Death Road
Stumblebum
Registered Users Posts: 8,480 Major grins
Road to Hana in Maui is furthest thing from "Death Road".
In fact it is a road brimming with life with its lush forests, with its milky waterfalls, with its verdant gardens laced with tropical fauna and flora, resting under the shadows of mist, with its palm trees kissing the sky decorated with rainbows, with clouds caressing its unapproachable peaks, with exotic fruits and berries covered with pearls of raindrops, with tall grasses swaying to the tunes of island wind, while clouds and sun play hide and seek, with Pheasants and other birds of paradise roaming freely along its lava-rocks sprinkled coast!
However, the very same road is filled with harrowing turns, narrowing bridges, rock falls and mud slides, blind curves, wet swerves, exposed curbs, vertigo cliffs, and at times rough. Abundance of car wrecks piled along the side of the road, remind us that while there is life everywhere, there is death lurking nearby.
Still I wanted to end with "Road to Life"!
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Comments
Hey 'Bum your waxing poetic is great...
The color contrasts are stark and of course the rainbow capture on the yellow fields is very nice
Probably would be a hanger w/o the cars
Rags
Terrific series. Hard to pick a favorite.
@Rags Thanks much! Cars were put in later on, and can be taken out! ;o)
@Richard Thanks truly! I am overjoyed! Cheers both!
The photos make me wonder what happened with the drivers and passengers. 11 & 14 looks so sad in such a beautiful place. #8 is quite a scene with the sign for 'falling rocks' with the rolled vehicle in front. 13 & 15 are stunning even with the vehicles in view. The rainbow is as if saying 'hope' and be careful. I'm curious as to why the vehicles are not picked up; is to show drivers the dangers or maybe because there is no place to put them? Did you photoshop the cars in the last pic? You did a great job capturing the beauty and the devastation. And um.... you were careful standing along side Death Road?
@Eia Thanks so much and for sharing thoughts and emotions! I think they have left these as a reminder because so often the road is 2-way traffic with 1-car-lane and with complete blind curves with all other hazardous conditions thrown in. Hopefully this helps keep drivers in check!
For the last shot, I was at low shutter and low ISO when rainbow occurred and then switched to higher shutter for cars to come in.....now I think I should have considered a 'blur' for car motion......by the time cars came in, the rainbow had weakened so I borrowed cars from another frame which was taken couple of minutes later, with exact same comp comp.
Cheers Anna!!
Terrific camera work, as usual, Taz. I thought for a minute you had transitioned to the high Appalachians where you see this sort of stuff all the time. It's sort of disconcerting to see the beautiful Hawaiian countryside treated so rudely.
On to more important matters: You've commented many times that you'd love to find material suitable to take a stab at becoming a Rust Junkie. Well, partner, you were in a field of plenty opportunities to snatch some killer abstracts. Maybe being a Rust Junkie is just not in your blood.
Doesn't really matter though....you're still the man.
Take care, buddy,
Tom
Cool images but I think I'll take a different route.
@black mamba Thanks Tom! Actually when I started going passing by the wrecks, your posts started to come to mind and that is what gave me the idea to chase these as I wasn't getting that much success elsewhere!! I also thought about "rust" but still haven't gotten the inspiration. Perhaps one day it will happen. Right now I lack the 'X-Ray' vision, needed to be a successful rust junkie! Cheers!
@wtlwdwgn Thanks Steve! You would love this route! It is fun and lots of subjects! It is less dangerous than driving to Yellow Stone in winter! Cheers!
@Stumblebum Way cool stuff Taz... The incongruities are fascinating... (clap! bow! thumbs-up!)
Oh, that had to be a fun photo expedition. Almost like shooting ducks in a baited field with all those shots just waiting for you!
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@Earache Thanks Eric! I didn't expect this and wasn't looking for it, but then that changed.....
@TonyCooper Thanks Tony! Yeah didn't have to work too hard to get to these.....they were just there.....although I was the only one shooting them.....and passerby's had confusing look on their faces....Cheers!
Great set Taz.
I'm borrowing this from Eric's comment: (clap! bow! thumbs-up!)
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@Juano Thanks Cristobal! Morning from West Coast!
Wow, wonderful shots and very artistically done - love the processing and also the compositions!
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@travelways Many thanks TT!
Nice work Taz,,,#5 reminds me of the pileup in the TV series the Dukes of Hazzard
@Gatto Thanks kindly Gabe! Thanks for bringing a childhood reference too.....Cheers!
Great set Taz. I've been to Maui at least a 1/2 dozen times for work and vacation, but I've never ventured to that side of the island. Now I'll have to make a point of it. Thanks for sharing, and the inspiration.
Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity!
@roaddog52 Thanks kindly Phil! I would advise you find a place on North Side of the island, towards Hana. Reason being that it is the sunrise side of the island and driving through these roads, coming from south side is bit tricky and you have to wake up at some ungodly hour. For sunset you have to be on other side, but that is more manageable generally as you are not sleepy! ;o)