Maui, June 2021

Rainbow Trees

There are a few places on the island to see these amazingly colored Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees. This location was crowded with difficult parking, but it was worth it to see these trees up close.

Secluded Waterfall

There are many waterfalls large and small along the Hana Highway. This one was a little off the road and offered a nice top down view.

Maui Summer Evening

A wonderful sky view out to sea looking across some fields, late on a summer day along the Road to Hana.

Maui Jungle Shore

Late day light paints the distant clouds, looking out from the jungle growth right next to the highway, on the way back from Hana.

Gorgeous North Shore Day

The weather and water combine for a wonderful experience driving along Maui's North Shore. The varied aqua and blue tones of the water and sky make for a breathtaking view, while Moloka'i sits in the distance, topped by clouds.

Nakalele Blowhole

Lots of action at the Nakalele Blowhole along Maui's North Shore on a summers day.

Small Rainbow

The rugged coastline extends into the distance, with Kahakuloa Head approaching and a small rainbow captured near the low hanging clouds. And how about the view from the house on the bluff in the extreme left of the image - that must be something!

Kahakuloa Head

This giant rock on the northeast shore of the island was on my helicopter ride shot list and did not disappoint. The bright morning sun really made the colorful monolith glow in the early morning sunlight.

Seacoast Scenic Drive

A highway snakes along the shore below the West Maui Mountains, still deserted in the early morning light.

Green Carpet

Early morning light hits the vibrant jungle covered mountains making them glow. The view looks back out over the mountains to the sea, with the Kahakuloa Head just peeking up at the edge of the shore from this vantage point.

Morning Clouds on The Jungle Ridge

A huge plume of clouds and mist streams off the high jungle ridges in the West Maui Mountains as the early morning sun heats up the landscape.

Jungle Detail

It is amazing to see how the plants and trees still manage to grow on the almost sheer rock walls of the canyons and valleys in the area we flew over.

Magnificent Maui Morning

Kahului spreads out beneath us as we head back to the airport to land.

Pilot Nick

I have wanted to take a doors off helicopter flight for photography for a while and finally decided to make it happen on this Maui trip. After some online research I found GoFlyMaui, a company that looked like they specialized in both private helicopter tours, as well as actual helicopter flight training.

R44

Documentation of my first helicopter experience would not be complete without a shout out to the wonderful helicopter we flew in. It initially looked small (I found out it is actually their BIG helicopter!) but that feeling went away once in the air. In Nick's capable hands it was stable, nimble, maneuverable, and actually very quiet - allowing me to completely relax in short order and concentrate on trying to frame up some good photographs. The doors off experience was the way to go and this machine really performed well in every way for aerial photography!

Another Park

We were able to check off another national park on our list, this time unique Haleakalā National Park! What an amazing place!

Walk in the Clouds

It is a very strange feeling to walk around with the clouds always below you. I was struck by this unique view at the start of the short trail to the Leleiwi Overlook - where you can seemingly walk right off the mountain in a few steps - your brain kinda expects to see a guard rail here. In fact, as we walked up to this trail we overheard a wife telling her husband she would stay in the car because the trail looked too risky. In fact, just out of sight is the gently sloping ridge that extends down for an extended distance, and an easy to navigate gentle trail.

Twin Cones

Two cinder cones stand out against the stark crater backdrop in the dormant Haleakalā Volcano.

Haleakalā Crater Pano

It takes multiple images stitched together to capture the massive crater area of Haleakalā. An extensive system of trails can be seen, most notably the Keonehe'ehe'e' Trail (or more commonly called the Sliding Sands Trail) starting from the extreme right in this image and winding its way down into the crater. Additionally, in the upper right can be seen the active volcano Mauna Loa (extreme right) and the even larger dormant Mauna Kea (left of Mauna Loa), both in the distance on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Rim View

The Haleakalā Crater spreads out below in the view from the rim.

Colorful Crater

The bright high altitude sunlight accentuates the many contrasting colors of the Haleakalā Crater.

Crater Above the Clouds

The weather on Haleakalā often has the clouds well below the crater area, as seen in this image from the crater rim looking out to the sea of clouds below.

Haleakalā Sunset

After the sun has set a long camera exposure serves to accentuate the already amazing colors seen above the clouds at Haleakalā National Park.

Ocean Spray

A large fountain of water shoots up as a wave hits the rocks at Ho'okipa Beach State Park in Maui, HI.