A few Samples from Mauna Kea Beach Resort

Why is it that vacations seem to end before you've even started? We just returned last night from our brief stay at the Mauna Kea Beach Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Although I have many images to go through, I thought I'd post a few sample shots taken with the K-x and DA 15mm Limited lens. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger image file.

View of hotel from the southern tip of Kuano'oa Bay, which the hotel is perched above.





















View of beach on Kuano'oa Bay from entrance to Manta restaurant.





















The oldest work in the Mauna Kea's collection of Asian art is this Indian sculpture of a seated Buddha, circa 7th century.




























View of the golf course's famous 3rd hole. This photos is taken from the ceremonial tee box used by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, on December 8, 1964, to open the first day of play on the course designed by Robert Trent Jones.

What's in Your Bag?

I'll be leaving Saturday for a little break. We'll be going to the Big Island of Hawaii and staying at one of our favorite resorts, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, at the northern part of the Kona coast. It's been recently renovated and we want to see how it compares to our many previous stays.

As the above photo (which I created for a speech I gave at the International Center of Photography) suggests, I really enjoy traveling with a small Billingham bag and a handful of Limited and FA lenses.

The resort was designed by Rockefeller in 1965. It has a very open and terraced architecture, houses an incredible collection of Asian art, and has beautiful grounds. This got me thinking that I should give myself an assignment to try and capture a set of photos that gives someone who's never been to the Mauna Kea a real sense of what the hotel looks and feels like. In essence, try to provide a more accurate set of images than the few miscellaneous photos that one can look at if you're using Trip Advisor or other travel sites.

With this criteria in mind, I've decided to take only three lenses. And to make this a fun post, the first person that can post a comment that accurately lists the three lenses I'll be taking with me will get a prize that I'm still trying to figure out...but it will be something that contains glass.

To help you narrow down the trio of lenses, they will be a combination of DA Limiteds and the FA Limited lenses. And to eliminate any draws wherein more than one person guesses the right three lenses, include a brief reason why you think I selected those particular lenses.

Good luck and Aloha!

May 14th (Friday Night Update):

I guess my contest wasn't that hard or my shooting style is too predictable. I had a winner almost instantly. I didn't think this would happen as I figured the surprise element was that I will not be taking the FA31mm.

The three lenses are DA15, DA35mm Macro and the FA77mm for the reasons that many of your pointed out. I literally was trying to finish all pending work today, as well as get ready for the early flight in the morning, so I'll have to confirm the winner in the next few days while I have some downtime at the Mauna Kea.

This contest was a rather spontaneous idea while I was waiting for a delayed flight Thursday night to take off from Denver, so I am really pleased with all the comments you contributed. Dialogue on lens selection and the reasoning behind how and why one chooses their lenses for an assignment turned out to be a nice topic. I think I'll have to do this again choosing another aspect of photography?

Kerrick James at B&H

This past Tuesday, May 4th, we sponsored two lectures at B&H in New York City by Pentax Photographer, Kerrick James. The title of his lecture was "Natural Inspiration: Outdoor Photography with Kerrick James".

For those of you that were not able to attend, here's the description we used on Facebook to promote Kerrick's lecture:

"Join Kerrick for an inspirational and educational lecture on outdoor photography and the new PENTAX K-7. In this session, Kerrick James will expound on the inspiration for his work and guide users through the features that help make the PENTAX K-7 a perfect outdoor shooting companion. Few photographers know the K-7 as well as Kerrick James. He chooses the K-7 for its ergonomic design, weather sealing, image quality and compatibility with every PENTAX lens ever made. Kerrick will guide attendees through the camera and explains how he puts it to the test nearly every day on his adventure travel shoots and workshops. As an added bonus, Kerrick will explain how the small, but mighty, PENTAX Optio W90 serves as an ideal back-up camera even in the most tortuous, outdoor elements, because it can go anywhere."

If you're interested in learning more about Kerrick's work, it turns out that Outdoor Photographer recently posted on-line a new article with text and photography by Kerrick. I believe this article will also appear in the June issue of Outdoor Photographer, but you can get a sneak peak by checking out The Grand Canyon From Within here.

(Note: I shot the photo of Kerrick in available light at ISO 1600, F/4.0, 1/20sec with the K-x and the FA 31mm Limited lens. I converted the RAW file into a jpeg using CS4 and other than reducing my exposure slightly, I did no other post-processing. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image file.)

Outside Awards W90 "Gear of The Year"

GOLDEN, CO (May 4, 2010)...PENTAX Imaging Company announced that the PENTAX Optio W90 digital camera is an OUTSIDE MAGAZINE Gear of the Year Award winner. The Gear of the Year Award is announced in the Spring/Summer 2010 Outside Buyer's Guide hitting newsstands today and remains available through September of this year.

"This is one cool camera," said Buyer's Guide editor Sam Moulton. "With rugged specs and a design that makes it look like it belongs on a mountain trail, it offers everything an outdoor adventure enthusiast could want in a point and shoot camera," added Moulton.

"And when the shooting begins, the W90 brings some serious photographic punch," added Moulton.

The eleventh generation PENTAX Optio waterproof digital camera is built for rugged adventure in every way. With enhanced waterproof, shockproof, dustproof, and coldproof performance, the camera also features an innovative Digital Microscope mode with three LED lights to capture small but intriguing subjects. Designed with the distinct look of mountaineering equipment, the Optio W90 kit includes a woven web fabric strap complete with a carabiner to attach the camera to a backpack and other outdoor gear.

Priced at $329.95 USD, the camera is shipping now. A waterproof infrared remote control (sold separately) for use with the PENTAX Optio W90 and other infrared compatible Optio models is available for $29.95 USD.

In addition to recognizing the W90, in their review of binoculars, Outside called the Pentax DCF NV at $219 USD a "Killer Value"..."Perfect for the neophyte birder who wants quality glass without blowing his inheritance." More information about the W90 camera or DCF NV binocular is available at http://www.pentaximaging.com or http://www.pentaxsportoptics.com.

(Note: You can double click on any thumbnail to see a larger jpeg file.)

Weekend in Connecticut

Despite this being a very short visit to Connecticut, we were fortunate to have one of the area's first summer like days...hot, clear and just a touch of humidity. This time of the year the lawn, shrubs and foilage are still vibrant and there's this lovely canopy of filtered light anywhere that you happen to be...whether it's walking through the woods or strolling the grounds around a house.

From a photography perspective, these type of days offer tremendous contrast, diffuse lighting and a wonderful saturation of colors provided you can find the right combination of light and composition.

All photos shot with the K-x and either the FA Limited 31mm or 77mm. As always, I shot in AV mode to control my aperture and set the ISO to either 200 or 400. RAW images were processed in PhotoShop CS4 to produce these jpeg's for uploading on blogger. Images are all full size (I did not crop any image) and other than boosting saturation and vibrancy in some of the images, I did no other post processing.

While the 31mm is my favorite "if I could only have one lens" piece of glass, the 77mm continues to amaze me in how it handles contrast, yet delivers sharpness or "snap" as well as beautiful color rendition and saturation as seen in the photos of the lady reading the Sunday paper, the skunk cabbage as well as the interior shots...especially the close-up views of the antique pitcher with the silver top.

(Note: Click on any thumbnail to see a larger image file.)