Showing posts with label Big Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Big Island. Show all posts

Sunset on the summit of Mauna Kea, by Tocha

As promised, these are Tocha's beautiful, medium format film photos of the most breathtaking sunset we've witnessed.  You can see me in the last shot, without camera (I'd run out of film-doh!), which allowed me to watch the sunset fully present.  I'll admit that sometimes I don't feel like I'm truly present when I'm photographing something because I'm so focused on making good images.  Any other photographers out there feel conflicted about this?  Maybe one day I'll get good enough that it will be like a zen experience all the time when I'm shooting.






All images © Tocha Alberts

Waiting for sunset, Mauna Kea Summit, Big Island, Hawaii

13,796 feet above sea level

There's a tiny person up top

Giant telescope (I've forgotten the name of)


Tocha with his Mamiya RB67


More giant telescopes

The mountain cast a shadow in the sky.  How cool is that!
All images © 2012 Christine Han

I don't usually like group tours, but on the advice of a friend, we did the Mauna Kea Tour with Hawaii Forest and Trail to watch the sunset at the summit of the volcano and then star gaze as the guide explains everything you're seeing through the telescope.   It was worth every penny...possibly the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen, and you really feel like you're on top of the universe looking down at the clouds and peaks below you.  Awesome stuff. 

Tocha got some rad shots of the actual sunset.  I think I ran out of film or something like that (stupid!), but I'll post some of his photos because you just have to see how gorgeous it was.

The Hamakua Coast Rainforest, Big Island, Hawaii









All images © 2012 Christine Han

The Big Island has an incredibly diverse landscape.  In some places, I could swear we'd been dropped in the middle of the Colorado country, or at a sheep station in Australia, or on a beach in California.  The Hamakua coast, however, is exactly what I'd imagined Hawaii to be.