The chapel at the Grand Wailea
I wandered the grounds of Maui's Grand Wailea on morning while everyone else slept...it was pretty awesome.
There's just something about Hawaii...and it's easy to get up for sunrise there!
I love to shoot at sunrise - it's quiet and peaceful and you feel like you have the whole world to yourself. I am a morning person anyways, but I agree that it's often hard to get up and get moving, even when given the opportunity to go out and shoot. That's the only problem with sunrise - it comes early! LOL
But when traveling from the mainland US out to Hawaii, you gain so much time that sunrise is easy to get up for, mainly because you are usually already awake! I found myself waking up there at about 3am or 4am, and feeling ready to go. But that does make for a long day ahead.
So on my first couple of mornings at the Grand Wailea in Maui, I got up early to go shoot and as expected, I had it all to myself. So I just explored the grounds and shot to my hearts' content, since nothing was open anyways.
One thing I found interesting there was this little chapel. I assume it is used for weddings, as it sort of had that look. Anyways, I was eager to get some shots of it in the soft morning light, so it was high on my list for a sunrise shoot.
And of course I loved the little path leading up to it. All in all, a beautiful scene!
It's sunny in Hawaii
Ok, I am not currently in Hawaii, but I suspect that statement is true.
It's cold here in Austin, and it's REALLY COLD in a lot of the rest of the US. We have the whole polar vortex thing going on, whatever the heck that is. Sounds to me like a hole in the space-time continuum...and Santa is going to fly through it. Certainly makes me think of Back To The Future. "It's the flux capacitor, Marty"!
Anyways, hope you are warm and comfortable, wherever you are. Unless you want to be cold, in which case I wish that for you. You know what I'm saying. Be good people, and thanks for stopping by.
BTW, this was taken on Maui, which is a place that totally kicks a$$. I'm shutting up now, because this isn't going anywhere. :-)
Blue hour at the Grand Wailea
When I first got to the Grand Wailea hotel on Maui, I knew I was in for a treat, photographically speaking. It’s just a beautiful property. I knew I would be shooting some sunrise shots, and due to the time change it was pretty easy to get up. In fact, I was up about 3 hours too early for sunrise. Oh well, that’s what caffeine is for.
I headed out that first morning and immediately set up here by the big pool. I love reflections, and having still water like a pool all to yourself works out great, especially when it’s super early and the only other sounds you hear are the waves crashing on the beach behind you. That’s a pretty awesome way to start a day!
A beach in Maui
There’s just something about Hawaii. I never really think that I want to move there, but boy do I ever enjoy visiting that place! It’s just so relaxing. I guess part of it is the island lifestyle, but I’m guessing another part of it is that since you are 5 hours or more behind the mainland, you just can’t stay up to speed on what’s happening back there...so you don’t try. Instead, you have a drink with a little umbrella in it, and work on your sunburn.
When we were there in April, my wife and I took a car out for a day to drive around Maui, and headed part of the way out the road to Hana. It’s a famous drive, but it’s really a winding road and honestly, it gets old after a while. So we stopped before we made it, turned around, and found this black sand beach to enjoy for a while. That’s better than driving. :-)
The waterfall at The Grand Wailea
With all these photos I have taken, sometimes I get really behind in processing and sharing them. It’s hard to keep up, actually. That might sound goofy, but I just mean that my library has grown so much over the last couple of years that I may never catch up. Then again, that might be a good thing. It gives me something to work on when I am not traveling.
If you follow my page on FB, you may recall that I posted some iPhone shots from a trip in April out to Maui, HI. It’s an incredible place and I have also shared a few of my photos from the trip here on the blog. Well, here’s another one!
We stayed at the Grand Wailea, which is a great property. I was very happy to find this beautiful waterfall out front. I stood there and shot it for a while. It required some lens cleaning (and photo retouching) to get all the water drops off, but it was worth it!
Staring at the Pacific
We were on the island of Maui a while back, and one day embarked on a drive along the road to Hana. It's the famous drive on Maui, but honestly it's a bit over-rated in my opinion. However, there is definitely some natural beauty to experience along the way.
