Oahu, Hawaii

jziegler

In just over a week, I will be leaving to attend my wife's cousin's wedding in Hawaii. We will be staying in Waikiki for a week. The wedding is in Kapolei. We have planned to attend a luau with all of the family, as well as visiting pearl harbor. We would like to visit the Iolani Palace and diamond head. Other than that, our schedule is pretty open right now. There are some other sites that I have read about that I think would be interesting, but I'm looking for advice. What are the must see sights, and what are some of the best photography locations that I should keep in mind?

Thanks

kd2

Just to name a few places:

- Pali Lookout--a beautiful, panoramic view of the windward side of the island
- North Shore - great place for beach shots, waves, surfers (but then again, just drive around the island and you'll see lots of beach/wave/surfer shot opportunities)
- Haleiwa Town on the North Shore
- Sunset Beach on the North Shore--great place to catch a sunset
- Diamond Head
- Hanauma Bay, Halona Blowhole, Makapu'u Lighthouse, Sandy Beach (all are near each other, so you can do these stops together)
- Arizona Memorial/Battleship Missouri (try to go early in the day to beat the lines)
- Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific
- Round Top Drive/Tantalus Drive (great panoramic shots)
- Byodo-in Temple on the windward side
- The Aloha Stadium Swap Meet is also worth a visit--great place to get souvenirs and do a little shopping. Only open on the weekends (and Wednesdays) but I recommend the weekends.

Here's a good site where you can get info and see some pics of many of the places I just listed

http://www.portaloha.com/SecretsOfHawaii/index.htm

And if you're a "Lost" fan, they're winding up filming, so you may catch them somewhere on the island. My friends who just visited last week saw filming out near the Blowhole.

If by chance the luau is at Paradise Cove, you'll definitely want to take your camera, the sunsets there are fabulous. (I shoot near there a lot.)

P.S. Rush hour traffic starts around 4:00 p.m. so if you're headed out to Kapolei from Waikiki, allow at least an hour to get there in traffic.

Hope this helps! Aloha and hope you have a nice visit!

jziegler

Wow, that looks like a great list. I had been looking at descriptions of some of those places thinking that they might be worth a visit, it is good to hear that a local considers them worth seeing.

The luau is at Paradise cove, do they have any restrictions on what kind of cameras you can bring?

The Arizona memorial will be early in the morning. Much of the family/friends of the couple will be going together one morning, with Hanauma Bay to follow.

I'm really looking forwared to this trip. It will be my first time seeing the pacific (even though I have crossed it by plane before).

Thanks again!

kd2 wrote: »

Just to name a few places:

- Pali Lookout--a beautiful, panoramic view of the windward side of the island
- North Shore - great place for beach shots, waves, surfers (but then again, just drive around the island and you'll see lots of beach/wave/surfer shot opportunities)
- Haleiwa Town on the North Shore
- Sunset Beach on the North Shore--great place to catch a sunset
- Diamond Head
- Hanauma Bay, Halona Blowhole, Makapu'u Lighthouse, Sandy Beach (all are near each other, so you can do these stops together)
- Arizona Memorial/Battleship Missouri (try to go early in the day to beat the lines)
- Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific
- Round Top Drive/Tantalus Drive (great panoramic shots)
- Byodo-in Temple on the windward side
- The Aloha Stadium Swap Meet is also worth a visit--great place to get souvenirs and do a little shopping. Only open on the weekends (and Wednesdays) but I recommend the weekends.

Here's a good site where you can get info and see some pics of many of the places I just listed

http://www.portaloha.com/SecretsOfHawaii/index.htm

And if you're a "Lost" fan, they're winding up filming, so you may catch them somewhere on the island. My friends who just visited last week saw filming out near the Blowhole.

If by chance the luau is at Paradise Cove, you'll definitely want to take your camera, the sunsets there are fabulous. (I shoot near there a lot.)

P.S. Rush hour traffic starts around 4:00 p.m. so if you're headed out to Kapolei from Waikiki, allow at least an hour to get there in traffic.

Hope this helps! Aloha and hope you have a nice visit!

kd2

jziegler wrote: »

The luau is at Paradise cove, do they have any restrictions on what kind of cameras you can bring?

I don't think they have any restrictions on any kinds of cameras.

So if you're at the luau and happen to see someone shooting family or senior portraits on the beach (it's a public beach), that could be me!

P.S. Do not leave any valuables whatsoever in your car, especially when you're visiting some of the tourist spots.

DeuceFour

Yeah, I agree, kd2 pretty much covered it all. If you have the time, drive around the north shore in the evening and the south shore/windward side in the early morning. That is when the light is the best. The Waianae coast is really gorgeous also once you get past Nanakuli and Waianae towns. You will come to Kaena Point State Park and Beach, you can reach it if you keep driving past Kapolei and past Ko olina resort where paradise cove luau is.

Take a drive over the H3 anytime for some breathtaking views of the windward side also.

I live in Hawaii also.

jziegler

Thanks to both of you. Only a few more days to go, and I leave.

kd2

Hope you have a great visit here. If you need help or have more questions, feel free to contact me. Always glad to help a fellow photographer.

jziegler

I leave early tomorrow morning. I have created a SmugMug gallery to post to while I am there, if I have a chance.

http://jziegler.smugmug.com/Travel/Hawaii/Hawaii-trip/12131277_4wbJj

Kathy, thanks for all of the advice, you are very kind. I'm printing this thread to take along, and highlighted your suggestions (that I could find, at least) in a book.