08-06-12 The Painted Church

The Painted Church, aka St. Benedict's Roman Catholic Church, is officially in the town of Captain Cook, though I remember it as being somewhere on the side of a hill away from any kind of urban features. From the outside it is fairly nondescript. But on the inside it is beautifully painted, thus, the name "Painted Church."Rather than talk about the church I want to talk about photography. First, this is a hand-held exposure at 1/15 of a second. I don't travel with a tripod and for interior photography in dimly lit spaces, you have to be lucky to get something acceptable with that shutter speed. Thank you, Image Stabilization!I took this photo in 2008 and at the time, I don't think I knew what HDR was. But but this scene begs for HDR treatment - not to make it seem someone surreal but instead to do a better job of exposing the who scene, including the windows, which are clealy blown out. "Blown highlights" is photographer talk for bright parts of a photo that have no detail because they are severely overexposed. If I had had a tripod, I would have taken one photo that properly exposed for the windows and one photo that exposed for the interior. And then in software, I would have combined the two into one well exposed photo.Like so many other places I have travelled to, I need to go back to the Painted Church and do it right (or at least better). . . .

07-08-12 On Top of the World

My Garmin Nuvi said the elevation at this point on Mauna Kea in Hawaii was 13,910' though officially, I don't think it is quite that high. What's amazing about Mauna Kea is that you can drive all of the way to the top in your car. It was cold and windy up there and there was snow, which we South Dakotans were trying to escape the December we were visiting our son Jon on the Big Island.

An Adventurous Spirit

I have said before that our youngest son Jon tends to take us to interesting places when he is in charge of the itinerary. Here's a good example: we are in the Waipio Valley on the Big Island. Contrast this with the photo of Hawaii I posted a couple days ago and you will also see what I mean by "diversity" on the Big Island.

Unlimited Variety

The Big Island of Hawaii is a remarkable place, with snow capped peaks, humid rain forests and barren terrain that looks like is could be from another universe. This photo was taken near the famous green sand beach near the southern tip of the island. Our son Jon took us there and I thought it was going to ruin the truck we we in. But I'm glad we went.

Verdant Tropical Stream

A few years ago we were visiting our youngest son, Jon, on the Big Island in Hawaii. As is his nature, he took us to a place that wasn't exactly easy to get to but which was stunning in it beauty. It is called the Waipio Valley. This is a small creek that we encountered and I would have liked to have had much more time here. As it was, because we had two cars full of family members, I had about 5 minutes to photograph this spot. Maybe next time. . .

04-18-09 Things Grow On Rocks There

In my home state, we have difficulty growing things in dirt sometimes. But in the Waipio Valley on the Big Island even the rocks are fertile nesting places. My son Jon guided us down into this valley. The road down is one of those that made my wife close her eyes. We had a similar experience driving to the top of the Big Island. Both drives, of course, were worth it, though as we drove I was worried about our rental cars and the contracts I had signed. Would they know we went where we weren't supposed to?

Canon 1D 1/30s f/4.5 ISO800 60mm Lens unknown