Roadside Attraction

Red Dirt Falls, July 5, 2009
Waimea Canyon Drive, Kaua'i, Hawaii
Nikon D80, Tokina 12-24mm (AT-X 124 II) f/4.0 @ f/16.0, 1/4s, ISO 100
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4, ACR 4.4 Profile

Back at home now. We really didn't want to leave Kaua'i. Sure, we wanted to see our kitties (who have been terribly affectionate and purry), but whatever magic is in the Hawaiian islands seems to have taken hold of us. Yes, we discussed the practicality of moving to Kaua'i several times. No, I don't think we were serious. Yet.

This photo was an awesome opportunity that we caught on the drive up to Waimea Canyon. (Ignore any bunk you hear about Mark Twain's "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" quote. He never set foot on Kaua'i.) This slash of dark red cut through the otherwise brown and green roadside landscape. There weren't any signs or much room to park, but stopping the car was mandatory.

This shot was almost a blessing. A couple of days before we had driven to two different waterfalls on the island, only to be disappointed by low waterflow and poor sightlines. Despite dragging my tripod to them I didn't take a single photo. Now, here at this little natural wonder, I was glad that I had brought the tripod all the way from Seattle. To get the optimal shot I had to set up in soft soil on the side of a hill. It was slippery and difficult to get the perspective I wanted, and maintaining my body position was painful for my feet. But I got my Hawaiian waterfall shot, so I'm happy.

FYI - I processed this photo on the flight back home, cramped up in an economy seat with a 17" laptop. I don't recommend this as a regular work environment.