Tired, and No KAP

I had laser safety training on the other side of the island. Up by 4:30, out the door by 5:30, way too much driving, and not enough time to eat lunch and fly my kites. So I skipped lunch and flew my kites anyway, and learned all the ways I can be unsafe with a laser. (For what it's worth a 60W Nd:YAG laser can do a lot of damage to a person... I want to be safe! I'm asking at work to see if I can be trained as a laser safety officer.)

But the kite flying session really hammered something home: The weather here has been downright rotten for the past few weeks. It's not for lack of trying. I just can't get anything in the air. When I do fly, the pictures are terrible. Too much blur from turbulence, bad lighting from the ever-present cloudcover, and an overall dismal feel to everything I've photographed for well over a month.

Today the wind was extremely turbulent, and even my rokkaku was tossed all over the place. Half the pictures were too blurry to use. When I put up my Flowform 16 it almost got eaten by a monkeypod tree. I finally downed the rig and the kite, wound up my line, and packed up shop. It was a wash. I harbored some faint hope of flying when I got home, but the light was even worse and the wind speed was zero.

Part of the problem is that I'm trying to find new subjects. There are a couple of shots I'd like to get at A-bay, but I need a change of pace. I've tried Hilo twice now, with terrible results. Laupahoehoe looked to be just as bad or worse. Pololu Valley also proved to be impossible with this turn of weather. I'm running out of options. If things don't improve by Friday, my Saturday plan is to drive up to Upolu Point and photograph King Kamehameha's birthplace. At least the winds there should be pretty consistent.

I need a lucky break.

Tom