Tag Archives: photography

The Best Beach on Maui: Hamoa Beach

Family on Hamoa Beach, near Hana, Maui

To me, the beauty of a beach lies in its circumstance. It’s not the fineness of the sand, or the amenities, or the people-watching. It’s whether the beach has a wild side to it — that’s where the appeal lies for me. Clinging to the edge of a landmass — the lone barrier from the inhospitable ocean — a great beach for me is more akin with a wilderness lake in the mountains than a local neighborhoods pool. I want to sit there, alone with my thoughts, the concussive waves and the whispering wind — and feel the majesty of nature.

On Maui, Hamoa Beach is that beach for me. Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Staying at Travaasa Hana: Sea Ranch Cottages

Sunrise over the Hana coast, Travaasa Hana, Maui, Hawaii

Here are some more images of Travaasa Hana and its beautiful grounds. The resort is divided into two parts: the main area (where the lobby, restaurant, lounge, spa, art gallery and the Garden View Suites are) and the Sea Ranch Cottages, a more exclusive area where luxury cabins trickle down a hillside to the wild coastline. On our first morning, this is where I headed for sunrise, and I was treated to an extraordinary scene. Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Staying at Travaasa Hana: Garden View Suites

Travaasa Hana Resort Hotel, Maui

In 2003, shortly after a crazy wedding that included a bridesmaid going into labor at our rehearsal dinner (and her husband, the best man/my brother, rushing her away to deliver their first born), my wife Hailey and I headed to Hawaii for our honeymoon. We had initially considered Trinidad & Tobago, but when a travel agent specializing in T&T told us to go to Hawaii instead (thereby giving up any hope of a commission), we saw it as a sign: This place really must live up to the hype.

Still high off the pura vida of a 2002 trip to Costa Rica, I insisted we focus on the wet sides of the Big Island and Maui. I was fascinated by jungles, wanted nothing more than to see waterfalls, and was happy to dodge the crowds and trade in postcard beach scenes for rocky coastlines and black-sand. I was also, sadly, going through a tropical shirt phase thanks to a sale at Mervyn’s. (Yes, I just wrote that).

Long story short, we ended up spending five nights at the Palms Cliff House north of Hilo, and four nights at the Hotel Hana Maui, now rebranded as the Travaasa Hana. It was time to return, family in tow, and reconnect with the rugged coastline and end-of-the-earth splendor of Hana. Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Photograph the Hana Highway

The Hana Highway, Maui, Hawaii

(Click on each image for a larger view)

Running 42 miles from Paia to Hana, the Hana Highway is considered one of the top scenic byways in America. But I think that’s misleading. It’s not really a highway, and “scenic” doesn’t do it justice.

Frequently, two lanes become one, and for several stretches, 15 miles an hour seems too fast. Blind curves segue into fleeting waterfall views, and for nearly its whole stretch, dense tropical forest enshrouds the steep hills. In fact, I’d bet that if the Hawaii Department of Transportation left the highway alone for a month, the forest would swallow the pavement. From start to finish, its wild, unkempt, and wonderfully free of everything that defines the rest of Maui.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Big Bust: Photographing Haleakala National Park

Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii

Any travel photographer worth their salt can still create great images in terrible conditions: Low light, rain, overcast, smog … volcanic fog. Right?

Let’s just say sometimes things don’t go as well as you hoped. Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Varenna on Lake Como: The Little Village We Love

Varenna on Lake Como, Italy

(Click on image for a larger view)

We sat under an umbrella, our table decorated with two glasses of wine and a plate of bruschetta. It was 2005, and this was my first visit to Italy … my first journey anywhere in Europe. We had arrived in Milan that morning, boarded a train, and immediately made our way north to Lake Como and a little village Rick Steves had gushed about named Varenna.

On the brick-lined shore before us, a father was teaching his two daughters how to skip stones. The warm, hazy sun gave the colorful village the appearance of a melted watercolor, and one of us — I can’t remember who — said to the other “Varenna would be a nice name for a little girl, wouldn’t it?”

Almost five years later, Varenna Autumn Day was born. Now almost 3, she has a lightness, a sense of humor, and a sweet innocence that illuminates my every day. And despite the times people ask how to spell her name, or mix it up and pronounce it Ver-EE-na, or confuse it with Verona or Ravenna, we still feel like we knocked it out of the park with her name. This town — with its vivid colors, wizard hat campanile, hilltop castle and compact lakeside location where the buildings seem to hug one another — is officially on the highest pedestal of any place I’ve ever been. Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Morning in La Morra, Italy

La Morra, Italy

(Click on images for a larger view)

Fresh off sunrise in the magnificent Langhe Hills, we arrived among the familiar hills of La Morra. Now that the sun was shining and we had genuine baby-blue skies to photograph, there was no question where I wanted to go for a do-over. Il Cedro del Libano.

Cedar tree and La Morra, Italy

Standing 50-feet tall atop a vine-covered mound, the Cedar of Lebanon had become the icon of La Morra for us. You see it immediately as you approach from Alba. Its stateliness demands attention; its manicured perfection belongs in a massive picture frame hung on a large wall.   Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Good Life in Barolo, Italy

winemaking, Barolo, Italy

From Alba, we cruised through the golden fog to a cleft in the hills, seeking out the road to Barolo. Adam was growing more instinctual with his driving. His command of routes, landmarks and signage had rendered the GPS-navigation system moot. A wry smile was cracking on his face every time he got behind the wheel.

With each bend in the road, we would unwrap new views of new vineyards, new estates, new possibilities. The color palate was consistent — radiant emerald greens, light golds, and lots of umber-brown. The sky was always pale, its blueness diluted by the area’s famous veil of fog.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Moment: Sunrise at Travaasa Hana

Travaasa Hana at sunrise. Hana, Maui, Hawaii

I just returned from a week-long shoot on Maui. The anchor of the trip was a three-night stay at Travaasa Hana, formerly known as the Hotel Hana Maui. I’ve done a lot of content development work for them in the last year, and while I was out there, they had me shoot editorial photography of the grounds, their unique programming, and the beautiful surroundings of Heavenly Hana.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Staying at Villa Carita, La Morra, Italy

woman walking through vineyard, Barolo, La Morra, Italy

How important are accommodations? Depends on who you ask, but what’s not up for debate is this: when you’ve come across the perfect place, suddenly, the rest of the trip falls into place. The perfect location, an endless view, the little luxuries … they’re all facilitators of taking a vacation and turning it up a notch.

When we rolled into the gravel parking lot of Villa Carita, a four-bedroom inn perched on a hillside just outside La Morra, Italy, I was in a state of disbelief. The Langhe Hills stretched out for 270-degrees below the inn’s terrace. Beneath the terrace, two rooms enjoyed private in-the-vineyard gardens. “God, I hope those are our two rooms,” I said out loud to anyone listening. Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 748 other followers