We made a stop at a place called The Garden of Eden, and it really lives up to its name. What an incredible garden, such beauty at every turn! And the view over the Pacific Ocean ain't bad either!
The lobby at The Grand Wailea
When I travel, I try to make a habit of getting up for sunrise at least once. It’s just better. You get great light most of the time, and everyone else is asleep. But I admit, it’s hard to do, especially when traveling east. It’s hard enough losing time due to time zone changes.
But when I travel west it gets much easier of course. In this case, I was in Hawaii a few weeks back and getting up there was easy. In fact, I got up at 3am the first morning! That’s a little too early, but my body thought it was 8am. Oh well, the challenges of time zone changes.
Anyways, since I was up before sunrise I figured I should get out and shoot some, and the hotel lobby at the Grand Wailea in Maui is just gorgeous. Anytime there is water running, I get pretty fired up. During the daytime the sun is just too bright to make this shot work, but before dawn it looks pretty awesome!
A tree in Maui
I love this tree that I came across in Maui. It’s just perfect. I love the shape, I love the placement on a curving path, and I even love the little tilt to it. It’s leaning towards the ocean - and therefore towards the wind - as if in challenge. It’s just cool.
We walked past it almost every morning while there, and on this fine morn I happened to bring along my gear. This was a layup - great light, great lines with the curving path, and a great subject. Easy. All I had to do was wait for those folks taking a stroll to get out of my viewfinder, and the 7 frame bracket fired away quickly!
iPhone fun in Maui
My wife and I recently returned from a weeklong trip over to Maui. It was fabulous. I love the place. My previous visit was over 10 years ago, and ended basically on the first day when I took a stick in the eye. No, that is not an expression. I actually took a stick in the eye. It tore off 75% of my cornea and I wore a patch like a pirate for at least a week. That sucked.
But, that was 10 years ago and I was eager to return to actually see it for the first time. It’s beautiful, just like you expect it to be. And though this was not a “photo trip” for me, I did manage to squeeze in quite a few shots, thanks to my wife being supportive of this passion of mine.
I have already posted a couple of shots from the trip, but thought I would share a quick iPhone post with a few of my iPhone pics from the trip. I took 320 photos with my iPhone that week, so this is likely the first of several iPhone posts from Maui. :-)
Sunset on our first night there...that was a nice welcome to the island!
Here’s another view of that sunset from just behind the hotel.
Sunrise on my first morning there. It was easy to get up. At 3am I was wide awake, thanks to being 5 hours off my normal time zone! But hey it was obviously worth it!
This was on the beach behind our hotel, again on the first night, but before the sunset got all dramatic like in the first shot.
I grabbed this one while climbing around those rocks and getting soaked. But what fun! As long as the gear stays dry...who really cares?!
That’s it for today - thanks for stopping by!
Sunrise at The Grand Wailea
This is the photo that I gave a preview of on my FB page the other day, while I was working on it in Color Efex Pro. I grabbed this my first morning in Maui. Being 5 hours behind my normal time zone, it was pretty easy to get up for sunrise! In fact, I think I woke up around 3am. So in other words, no excuses for missing this one!
I was really glad that I did get up, because as you can see the color in the sky was fabulous that morning. I knew I wanted to get the pool (I am always looking for reflections) and luckily at that time I was the only person I saw. That’s one of the main benefits of shooting at sunrise - you get a beautiful scene all to yourself!
By the way, if you are location-curious, this is the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui. It’s a great property, right on the beach, and they take good care of their guests!
Blue hour at Wailea
Well, I am just back from a trip to Maui, which was fabulous. I mean...it’s Maui...how could it not be fabulous? If you follow my page on Facebook, you will have seen some iPhone shots I posted from the road. I saw a lot, did a lot, and of course photographed a lot. So, it was a great week in other words!
Although I am still trying to un-bury myself from all that I missed while gone (and thanks to everyone who visited and left comments here on my shots), I did manage to process one photo from the trip so far...and here it is.
This was a beautiful evening blue hour on the beach at Wailea, where we were staying last week. Due to the 5 hour time difference, I found myself mostly able to shoot sunrises, but I did manage a few sunset shots as well. More as I get to them!