Guilty Pleasure on Maui Photo

Photographer’s Note

If you're like me, you might have a favorite TrekEarth theme you've been looking to contribute an image to. I've always had a fondness for lonely bench shots and on my trip to Hawaii earlier this year, I finally had my chance to capture one. I don't know what it is exactly about these scenes I like, but they tend to evoke feelings of peace for me.

What I liked about this one is that it's really as isolated as it looks here. No selective framing needed. It wasn't at a park or near any city, it was just randomly out on a cliff side trail along Maui's wild and rocky northwest coast.

If you have extra time while visiting Maui and like scenic drives, the Kahekili Highway on the northwest coast offers breathtaking scenery and is sure to get your heart racing. You pretty much drive on the edge of cliffs for many miles and there are numerous sections where the road becomes one lane. Imagine backing up while driving on the edge of a cliff to let an oncoming car through, just thinking about that gets my heart racing.

Everyone who goes to Maui knows about the Road to Hana but this under-appreciated drive might bring back more less-photographed vistas. As you can see by the dried grasses here this part of the island is much drier and offers a starker and rockier terrain than the Road to Hana. It's beautiful in a different way.

Regards,
Doug

robertosalguero, macondo, gracious, gunbud, syd1946, salvator, stego, jwmunro, adores, angelsimon, pboehringer, wishlist, bakes888, plimrn, ajujot has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

macondo (13075) 2007-11-03 5:11

Hello there Doug.
I appreciate your comments! I quite like the empty seat shot too. Sometimes they look to me as if they're waiting for someone to arrive; at others as if someone has just departed. Anyway, your shot is beautifully exposed and sharp, althoug with possibly a little too much ground in front of the seat. I like the light glinting on the water and those well defined clouds just above the horizon.
Regards,
Andrew

gunbud (27801) 2007-11-03 19:03

Hi Doug,
I very much like your placement of this lonely bench just off center directely in front of your camera giving a strong sence that one is sitting on the bench looking at this beautiful blue sky that sit right over the deep blue of the horizon. I too have a thing for lone benches, chairs looking toward a nice landscape, in fact I notice one in Pablo's (Norway) collection that was almost identical to one I posted from Maine. They were wooden benches with an intricate wroght iron design from the 19th century.
Regards, Tom

gracious (20017) 2007-11-04 7:19

Hello Doug,
I would like to sit on this bench admiring the beuatiful of coast and the sky!
Perfect exposure and focus in this shot and good use of the warming polarizer!
very well done image indeed
cheers
Tony

syd1946 (17887) 2007-11-04 8:21

Hello Doug,
the lonely bench gives to me a very nice feeling...together with amazing field of depth which can enjoy sitting to it...

wishes,
Thomas

salvator (18763) 2007-11-04 10:40

Hi Douglas,
Wonderful image. Well composed and with superb blue tones and colors. The sharpness and the sense of depth is very nice.
Best regards. Salvator.

stego (22350) 2007-11-04 16:07

Hi Douglas,
I agree with you that empty benches are very prone to very appealing compos with intense meditative moods. This one is specially achieved. Just an empty bench in an almost empty view... I say almost because there is that bush that breaks the monotony and those scenic clouds. The excellent lighting/exposure, colours and sharpness sure help a lot. Don't give any importance if someone points the rule of not centring the horizon!
It's funny to see that in Hawaii there is also dried grass. :-)
Regards, José.

jwmunro (6571) 2007-11-05 18:04

Hello Doug -

Peaceful, you bet! How far north of Lahina does the road narrow and the hotels and house peter out? Joanne and I drove north for about a half hour and all we saw were condo's and hotels. I think I can see Joanne and me sitting hear and enjoying the sunset. Well seen.

Thank you for sharing.

John

baba_flies (7975) 2007-11-06 10:26

Yeah ... this is the place to sit down and relax, wait for the sunset or just enjoy the blue of the sea, maybe have a glass of wine :) but after I read your backing up story along the edge, I probably rather have a glass of water and dry bread. Lonely banches offer a great spectrum for a photographer and I find you used it well how it stands there, a little lost maybe but in such a pretty corner. This is very nice ... Barbara.

adores (15493) 2007-11-06 16:30

Hi Douglas!
This really reminds me of loneliness. A good composition with the lonely bench, the little bush and then the wide sea in front and an amazing sky.Very well captured, with very nice colours.

angelsimon (2466) 2007-11-10 16:06

Hola Doug.
Realmente es una foto que inspira tranquilidad e invita a la reflexión. El POV es genial, y la composición con el mar de fondo también. Un saludo.
Angel.

pboehringer (770) 2007-11-11 21:25

Doug,
that kind of theme is really one that makes me also trigger the shutter of my camera although I never thought about posting it at TE. The surroundings of this one is a real good one and I can imagine sitting there and sucking in the landscape.
Regards, Peter

robertosalguero (110) 2007-11-18 19:48

Hello Doug,

Such a beautiful view and no people to sit there and enjoy it ;-) Excellent composition with nice colours and details. The scene is definitely peaceful and relaxing. It look like the perfect place to enjoy sunsets. Nice work Doug :-)

Roberto

clic (4063) 2007-11-19 8:34

Hello Douglas
I imagine I'm sitting there for a session of brain cleanup in front of infinite horizon
crowned by such a beautiful sky!
Besr regards.
Robert

wishlist (4133) 2007-11-22 11:37

Hi Douglas,
nice sense of vastity looking at the horizon and great feeling of peace and silence. I like this kind of compo, simple but very effective!
Well done!
TFS
Igor

bakes888 (18165) 2007-11-28 23:06

Hi Doug. Very poignant photo. You caught a great sky to backdrop this shot. Well captured and thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

plimrn (19602) 2008-01-12 18:53

Hi Doug,
I especially like the curve of the cliff in front of the bench and those puffs of cotton ball clouds.

Yes that was one of my favorite drives on Maui; although it got quite hairly when my father had to back up the outside edge of that road that goes down to the old Hawaiian village.

Hope all is well wioth your son, I know this is a hectic time in you life.
HLJ, Pat

ajujot (91) 2008-01-17 11:49