Go Hawaii - Post all things Hawaii.

rayman102 wrote in post #16628548
Was going to try to get some surf shot today on the North shore but decided against it due to the cancellation of the surf event.

Here is a shot of a wave, a bit smaller and calmer.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …65053385@N05/11​249546766/
The Last Rush before a Setting Sun by rayman102, on Flickr

Excellent! What filters, if any, were used?

I'm going to Hawaii for the first time in two weeks. I'll be on Oahu for 5 days and Maui for 5 days.

Get online and reserve your Arizona tickets today. Five days on each island is not enough but enjoy.

meh_meli wrote in post #16630524
Get online and reserve your Arizona tickets today. Five days on each island is not enough but enjoy.

I don't imagine it is, but I will make the most of it. I don't want to do too much, otherwise I fear it will be a stressful trip.

I'm originally from San Diego, and plan to move back this August. With some reservations, I'd say that the Chicago winters have been a nice change of scenery. But I'm counting down the days until I'm back in sunny San Diego.

v35skyline wrote in post #16630321
Excellent! What filters, if any, were used?

I'm going to Hawaii for the first time in two weeks. I'll be on Oahu for 5 days and Maui for 5 days.

I used a variable Neutral density filter to slow down the shutter speed to about 4/10 a seconds to achieve the water effect. Other than that, no other filters were used, just blending 2 images together for the foreground and the sky and use my usual processing workflow.
You should spend 8 days in Maui and 2 days in Oahu. Maui is a lot better.

v35skyline wrote in post #16630321
I'm going to Hawaii for the first time in two weeks. I'll be on Oahu for 5 days and Maui for 5 days.

If I were you, I would cancel Maui and would stay only in Oahu, that is the best way to start Hawaii. You could explore the remaining major islands of your interest in subsequent visits.
Any way, SD boy must love to surf and in this time of year you have two good choices. Waikiki is always good place to get a wave and ride for next several minutes. Rid is really long not short like Del Mar or San Onofre. Then if you are really expert, North shore (Pipe Line) is where the big boys show up specially in December where waves are taller than 4 story building. But then don't forget that crazy weather of this year (See above recent pictures). If you bring your own surf with you, prepare to pay a good fee to airline. Wisest thing to do is to buy a surf of your choice from Costco in Oahu but you know Costco inventory is limited and never predictable. If you buy from Costco, on the last day of your stay you may sell it at a profit to your next tourist at beach so to say you surfed and made some money. But then if you got neither of these two options, you can rent it on weekly bases (That is probably at the purchase price of Costco or slightly more). You must take the tour to Polynesian cultural center and you will have at least two choice of ticket price. Don't set for anything less than the most expensive choice given to you at the time of buying the ticket. You will appreciate my recommendation after dinner! Have your wide aperture lenses for photographing very nice after dinner performance and dance at night. Also if things are not changed, with one admission ticket pay, you are allowed to visit the center during next several days (Located one hour north from Waikiki in Oahu ) for free (You need to make the transportation at your own expenditure unlike the first day that it is included) so plan to have this visit on your earliest time in Oahu, so that in case you like to discover the location more, you have the time and it would be actually good to stay few days in North west (North shore) area that is close to Polynesian cultural center. No matter where you dine and what you eat (Rotating restaurant in Waikiki at sunset is really nice), you must make sure to eat the tastiest shrimp of you life in mobile truck restaurant called Giovanni (North west, south of Pipe line) near Haleiwa. And don't settle for any other similar trucks. Again you are likely to thank me and actually have a good reason to come back to Oahu!
I would start my warm up matron right from now. In your stated short time you need to run! Have fun and be prepare to see some of the most beautiful sun rises in East side of Island, and most beautiful sun sets at West side. Oahu is good for both options and don't forget to give one full day (Preferable starting very early in morning before sunrise) for Diamond head hiking and panorama pictures of the island. Hopefully sun would be your friend without being too hot or raining.
Bring back a lot of pictures and don't forget to share here.

Rayman: I hope you don't mind if I use your picture for the next several days as my desktop background. Can't get enough of it.

v35skyline wrote in post #16630616
I don't imagine it is, but I will make the most of it. I don't want to do too much, otherwise I fear it will be a stressful trip.

