Windows of Hale Manu

Hale Manu is an estate on the north shore of Kaua'i that Linda and I had the good fortune to rent for the 2011-12 Fall-Winter-Spring. A classic Hawaiian plantation style house surrounded by a 3 acre botanical garden. There is lush vegetation in every direction and windows to let it all in.

The Windows project started shortly after I arrived there but has taken more than a year to finish. I had the vision of the black and white frame around the lush views and I had to perfect that look I wanted.

I hope you enjoy these final images. Please click the images to enlarge.

Looking east through the bathroom window into the top level of the mid-sized vegetation around the house.

Looking into master bedroom from the front wrap-around porch.

Looking up at the kitchen windows from the drive on the north side of the house.

Hale Manu at night seen from the garden on the north.

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© Steve Gandy Photography - SteveGandy.com/photography 

Haena Beach Jungle

Just behind the high water mark along the beach from Haena to Ke'e is this little stretch of jungle that is often completely deserted. There is a path and some take it  but most walk down the beach instead. It is very quiet, green and photogenic. I spent a couple hours there in January and came away with these. Of course, I meant to go back before I left Kaua'i but did not. Maybe next time (sigh).

These were all shot with the D3, 24-70 @f/16, 1-3 seconds.

 

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© Steve Gandy Photography - SteveGandy.com/photography  

Na Aina Kai Garden Animals

Na Aina Kai roughly translates from Hawaiian to Ocean Land. It is a fantastic place on the north shore of Kaua'i that has an interesting history. See: http://www.naainakai.org

There are a lot sculptures and sculpted areas in the garden. Here are a few of my favorites.

Natural

Topiary

Bronze

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© Steve Gandy Photography - SteveGandy.com/photography  

Day for Night

I think the movie guys call this "day for night". Just exposing at a level that makes the time of day seem dark. I love to take a shot like this into black and white as the essence is really that burning glare and the dark rocks.

Rocks and ocean glare at Anini on Kaua'i.

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© Steve Gandy Photography - SteveGandy.com/photography 

Kaua'i Rental

I think of this vehicle as a Kaua'i rental car but that is just a personal joke. I ran across this thing poking its nose out of the jungle on the Kuamoo Road uphill a few miles from Wailua. I passed it several times before stopping to photograph it. It always appeared to me to be about to turn onto the road. It was only a few feet off the pavement. If only the blinker was working it would have completed the effect.

While shooting it, a local slowed and basically looked horrified that I was photographing the truck. People that live on Kaua'i are quite proud of their island and rightly so. I became so too after living there for awhile. However, everything material on the island is in some state of disintegrating back into the jungle.

Anyway, this (and the whole property - at least what you could see from the road) was cleaned up shortly after I took these shots.

Photography in the dark

I shot quite a lot of images in low light in the last year. These were processed with a heavy hand and though these are not favorites, I think they are interesting.

This image is meaningful for me because of all the photography classes I have taught. This is not one of my students but very well could be.

I have no idea what the boy on the right is doing with his head down so low but I love the dreamy quality the ocean took on when I smeared the pixels to the maximum.

I've found that night photography is very hard to do whether you are trying to capture reality or not. This is a rare shot that "looks" exactly as it did to my eye at the time.

Ocean blurs and rocks...

on the east side of Kaua'i. Early morning. 20 second exposure times using the Singh Ray variable density filter.

Merry Christmas from Koke'e

As further positive proof that I am way behind on processing my images from our sabbatical to Kaua'i I'm posting this Christmas card. These were all taken at one of the most beautiful places on Kaua'i and the world really. We visited Koke'e State Park and the Na Pali Coast overlooks on Christmas day. If you haven't been there just google "na pali kalalau" and you will find stunning postcard shots of the area. Here's my take from Dec. 25, 2011.

Kalalau Overlook

Looking inland from the park

Mist on the mountain

Sunset at the Kalalau overlook

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© Steve Gandy Photography - SteveGandy.com/photography 

Photoshop CS6 Beta is Fun

I've been using the new Photoshop CS6 Beta. I like it a lot. The Camera Raw changes that include Highlights and Shadows sliders that replace the Recovery and Fill Light controls are excellent. And I especially like being able to brush in White Balance settings as in this photo taken on the Kuilau Trail, Kaua'i. The trees, moss and backgrounds had a very green tinted light that worked well for those components but the leaf was left looking dull and uninteresting. I brushed on the warm sunlight that was there but not recorded by the camera and it really pops.

Leaf and moss covered tree. D3, Nikkor 24-70, 1/200, f2.8, ISO 200.

Other additions to Camera Raw's brush tool include noise and moire reduction. Here's the Brush panel from CS6.

CS6 Brush Panel

Here's a comparison of the Basic panels from CS5 and CS6.

CS5

CS6

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© Steve Gandy Photography - SteveGandy.com/photography 

Hawaiian Night

Some night photography from Kauai. These were all taken on full moon (or nearly) nights.

25 second exposure, taken from Anini Beach looking east towards the Kilauea Lighthouse.

25 second exposure, taken from Anini Beach looking east towards the Kilauea Lighthouse.

69 second exposure, taken in the Hale Manu garden driveway.

Handheld exposure at Haena Beach looking east.

3 second exposure through some palm fronds. The moon is a ghost image (reflection) caused by a filter. I cloned away the over exposed moon.

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© Steve Gandy Photography - SteveGandy.com/photography 

The Waves!

I've always wanted to see and photograph the waves here in Hawai'i. Here is a sampling of what I have so far on this sabbatical. We've seen waves 20-30 feet high on their face and been told we have not seen the "really big ones" yet.