the sky once again.

I've been doing some reading and browsing the Net for astrophotography and have been updating my camera gear to do even better this year. I already know that during the time we're in Maui (4/13 - 4/25), we're not going to have a new moon like we had last year, but that's okay (we checked the calendar, we didn't use that scary looking formula on Wikipedia). I thought I'd post my current list of camera equipment that I bring along for these dates with the stars, as well as my latest shopping list for our '08 Trip.

Current Camera Gear
DSLR Camera: Canon EOS 20D 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
Zoom Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras (not necessarily using it for astrophotography)
Travel Tripod: Sunpak Compact Camera Tripod (might still upgrade here)

Maui '08 Trip Shopping List
Astrophotography Book: Digital SLR Astrophotography (Practical Amateur Astronomy)
View Finder: Canon Angle Finder C for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
Remote Switch: Canon RS-80N3 Remote Switch for EOS-1V/1VHS, EOS-3, ...
Fixed Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

I had originally thought of checking out telescopes as well, but I'm already looking at a pretty decent amount of equipment to be carrying around. I think what I have planned already is a good start and with a little bit more knowledge and practice than I had last year, I'm shooting for the stars (pardon the pun).

If you have any comments or experiences with your own star photos, or wanted to share info on your tools for the job, go ahead and post your comments here, or catch me on Flickr as webnelly. You can also check out the Flickr group I started to help capture the wonder of stargazing on the islands, at Stars Over Hawaii.

Mahalo.

Sunday Photo: Ka'anapali at Night

Ka'anapali at Night
Originally uploaded by webnelly

One of our favorite things to do (almost nightly) after having dinner or just making a trip to Whalers at night is to walk back to the Sheraton along the beach rather than on the walkway. After many walks, I decided I wanted to capture the view of Ka'anapali at night, so I grabbed my tripod and setup a few shots like this one. Between the stars above, the reflections in the water and the soft glow from the lights, it almost seems surreal.

As a point of reference as to the location, I took this right on the sands of Ka'anapali Beach, near the base of Black Rock at the Sheraton, looking south towards the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel, The Whaler, and Whalers Village.

New Flickr Group - Stars Over Hawai'i

With all my Maui photos posted on Flickr, it's no surprise that there are literally hundreds of thousands of photos there that share the Maui theme.

Of those, I started searching for particular shots of the night skies above Maui, and Hawai'i as a whole, and found some pretty spectacular pictures. Eager to share my starry photos within a group at Flickr of the same focus, I was a little hard-pressed to find one. I did try a few combinations and just came up empty.

So rather than closing my browser and calling it a night, I decided to create my first Flickr Group, and now it's out there for everyone to see: Stars Over Hawai'i

While my true love is Maui, I can accept that all of the Hawaiian islands, floating peacefully in the Pacific Ocean, offer stunning views of the night sky, and the stars over head. Rather than isolate and limit photo stargazers just to one island, I wanted a place for everyone to share in the hunt for the best starry skies caught on film, er memory card I guess.

I realize that Flickr is not the only photo sharing site out there, so if anyone knows of any similar groups elsewhere out on the web, please do share as I'd love to see those photos regardless of where they're posted. It's almost too easy (yet never boring) to find pictures of magnificent Maui sunsets, but I just wish a few of those cameras would stay out a little later at night.

Galaxies and Stars above Ka'anapali Beach

Galaxies and Stars above Ka'anapali Beach
Originally uploaded by webnelly

This is one of my favorite photos we took from our last trip to Maui.

We lucked out and had a moonless, cloudless night and I grabbed my tripod, Cindy grabbed the beach towels, and we setup right on Ka'anapali Beach next to Black Rock (on the right) and spent about an hour under the stars. It was a wonderful time that night. I had the tripod buried in the sand, set it to a 30 second exposure, and would start the photo. While the shutter was closed, I'd run back to the beach towel and sit with my wife looking skyward in awe of what we were seeing.

Since we always stay at the Sheraton when in Maui, we have gotten used to enjoying many lovely nights walking along Ka'anapali Beach. With this photo and the others we took that night, it takes us right back to those nighttime strolls along the water as if we were there yesterday.

Spas, Stores and Stars

Aloha,

Tuesday in Maui was pretty relaxing and low key, with us just hanging out locally and not having to drive anywhere.

Cindy's day began after breakfast with her spa day at the Westin Heavenly Spa. After dropping her off, I took some photos of the Westin and along the beach before stopping at Whalers to pick up a few things. My day of relaxing was hanging out at the hotel, shooting video of the sea turtles from our lanai, and working on the website.

When Cindy called me on her way back from the spa, she sounded a lot chipper and energized, so I think the spa treatment is probably something she'll be adding to her regular regime back on the mainland. She was trying to talk me into going next week, but right now, it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

A light lunch was next at the Lagoon Bar, only really consisting of nachos and some pineapple wedges (nice combo, eh?). We didn't stray too far from the beach because we were heading out to Leilani's for dinner, which was around 6:30pm. The sun set while we were waiting for our food, and we got to watch about two dozen people scramble for position along the grass lawn outside of Whalers Village to snap a picture of the sun just over the horizon. We enjoyed it just fine from where we were.

We finished our ono eats at Leilani's a little after 7pm or so, and enjoyed a nice stroll on the beach all the way back to Black Rock. It was nice taking our time and teasing the waves as they ran up the sand. As much as I tried, however, I could not get any good shots of the torches lit on Black Rock with just my camera and no tripod, so that will have to wait for another night this week.

As we were watching the sunset, the clouds started to roll in over Moloka'i and we thought for sure that the stars would not be out to play tonight. Luckily, we were wrong, and they were just as incredible as the night before.

And my luck didn't stop there, as far as the stars were concerned. Not having any success with photographing the stars on Monday, I went back to look at some of the photos I took of the stars last year on my laptop. Man, do I love technology, because all the camera settings that I used to take those photos last year were all saved in the photo files themselves, so I was able to dial in my Canon and point my tripod to the sky once again.

That's where I came out big. I must have gotten over twenty good shots of the stars from all different parts of the sky. Most of them were 30 second exposures, so you can pretty much guess how long I was out there. :) My next task is to try to identify have those stars and constellations after I post them on Flickr and make them available here. That's my kind of homework.

That pretty much wrapped out our Tuesday for this week.