Hawaii  
  I love Hawaii, especially my favorite Island, Kauai. To say that I love this island would be an understatement. There is something that happens to my me and wife when we arrive here that I can only explain as a calming of the soul. Every year, Kauai is our relaxing vacation spot. I myself have had the pleasure of going there over 20 times in my life. We are lucky enough to have many friends who are native to the island. They talk story with us whenever we visit. Kauai is a true paradise in countless ways.

I must say that I am often reluctant to speak about how much we love this place for fear of seeing it become as overrun as Oahu and Maui. Nature has a way of keeping this in check, however. After 2 hurricanes and intense rainfall (over 400 inches a year), I hope that people now have a respect for this wondrous island's power and beauty. The island, and nature itself, seem to have a desire to protect themselves from the over abuse of man.

Below are just a few of the many awe inspiring sights on this incredible "Garden Isle," along with a few images of Oahu.

  
     
     
Photograph

Mysterious
Haena, Kauai, Hawaii
Waiting long hours for the light that is late, traffic at a dead stop, papers piled so high on your desk you cannot see over them, no time for lunch. It is behind you now; you can feel the sand between your toes and the coolness of the water. It is a special place that allows us to forget and be revitalized. Tunnels beach was wonderful this day, drifting rain clouds broken by bright bursts of sunlight as my tripod sat low in the surf wating for just the right moment.

  
     
   
  Valley of Colors
Kokee Lookout, Kauai, Hawaii
A vision of a place often found only in dreams. Shrouded in mystery, the clouds bring tranquility. It is said that patience is a virtue, this a placid state where we are transformed from dream to reality and then back, where life becomes a valley of colors and a state where fantasies come true. Enjoying this view is one of the great experiences one can have, if the clouds clear, a rainbow shows for a moment, and the rain sprinkles lightly enough so you can see it fall and evaporate before your eyes. Shot with my Mamiya 6x7 camera, it is two photos taken within the same 15 second period.		  
     
   
  Luscious Paradise
Ha'upu Ridge, Kauai, Hawaii
The Kauaians call this range Ha'upu, which means remembrance, as the ancient Kauaians could use the ridge as a landmark no mater where they were on the island as it looks the same from all four sides, a paradise of lushness and beauty as sweet as the cane fields and cotton candy sky. 		 
     
   
  Sweet Dawn
Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
When my wife, Marsha, and I started traveling together before we were married, we came to Kauai for one of our first big tirps, and stayed in Poipu. I had fondly remembered coming here with my family as a kid. This view from our rented condo on the beach in May of ‘95 always had such a painterly quality, recording it was as easy as it gets, just wake up, walk out the door, set up the camera and watch the clouds turn from grey to pink and then wihite.		  
     
   
  Diamond Head Dawn/Lei Ahi
Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii
Imagine you are a Polynesian, and it is hundreds of years ago, before anyone has landed on the Hawaiian Islands. You have sailed all night and arrived in the darkness on the island soon to be called Oahu, the gathering place. You pull your boat ashore and collapse in exhaustion only to awake the next morning to see a most brilliant and colorful sunrise behind the majestic crater of Diamond Head. You have arrived in your new home and the colors of this wonderful new land rise up to greet you. Note: Lei Ahi is a vertical format version of this image.		  
     
   
  Turtle Islands
Lanikai, Oahu, Hawaii
The Mokulua Islands, the Mokes, as they are called by locals, seem to just float over the multi-colored turquise blue ocean Pacific, sitting off the north eastern coast of Oahu . They are a favorite stopping and camping spot of human powered ocean kayaks and windsurfers, but most prevalent seem to be the sea turtles that roam the shallow areas between the Lanikai coast and the islands themselves. 		 
     
   
  Moment in Time
Napali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii
The Napali coast feels as though it is one of the last undisturbed sections of the world. Only footpaths, no roads reach this area, with the exception of hikers and backpackers, and the coast is a challange to travel, dangerous in rough weather. The cost is spectacular to view from the ocean, with caves and sea turtles, dolphins and whales reminding one of another time, all frozen in the moment of you visit. 		 
     
   
 

Zen Wind
Polihale State Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
Winds of change blow around the shore, this is the place you’ve been searching for. The world’s in motion endlessly, a cosmic ocean flows into your heart. Be no stranger to the world of change. Make time in life, rearrange. There is something special about this quiet wind that seems to play a song for everyone to hear.


To reach Polihale State Park you travel sometimes a muddy dirt cane field road just north of Kekaha off Route 50 on the west side of Kauai and past the Pacific Missle Range. We have gone here many times in our trips to Kauai and love the feeling of this place.


A sacred site for Kauaians, the almost constant winds seem to keep alive the spirits of ancient Kauaians who, from Polihale heiau, a site just up from the beach, are belived to have departed the island into the setting sun upon their deaths.