Even on a rainy day landscape images can be made

When creating landscape and scenics portraits on Maui, weather can be a factor. Rain brings water needed for agriculture to thrive and for the streams and waterfalls to flow. On these kind of days shelter can sometimes be found inside the bamboo forest.

When the wind and rain persist along the north and eastern shore, its a good idea to drive to the south side of the island where chances are the weather is completely different. Take for example this beach image created in Wailea. It was made approximately one hour after the image in the bamboo forest.

Indeed, there are many different climates around Maui, making this island very unique and beautiful.

One step closer to reaching a personal goal

Since becoming a member of the Professional Photographers of America I made a goal to earn the coveted degree of Master of Photography. This year, I almost made it. The PPA has annual print competitions in which prints thats score well earn merits that go towards advanced degrees. In the recent competition, two of my images did quite well. As a result I am now only one merit away. Perhaps 2011 will be my year.

More fine art images can be see at www.douglasjhoffman.com.

Snorkeling with Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales

Whale season in Tonga is starting, and Southern Hemisphere Humpbacks are migrating to the tropical waters of Tonga to mate, give birth, and nurse young calves.

For the fifth year in a row, I am organizing an adventure dedicated to Humpback whales in Vavau, Tonga. The goal is to observe and photograph Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales.

www.douglasjhoffman.com As of now there are a few spaces available. Please call 808 879 0260 and reserve a space today.

Just because its legal does not mean swimming with whales is easy. The fact is whales are wild and are not on anyone's time schedule. They can come or go as they see fit, and all encounters are on their terms. For the safety of the whales, and fairness to others, several protocols are followed. The standard is to watch the whales, to observe their behavior and let them get used to our presence. If they feel we are not a threat, they will relax and that's when good interaction happens.

This adventure is limited to a small group, so each person will gets the experience of a lifetime. I charter a small boat that has the proper permits and specializes in working with film crews and scientists, as opposed to a larger boat with a boat'em and float'em attitude.

I have found that with the exception of a heat run that most encounters are best when swimmers float motionless and as needed swim together in a parallel course not an intersecting course with the whales. Imagine how you would feel if several large fish were swimming at you from multiple directions. I would feel threatened, so it only makes sense that the whales do too. Staying in a group allows the mother to relax and become comfortable with our presence. Once this happens the baby is free to check us out.

The baby whale in this video from last years trip is a perfect example of what happens when people relax and don't force the encounter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Calz1ZbKJA0

When it comes to nature photography, the daily plan is to hurry up and wait. As a result, a lot of time is spent looking at the horizon for whale sign. When whales are sighted, many factors have to come together before we get in the water. These include the demeanor of the whales, good visibility, low winds, and flat seas. Some days the water the water is clear and there are no whales. Other days there are plenty of whales but visibility is poor, e.t.c... Thats why the adventure includes 8 days on the water.

Read more about Tonga in my recent article in http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/diving-tonga-humpback-whales

Participants must be comfortable snorkeling in deep water and be in good health.

The crew of the Waterfront Restaurant

I just had the opportunity to create a few portraits for The Waterfront Restaurant. This is one of Maui's most established restaurants. They are known for incredible fish, steaks, & lobster. My wife and I went there for our 14th anniversary and had champaign with dinner. Nine months later our little girl Aya was born...............

Sunset to remember

After a family session with the McCalls last night I stayed at the beach and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Fire in Maui

On June 8th, a brush fire broke out in the West Maui Mountains. Strong winds caused the fire to spread and by evening the fire had consumed over 2000 acres and threatened the Maui wind farm.

After the sun set, the sky had an erie glow, so I grabbed my camera and went to Sugar Beach. I needed a high Fstop for depth of field, and a slow shutter to capture the glow. So I set the camera at F8 and F11 and used shutter speeds of 15-20 seconds.

My friend Peter also created photos of the fire.

Summer photography workshops

Summer is here and over the next few months I will be doing three types of photography workshops. The first is all about portrait photography, lighting, & posing. The second is on landscape and scenic photography in which we will get into composition, lines of repetition, frames, slow shutter speeds, and high dynamic range. The third is about u/w photography in which we get into wide angle and macro photography, TTL and manual operations, composition, & lighting.


The first workshop has just taken place and it went from dawn till after sunset. We started at the beach, explored dirt roads, streams, the bamboo forrest, the incredible coastline of Makena, big beach, and Sugar Beach in Kihei.