View From Ke’e Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

Ke'e Beach, Kauai, Hawaii 40mm, f/9, 3-exp, ISO 250

We’re having a great time in Hawaii.  Scenes like the one above abound here on the island of Kauai.  This shot was taken at Ke’e Beach which is at the end of the road on the north shore of Kauai.  The land beyond is only accessible by trail, boat, or helicopter.  Jurassic Park was filmed somewhere in those mountains so many of you have had a glimpse of what it’s like.

As much as I like to take (and process) photos, I *try* to limit it when on family vacations.  We went all over the east and north shore the other day but I only dragged my tripod out of the car once.  When we walked along Ke’e Beach I didn’t have a tripod so I put the camera down on some mossy rocks and used the timer to fire off 3 exposures.  I didn’t quite eliminate the blown-out highlights in my exposures but I didn’t want to be a drag on the group and spend a bunch of time fooling with the camera.  I used Photomatix to tonemap the exposures then Photoshop to play with some curves adjustments.