Ocean – heath ofee dot com

Maui – IV

Heath OFee — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:10:16 +0000

The fourth instalment in my Maui collection. Such great memories from this trip

We stopped quite a few times along the road to Hana to see if we could find some of the waterfalls described in our guidebook. This bamboo forest was along one of the first and most exciting hikes we took to find a set of secluded falls. It was muddy, humid, and slightly dangerous – so it was SUPER fun

Waterfalls. There are plenty of those in the rainforest along the road to Hana. These are just a few that we were able to see.

We were lucky enough to be able to take a 1-hour helicopter ride during our time in Maui. This shot was taken just as we came through the clouds on the way to the top of the Haleakala crater. Such a cool sight.

One day I drove myself from Kihei all the way along the west and north coastal roads to central Maui. Parts of this road were only just wide enough for a single vehicle, so it was a pretty fun drive.

Taking this shot with the fisheye exaggerates how wide this road was. In reality, it’s a single lane, 180 degree blind uphill corner. Awesomeness.

This wreck was in my guidebook, but you really have to see it to believe it. I had to hike a good 300 yards off the road and through two fences to get to this destroyed vehicle on the coastal cliffs. Your guess is as good as mine as to how it got there.

A sunset on our beach.

A view of the rugged volcanic coastline on the far southwest tip of Maui. You can’t tell, but the wind was ridiculously strong here – I was wiping salt spray off my lenses all morning.

For some reason this view reminded me of a scene straight from Africa. Felt like I could have been on a safari.

The cliffs on the northwest coast of Maui were amazing. Such fantastic views.

I think I may have enough images for one more Maui post like this. Hope you’re not getting sick of these yet!

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Canon Fisheye EF 15mm f/2.8
– Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L

Maui – III

Heath OFee — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:33:43 +0000

Another instalment of Maui images today. Unfortunately, I haven’t got time to give the brief descriptions of each photo as I’ve done for the past two.

Hope you enjoy the scenery!

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

The Cliffs

Heath OFee — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:10:03 +0000

Yesterday I had a sudden urge to revisit the images I took while in Maui earlier this year. By no means have I posted all the images I’d like to from that trip, so as it continues to get colder here in Calgary I’ll likely post a few more of these shots to try to warm myself up

This shot is just down from a roadside pullout about halfway between Kihei and Lahaina. The view from the top is quite nice, but just a short journey down the hill led to some much better views of these awesome cliffs. This was a stunning spot in the middle of the day, so I’m sure it would have been than much more amazing during sunset – but I never made it back.

This is a 3 exposure panorama using the shift capabilities of the Canon 24mm tilt/shift lens. Such a great lens and such an easy way to create panoramas – one day I may add that lens to my bag permanently.

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II

Ghostly

Heath OFee — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:10:01 +0000

Alright, back to Maui again

Some of you may recognize the tree in this shot as I’ve shared a few images from this specific location previously (here, here, and here). It was one of the most memorable spots I hit while in Maui, so I’m glad I spent the time trying to capture it from as many angles as possible.

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

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

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

Coastline

Heath OFee — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:10:21 +0000

Prior to going to Maui, my wife bought me a helicopter tour of the island for my birthday. Probably one of the coolest gifts I’ve ever been given.

I’ll tell you one thing: it’s much harder to shoot out of a cramped helicopter than you would think. Not only were quarters close, but the curved windows had so many planes of reflection it was hard to cut them all out all the time. I did my best and came away with a few shots I’m happy with…all while experiencing Maui one of the best ways possible: from the air.

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L
– B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer

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