Ho'okipa, Honokowai, & Kanaha

Getting a bit behind here ... but I think I can be forgiven since I am on holiday! Here are just a few of the photos that I've processed so far ... hundreds more to go still ... you'll have to visit my smugmug page over the next days to see what else gets uploaded!  ;-)

A couple of days ago, I got to shoot windsurfing at Ho'okipa beside Jimmie Hepp for a couple of hours. He's a north shore legend ... he's The Guy who is there whenever the action's happening ... published regularly ...

Jimmie Hepp In Action (at Kanaha)

Early this morning we headed up to West Maui, where we stopped at Honokowai for a last snorkel before returning the gear to Maui Dive Shop. We actually discovered this little area by chance ... and loved it so much we're actually considering staying here when we next visit Maui! (I know, my processing of panoramic images needs help, but this at least gives you an idea of the view from the park at Honokowai. I'm not sure why the image isn't reproducing at 1000px on the long side ... it's showing up so much smaller than the other photos, which are 700px on the long side! Shrug?!)

Then around midday at Kanaha, I met up with Nicole Sanchez, an established and popular wedding and event photographer on Maui. What a lovely lady ... we didn't get to spend much time together but I've been following her for a while on FB, and its great to have met the person behind the page!

Nicole Sanchez in action at Kanaha

Kanaha was amazing today, just so beautiful it was almost unreal. Aside from the stand-up paddleboard race (called Olukai) that we went to see, there was also kiteboarding action and lots of other stuff to feast our eyes and lenses on!

Men's SUP Race Winner

Andrea Moeller, Ladies' SUP Race Winner

Supermoon / Cinco de Mayo

Whatever you call it, it's always a challenge to capture the moon ... here are my two best shots from the evening ... taken as the moon rose over Haleakala (a 10,000ft+ dormant volcano on the island of Maui), from about 30ft above sea level!

The photos aren't as impressive as some others I've seen, but I've posted the full-res versions on my smugmug page if you'd like to see them there.

Maui No Ka Oi

We've been on the island for about 10 days now ... it has been a wonderful whirl of a week because we had some of our family and close friends with us to help celebrate Paul's 50th birthday! Most have now headed home, and soon it'll just be the two of us winding down and enjoying a relaxing holiday at our favourite destination.

I haven't had a great many opportunities to take my camera out, but a few of my photos are below. More can be seen on my Smugmug site - windsurfing at Ho'okipa, the Old Lahaina Luau, some classic Maui sunsets - some are also on my Facebook page.

A Little Whimsy ...

A Surprise Pod Of Late-Season Humpback Whales

Waiting For A Wave - Big Beach, Makena State Park

Old Lahaina Luau

Oh, by the way, Maui no ka oi means "Maui is the best"!

Prairie Crocus

I stand to be corrected, but that's what I believe these flowers are ... please drop me a note if I'm wrong!

Having lived in the Columbia Valley for a couple of years now, I know that these flowers are the first to bring a little colour to the landscape!

I was delighted to find a couple this afternoon! Here's a shot from today's outing, and a couple more are in my Smugmug gallery:

Osprey

Driving home from work today, I was casually looking for my "photo of the day" ... for my 365 project.

I was delighted to notice a pair of osprey on nesting platform, right beside the road. I had to find a place to turn around, drive back, and hope they were still there!

I was so glad I did!

Photographing birds is SO difficult. Not only do they move fast and the feathers are often hard to focus on but, unless you really study them, they move eratically and in unexpected directions!

It helps that osprey are fairly large ... much easier to keep track of! Today I was extra-lucky, I had both the wind and the sun at my back!

Here's one of my fav's from this pit-stop shoot ... more will be posted in my smugmug gallery soon!

Herding Cats!

Luckily I had help at ICAN yesterday ... hubby Paul was there to lend a hand ... getting four tiny kittens in the same place at the same time ... and helping me get photos of a couple of skittish older kittens, too!

It was quite the sight, Paul's 6'2" frame in the tiny kitten room, terrified to move his feet for fear of treading on one of the four grey furballs who we don't think are more than five weeks old! It was a challenge, but we got some good shots! Below is one of my fav's of the litter ... the rest of the day's makings are in the gallery on my Smugmug page.

FIS Spring Series @ Panorama

As it turns out, photographing the first three days of this event was my last outing of the season!

If you raced at Panorama Resort this winter, have a look at my race galleries from some of this season's events!

This week, I added the first runs of the FIS Spring Series men's slalom, women's giant slalom, and women's slalom, on April 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Meanwhile, I've become obsessed with goggle reflections ...

And how about this one, where the young man's eye colour so perfectly matches his helmet and goggle rims ...

These images were not posed, but were taken from severely cropped race action shots!