Category: Hawaii

Hawaii: Pukas

Posted on by Brianna Shade in Hawaii, Photography

This was one of the most beautiful spots we visited while in Hawaii. The sun, the water, and the rocks all sang in perfect harmony at this photogenic beach.

LotsaSmiles Photography

In Hawaiian, “puka” means simply “hole.”  It is most commonly used in association with the small shells strung together into a necklace.  These have a naturally occurring hole, making them nature’s beads.  The term is also used to refer to holes in the lava rock, much like Pali Puka on Oahu or the heart-shaped puka next to Nakalele Blowhole on Maui.

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Hawaii: Punaluu Beach Park

Posted on by Brianna Shade in Hawaii, Photography

This might have been my favorite part of our trip to Hawaii. I was fascinated by the ruins, and it was interesting to read about it after we got back. I could have spent the entire day there photographing this relic of history.

LotsaSmiles Photography

This is it, folks – the last Hawaii post!  I know some of you are sad about that, but I’m excited to share some photos from some of our other adventures as well.

We took it easy on our last day, making our way back to the Kona side of the big island, stopping into a beach or two, hitting up the southernmost restaurant in the U.S., and wrapping up the trip back at our Puka spot near the airport.

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Hawaii: Captain Cook

Posted on by Brianna Shade in Hawaii

We snorkeled many times while in Hawaii, but nowhere had clearer waters than Captain Cook. A fun day of kayaking and swimming with all the beautiful tropical fish.. and I even found Totoro!!!

LotsaSmiles Photography

One can’t really visit Hawaii and not go snorkeling, so we were sure to get out as much as we could.  While Two Step had some amazing fish (and sea turtles), we found the water clarity simply couldn’t be beat at the secluded Captain Cook point.

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Hawaii: The Volcano

Posted on by Brianna Shade in Hawaii

This was something we missed on our first visit to Hawaii. I’m glad we were able to make it a priority this time around. So much geology to examine and explore!

LotsaSmiles Photography

Hawaii is a series of islands created through volcanic activity.  However, when we honeymooned there seven years ago, it was the one major thing we didn’t fit into our itinerary, despite Aaron’s affinity for geology.  Therefore, we were determined to explore it this time.

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Hawaii: Mauna Kea

Posted on by Brianna Shade in Hawaii, Photography

The view from atop Mauna Kea is always awe-inspiring. It’s one of the few places one can go from sea level to 14,000′ in an hour or two (without an airplane). Here, you can be on top of the world.

LotsaSmiles Photography

If you’re going to the Big Island, and if you have any fascination with the night sky, you won’t want to miss Mauna Kea.  Home to the world’s largest observatory and nearly 14,000 feet above sea level (and above most cloud layers), you won’t see more beautiful stars, especially if you live anywhere near a metropolitan area.  And for a photographer?  Just, wow.

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Hawaii: South Point

Posted on by Brianna Shade in Hawaii

Come explore the southernmost point in Hawaii and (debatably) the U.S. Take the plunge off the 40-foot cliff if you dare…

LotsaSmiles Photography

We couldn’t visit Hawaii without hitting the southernmost tip of the United States.  We had, of course, already been to Florida’s Southernmost Point (though this isn’t even accurate), but this is markedly less touristy and clearly more south.  

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Hawaii: Waipio Valley

Posted on by Brianna Shade in Hawaii, Hiking

We’ll keep the posts to Hawaii for a little bit, then we’ll switch it up again. It’s hard to decide what to post; we do so much!

This trek down to the beach was quite exciting, but we got some cool pictures and some fun memories!

LotsaSmiles Photography

“Waipi’o” means “curved water,” and this can be seen in the concave shoreline and the arcing twin waterfalls visible from the beach nearly a thousand feet below the viewpoint.  Images primarily feature the lofty view.  Most don’t dare brave the 25% grade, 4-wheel-drive-only road down to the bottom, but we aren’t “most people.”

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Hawaii: Two Step

Posted on by Brianna Shade in Hawaii, Photography

We’ve been posting a lot for Japan, and we have more we’d like to share with you, but we do travel to other places! We thought we’d give you a bit of variety with some other locations.

This was an impromptu photography trip to Hawaii, and it was quite the adventure!

LotsaSmiles Photography

It’s been too long since we’ve travelled (Japan feels so long ago!), and we’ve been itching.  So when a photographer friend invited us to Hawaii for a week of photos, how could I resist?

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Hawaii: Undersea Adventure

Posted on by Aaron Shade in Hawaii, Stories, Video

While I wasn’t daring enough to go exploring the more distant waters at Two Step, Brianna spent an hour taking pictures and video. We were all worried since we could not see her snorkel anywhere for so long, but she eventually resurfaced. Take a look at her undersea adventure in the short video below. Continue reading “Hawaii: Undersea Adventure” →