Sam Deslauriers, Oahu Hawaii Photographer
My Dad’s in town, and so we’re making the most of our time together. That means being adventurous…so the other day we set off to tackle the first leg of the Olomana Trail (sans kids), also known as “Three Peaks”. The first leg is accessible mostly by walking, some crawling, and I almost made it to the top but vertigo set in. Of course, the camera came along. Here are some of my favorite shots from the hike.
Like many activities here, it’s best to go hiking in the early morning, when the sun isn’t in the middle of the sky. Even in winter, the sun can be brutal at midday. It doesn’t always make for the best light, but that’s ok. All I really wanted was to get some shots of the details, and you don’t always need too much light for that.
Here comes the sun.
A run down concrete pump station, decorated with graffiti, sits towards the beginning of the trail. There are rusted pipes half buried along the trail as well. I wonder what they were used for. It was still pretty dark in the trees at this point, but not hot, so I’ll take it.
I love these pines.
These little purple flowers are everywhere. I’m not sure what they’re called.
A grove of pines offers some shady places to rest, gorgeous views, and lots of birds. You know I love taking photos of birds, and I was sort of kicking myself for only bringing the 35 mm lens on the hike. The ground is blanketed by the discarded needles, and it sort of looks like hay.
My only decent shot of the view, because looking over the edge at it made me dizzy. That’s the Mokapu peninsula out there.
These grew on Okinawa, too, and this tree brought me back to our time there.
Not everyone was comfortable accepting their limitations, and it seemed as if this helicopter served to ferry hikers down the trail.
This is my favorite shot of the day, done with a tilt shift effect. Partially because I love the colors, and partially because it reminded me that the hike was over and I was still alive.
Olomana is gorgeous, but deceptively challenging. If you have the time and energy to try it, go for it! Just don’t go farther than you can manage to safely return…and don’t trust the ropes 😉 That’s all for now. Thanks for looking!
-Sam
-All photos property of Sam Deslauriers, Copyright 2016-
Sam Deslauriers Photography 