Douglas Peebles - Photographing Maui: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them

Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them

Sunset in Kihei

To my wife, Margaret, who is still trying
to figure out when to go with me and
when to send me out on my own.

Copyright 2011 by Douglas Peebles

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages.

Maps by Paul Woodward, The Countryman Press

Photographing Maui
ISBN: 978-1-58157-893-5

Published by The Countryman Press,
P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091

Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

I came to Hawaii in 1974 and made my first trip to Maui that year. Since then I have been to Maui over 100 times. Many people have helped me along the way. Some whose names I have forgotten and others I am afraid I will forget to mention.

First to thank is Bennet Hymer. I have done several Maui book projects with him over the years and enjoyed every one. I have also had the pleasure of working with Peter Cannon, Ursula Mahoney, Larry Blieberg, Kristen Shelton, Lane Gregory, Jill Supka, Maggie Perkins, Joyce Timpson, Robert Glick, and others I know I am failing to list.

While on Maui I have had the help of many friends and associates. These include Carl Lindquist, Dave Sheetz, Darrell Wong, Chuck Whiteman, Bob Lee, Sheila Donnelly, KeliI Brown, and Bruce (I thought you had the tripod) Nagel.

Finally, I want to thank Kim Grant, who both got me into this project and got me through it.

Honolua Bay

F8 and be there! If you have been into scenic or landscape photography for very long you have probably heard that F8 and be there is the number one rule. Its true. Being at the right place at the right time vastly improves your photographs. Its been said that if you want to be famous for photographing beautiful people then start by photographing beautiful people. It makes it a lot easier.

The trick to photographing beautiful landscapes though is finding the right place at the right time. Thats what this book is about. Maui is an incredible island. It has been voted, over a dozen times, Best Island in the World by the readers of Cond Nast Traveler magazine. Its not hard to find good spots to photograph. The purpose of the book is to help you find the best spots when they are most beautiful. I hope it will make your photography a lot easier.

Maui is not a very large island. Its 729 square miles (Rhode Island is 1,214 square miles). Its 48 miles long and 26 miles across at its widest. You can get anywhere and back in a day. Planning a day for photography would seem simple, but in some ways its not. Because of the irregular shape of the island, the sweep of the bays, and the height of the mountains, the sun is not always where you think it might be. There are some dramatic sunsets that can be seen from the east side of the island. On the south side sometimes the sun does not clear Haleakala till almost 10 A.M .

I have divided the island into five areas: the Hana Coast, West Maui, South Maui, Central Maui, and Haleakala and Upcountry. This does not mean you should do them in any order. Most any day trip will take you through two or three of these regions. All of the locations listed in this book are easy to get to. There are no long hikes or four-wheel-drive vehicles needed. In a few cases there may be some short climbing to get the best angle or view. I will point those out, and discretion and caution are advised.