Beach – heath ofee dot com

Maui – II

Heath OFee — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:10:42 +0000

The more I look back at these photos, the more I want to get back to Hawaii for some real exploration. There are so many spots just on Maui that I didn’t get to explore fully – or explore at all. Next time

The beach at our condo complex was amazing. A decent amount of shade if you wanted it and surf just big enough for some quality boogie boarding. Oh, and these rocks made for some great photo opportunities.

Two more shots from our beach – gotta love the palm tree silhouette.

We were staying in Kihei, and one day I decided to venture as far south as the road would take me – I ended up at this location. Amazing, rugged volcanic rock formations created an amazing bit of low coastline.

When Brei and I stopped at the black sand beach past Hana, the first thing we noticed was a crazy person swimming out in the aggressive surf of the small inlet. He must’ve been almost 200 yards out when we got there, and we watched him battle the surf all the way back in. Amazing.

The road to Hana is truly one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever taken. The long, windy road takes you through some amazing rainforest. Mike – this one’s for you

I posted a similar shot yesterday – this is another from the west side of the island between Kihei and Lahaina.

This is a view looking inland from the volcanic south west coast you saw above. The dark rock, scrubby brush, and low cloud was irresistible.

This grove of trees is above the black sand beach. The fisheye yielded an interesting result.

A little ways south of Wailea I came across this tiny moon-shaped inlet. I could have easily spent a couple hours just sitting on these rocks enjoying the view in silence.

For most of the week I was there we were treated to less than ideal sunsets. Thankfully, on our last night this happened. The photography gods were smiling on me that night.

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Canon Fisheye EF 15mm f/2.8
– Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L
– Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II
– Canon 50mm f/1.4

Black Sand

Heath OFee — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:10:32 +0000

While in Hawaii earlier this year, my wife and I drove the famous ‘Road to Hana’ – but didn’t stop and turn around upon reaching the town like most people do. We took our rental vehicle all the back around the east/south end of the island, which apparently is not recommended for rentals The road gets a bit bumpy and sketchy for a while, but it was well worth it as we found some great spots on the way back. Unfortunately I can’t remember off the top of my head if this black sand beach was before or after Hana, but I can tell you that I was absolutely amazed by it. I’d never seen a beach like this before and finding one was high on my list for our visit, so I couldn’t have been happier when we arrived here.

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L

Ripples

Heath OFee — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:10:00 +0000

If any of you have used the B+W 10-stop ND filter, you’ll know that it’s actually not quite neutral in colour – it tends to have a bit of a warm cast. Most times I try to eliminate this cast in post-processing, but for some images – like the one below – it just works. The added warmth from the filter helped emphasize the tones in the sand and made those sunset colours really pop. So, when using a filter that may create a bit of a colour cast, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons and not just because you ‘think you should’ – you may find yourself happy with the uncorrected frame.

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L
– B+W 77mm 10-stop ND Filter

Relaxation

Heath OFee — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:10:52 +0000

Welcome to the new look of heathofee.com. I’ve been thinking about making the site a little simpler and cleaner for a while now, and I finally took the initiative to get it done over the last couple of days. There may be a few more minor tweaks in the coming weeks, but I’m pretty happy with how it is right now. Of course, I’m open to any comments or suggestions.

There’s something so relaxing about sitting on a secluded beach all on your own listening to the waves roll in. It’s like all your cares and worries are temporarily washed out to sea with each successive wave, leaving only peace and serenity.

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L
– B+W 77mm 10-stop ND Filter

Roots

Heath OFee — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:10:56 +0000

Some places on this planet are just made to be photographed – and I found out that a great deal of them happen to be in Hawaii. During my time there, I was constantly amazed at the natural beauty and diversity available to capture with my camera – and the scene below is no exception. This tree couldn’t have fallen in a more beautiful spot and I felt very lucky to have stumbled upon it.

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Sigma 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
– onOne Phototools

The Beach

Heath OFee — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:10:45 +0000

On the advice of my good bud Jesse, I rented a 15mm fisheye lens for my trip to Maui. He said it was the best decision he made before his last trip to Hawaii, and I can tell you that I was pretty happy to have it with me…if only to get this shot.

I drove past this tiny beach/inlet/cove/bay on the way to the location where I took this image, and knew that I had to stop and capture it on my way back. There are some scenes that just seem to be perfect for the fisheye look, and to my eye, this was one of them. The symmetry, the curved horizon, the natural curve of the bay…everything just seemed to fall into place for this shot.

So thanks to Jesse for persuading me to rent a fisheye. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to make this shot. Moral of the story? Listen to your friends…often times their advice will pay off.

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Sigma 15mm f/2.8

Honalua Bay

Heath OFee — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:10:50 +0000

“On my fifth day in Maui, my true love gave to meeeee….Hona-a-lu-ua Bay”

Okay, well she didn’t really GIVE it to me, but I did manage to get a day to myself to drive/shoot the entire west and north coasts of the island. I left from Kihei and made my way all the way around the coast to Wailuku, braving the very narrow single-lane ‘highway’ that begins a ways past Kapalua.

One of the highlights of this drive was the view of Honalua Bay you see below. The colour of the water was absolutely amazing, and you can see why this is a great snorkeling destination (all of those little dots are snorkelers doing their thing).

Maui Sunset

Heath OFee — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:10:58 +0000

As some of you may know, I was in Maui all of last week for my best bud’s wedding. I’d never been before and couldn’t have been more excited to spend some quality time with my friends and, obviously, shoot the crap out of that little island. As it turned out, I didn’t shoot quite as much as I had expected to, but I think I have a good sampling of material from all over Maui.

Now that I’m back, I figured the best way to start off the series of images is with my parting memory of Hawaii. I hadn’t shot a sunset all week (terrible, I know) but knew I had to before I left. So, on the last night, just a few hours before I was due to catch my flight home, I set up shop along the beach outside my condo and soaked in what was one of the best sunsets I have ever seen. Hands down. Please, enjoy.

Beachcomber

Heath OFee — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:28:42 +0000

Just a quick post for #FilmFriday today.

You may recognize this little guy from the family shoot I did a few weeks ago. I didn’t fire off as many frames with the Holga as I was planning, but I managed a few good ones

Auburn Bay Family Shoot

Heath OFee — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:10:52 +0000

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of shooting some family portraits for my sister-in-law and her family. I had a great time shooting them, and I think they managed to have fun in spite of the less than ideal weather.