the captain COOK discovered Photo

Photographer’s Note

Mo'orea (or Moorea) is a high island in French Polynesia, part of the Society Islands, 17 km (roughly 9mi) northwest of Tahiti. Several ferries go to the Vaiare wharf in Mo'orea daily from Papeete, the Tahitian capital. Mo'orea's Temae airport (MOZ) has connections to the international airport in Papeete and onward to other Society Islands.

The island is administratively part of the commune (municipality) of Moorea-Maiao, itself in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands.

Because of its stunning scenery and accessibility to Papeete, Mo'orea is visited by many western tourists who travel to French Polynesia. Especially popular as a honeymoon destination, Mo'orea can often be seen in advertisements in American wedding magazines.

Due to the island's natural beauty, the 1980s film The Bounty (starring Mel Gibson, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Day Lewis, Bernard Hill and Liam Neeson, among others) was mostly filmed on and around the island, despite the Mutiny taking place in Matavai Bay, Tahiti.

From above, the shape of the island vaguely resembles a fork, with its two nearly symmetrical bays opening to the north side of the island: Cook's (or Paopao) Bay and Oponohu Bay. The island was formed as a volcano 1.5 to 2.5 mya, the result of a geologic hotspot in the mantle under the oceanic plate that formed the whole of the Society Archipelago. It is theorized that the current bays were formerly river basins that filled during the Holocene searise.

Charles Darwin was inspired for his theory regarding the formation of coral atolls when looking down upon Mo'orea standing on a peak on Tahiti. He described it as a "picture in a frame," referring to the barrier reef encircling the island.

Don the Beachcomber lived here for some time until his houseboat was destroyed by tropical cyclones.

Mo'orea means "yellow lizard" in Tahitian.[citation needed] An older name for the island is Aimeho, sometimes spelled Aimeo or Eimeo, (among other spellings misunderstood by early visitors with no knowledge of language). Early Western colonists and voyagers also referred to Mo'orea as York Island.

The University of California, Berkeley maintains the Richard B. Gump South Pacific Research Station on the west coast of Cook's Bay.

asajernigan, rezarta, feather, delkoo, ma1951, Mikos, Vasylis, parbo, danyy, ChrisJ, bakes888, kludwig20, jmcl has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ciaccio (66) 2006-12-07 8:58

Oh my god... what an incredible place have you been!
This shoot is really great like your gallery.
The sea is so blue and also the sky.
Weel done
Zizzer

asajernigan (14318) 2006-12-07 8:58

Paolo,
I like your composition here showing the mountains rising out of the sea. The lighting and colors are great and you have nice sharpness and a good DOF.
TFS,
Asa

mobiaga (220) 2006-12-07 9:12

a majestic region! fantastic capture!a lovley relaxing place!TFS

atilgone (4749) 2006-12-08 4:09

Hi Paolo,

Excelent shot. I think I missed the summer :)Very good color I liked it very much. Just horizan a bit slant. TFS
Kind regards

nadine432 (1128) 2006-12-08 4:24

bonjour Paolo
quelle vue magnifique
ça fait trop rêver
les couleurs sont superbes
bonne continuation
Nad...

feather (50230) 2006-12-09 6:06

What a wonderful paradise with crystal clear waters. It looks like the mountains come right down to the sea. Beautiful image.
Kath

ma1951 (543) 2006-12-11 9:23

hello,excellent sharpness..very good dof.great blue and green colors and their tones.i prefer to put something in the foreground..congrats.tfs.regards

Mikos (4324) 2006-12-11 10:22

Hi Paolo!!!!

Great one!!!! I like the coloursd and the light shown, enhaces a lot the result of your picture, though your shot was so so great indeed.

have a great day, and thanks for your comment on my Firenze Picture ;-)

Miguel

vilius (633) 2006-12-11 11:26

Amazing place - holidaymaker's dream! As good as advertised. This azure water is something I will never get bored with... Especially in Europe in December... Good compo with volcanic hills and a cloud. I like that water takes 50% of FOV. Nice work! Cheers - Vilius

Vasylis (1408) 2006-12-11 18:17

Unbelievable place my friend...
i am wondering if u have as well some underwater photos.
It's a great shot.
TFS

delkoo (34866) 2006-12-12 3:34

hi paolo
lovely place, the water is so clear and mountains makes a good background to emphasize the beauty of this place.

ciao
didier
i run out my greenies ==> tomorrow

parbo (11038) 2006-12-12 9:09

Hello Paolo,

I’m impressed crystal clear waters and green covered mountains. I like excellent visibility under of water. Superb colors and details, congratulations.

Best Regards,

Ertugrul

Angshu (34157) 2006-12-12 22:43

Ciao Paolo
The photo is about greens...the turquoise green of the sea & the green vegetation on the cliff. This is what paradise must be looking like! A well written note to boot…
Regards
Angshu

jemaflor (39759) 2006-12-15 7:47

Hi Paolo,
a simple view but so beautiful with a such blue, nice landscape with hills in background.

danyy (69539) 2006-12-16 13:21

Bonjour Paolo,
les bleus dominent et ils sont appétissants.
On voit de suite qu'on se trouve dans les mers chaudes.
Un cadarge un rien centré horizontalement.
Bien à toi.
Daniel.

vincz (19045) 2006-12-19 3:25

Very nice shot of Moorea. i've been there a while ago, a true paradise.

ChrisJ (70443) 2006-12-19 8:33

Hi Paolo

Looks gorgeous. I am so sick of snow & cold at the moment. Wonderful turquoise colours & fantastic sharpness & contrast. I like the layered mountains. Good note. Tfs!

somkiat (1096) 2006-12-21 9:14

hallo paulo,
it's very nice color,that makes me feel the good breath of the sea and i can smell the sea and holiday.
very nicely done.
somkiat

rj2747 (526) 2006-12-22 9:37

The colour of the shallow sea reminds me of a trip to the nearby Cook Islands, especially with the steep former volcanic slopes as a backdrop. Great DOF, great saturation, great photo.

sergio1 (12150) 2006-12-23 20:50

Hi friend

Beauty place andd great light shot. Lovely compo and great compo.

Merry Xmas my friend
Sergio

bakes888 (18353) 2006-12-26 17:29

Hi Paolo. Wonderful south pacific Christmas shot. Well captured and thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

pablominto (41458) 2006-12-27 6:00

Hallo Paolo,
There are some really awesome tones of blue present here!
A wonderful place and about as far away as it is possible to get from my place...
A very attractive image!
Greetings,
Pablo -

UnTrained (0) 2006-12-28 11:15

Hi Paolo,
a book about James Cook was part of my simmer lecture this year. Therefore a special thanks for sharing.
The blue and transparent water is fine, the coastline back makes it marvelous. Excellent light and DOF. Regards, Ulf

jmcl (14149) 2007-01-01 18:45

A stunning study in greens and blues .. those sharp mountains in the scene are just striking .. as is the color of the water .. I am out of adjectives for you .. breathtaking beauty.

John

kevinos (6927) 2007-01-02 13:07

You have beautiful colour and crispness in a presentation of a lovely and interesting place luminosity and colour of the sea is wonderful. Regards Kevin

capthaddock (28640) 2007-01-05 10:50

Hi Paolo - mmh, paradise on earth, so beautiful, but hell on the wallet, hopefully one day I can afford to go there.