I'm originally from San Diego, and plan to move back this August. With some reservations, I'd say that the Chicago winters have been a nice change of scenery. But I'm counting down the days until I'm back in sunny San Diego.

When you come to Oahu book some activities here...

http://www.kualoa.com/

Rented a 15-85, a wonderful lens. At least I got to see my pink hotel and also Tripler.

rayman102 wrote in post #16630824
You should spend 8 days in Maui and 2 days in Oahu. Maui is a lot better.

samsen wrote in post #16630938
If I were you, I would cancel Maui and would stay only in Oahu, that is the best way to start Hawaii.

I see we have a bit of disagreement here!

Unfortunately, it's too late and my reservations are in stone.

But thank you both for the suggestions. Really looking forward to this trip (my reward to myself for completing graduate school...well, almost. Graduating June 6!).

I will surely report back to this thread after my trip. Thanks, again!

^^^
You are welcome.
Easy to explain.
Don't listen to Ray. He is old, may be kind of native but definitely Not an Old Native Hawaiian.
If you listen to Old Hawaiian or why doing that, just try to figure out the meaning of "Oahu" that means "The Gathering Place" in local language. It is not the largest but in fact 3rd island by size, nevertheless since old ages, everybody knew, you need to gather here.
I really do not recommend seeing any island before at least two or three visit of Oahu (As long as each visit is few days to a week length). Oahu has it all. Other have more virgin nature (Emphasis on Nature so don't rush elsewhere!
No mater what you do, you are going to love it all and stay safe, click often. Memories fade sooner than images!

Yup, it has it all, traffic,highrises and most of the tourists. Many other wonderful things to see and do but not enough for me to visit again anytime soon.

v35skyline wrote in post #16633180
I see we have a bit of disagreement here!

Unfortunately, it's too late and my reservations are in stone.

But thank you both for the suggestions. Really looking forward to this trip (my reward to myself for completing graduate school...well, almost. Graduating June 6!).

I will surely report back to this thread after my trip. Thanks, again!

We just returned from spending a month in Hawaii and spent one week each on Kauai, the Big Island, Maui & then finally Oahu.....

Loved all of the islands and wished we could have stayed longer on each one as they all have their own special charm......On other previous trips we have spent up to three weeks just on Oahu alone and we still wished we had stayed longer.....

The only advice I would give you is to spend as long as you possibly can on each island you visit.

doofuss wrote in post #16634610
We just returned from spending a month in Hawaii and spent one week each on Kauai, the Big Island, Maui & then finally Oahu.....

Loved all of the islands and wished we could have stayed longer on each one as they all have their own special charm......On other previous trips we have spent up to three weeks just on Oahu alone and we still wished we had stayed longer.....

The only advice I would give you is to spend as long as you possibly can on each island you visit.

Was that just wishing for a longer vacation or really liking Oahu? I'm just wondering about the allure of Oahu. I see it is pretty but going near Honolulu kills it for me.

Although Oahu is very commercialised when compared to the other islands, it still has its own unique vibe and beauty. We found that even spending three weeks there was not enough and could have easily spent longer.

I love Mother nature and all that she has to offer, especially the oceans, so spending three weeks in Hawaii, even all on Oahu is heaven for me..I can surf, snorkel, paddle board or just chill out on the beach all day taking it all in and never get tired of it.

Oahu has a strong diversity of commercialism and raw nature that combine together to make a fantastic holiday destination.

Most locations on the island can be accessed by vehicle in under an hour, so you can spend all day away from the hustle of Waikiki taking in spectacular sights, and then be back in Waikiki at night for great restaurants and shopping.

I could honestly live there no problem at all and never regret a day of doing so. I don't see how anyone could not enjoy their time there.

We love Hawaii so much that we had only been home from our November/ December 2013 trip for two days and we had already booked a return trip to Maui & Oahu for July this year as well as having planned another trip there for February 2015.....

Also consider that we are travelling from Perth Western Australia, so it takes us nearly 24 hours to get there, but it is worth every minute of travel time.

I'd go: Maui,Kauai,Oahu and Hawaii. I have not been to Molokai or Lanai. I live about 30 minutes from San Francisco all my life and avoid the place like it has the plague. We have 3 weeks a year to use on Maui/Kauai which are our favorites.
Really love that nightime Waikiki beach shot.