Saturday, July 5, 2008

Dry Spell

It's not for lack of trying, but I hit a bit of a dry spell.

Friday I went out with a bunch of friends, and we went down Mana Road, a dirt road that runs from Mauna Kea back into Waimea, across the Mana Plain. It's beautiful, it's photogenic, it even goes through a koa forest. Despite doing enough photography to get a sun burn, and having my Chicken Little antenna ball eaten off by horses, I came home with almost no shots to show for it. I even managed to drop my radio and bend my antenna. I have a new one on order.


Set Upon by Horses II


(Though I do still have one I need to work on. It might be the one real keeper from the weekend...)

The next day my son and I set out to go through a big lava tube near Kona, but we got sidetracked by Kiholo Bay and Wainanali`i Pond. It was gorgeous, and I did get several pictures of my son, but the wind was dismal. Despite flying a kite all the way back to the car, I only hooked my camera up once and almost crash-landed it. By the time we got back to the car my son was dehydrated and overheating. We passed on the lava tube and ate lunch somewhere with air conditioning and cold drinks. And salty food. And comfortable seats. Egads we were both messed up. (We went back to the lava tube in the afternoon.)

The winds died down and the house is socked in with volcanic gases again. It's about as photogenic as an exhaust pipe. The winds tomorrow look about as dismal, with VOG blowing in to town through two separate pathways. Nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide and do photography.

During the Mana Road trip, I got to talking with one of my friends who's a fellow photographer. Getting a good weekend of shooting is like getting a fix, he said. Having material to play with for the rest of the week is wonderful. Coming up dry? Nothing worse.

I have one shot I need to work on, and no prospects of getting more tomorrow. I'm sunburned, frustrated, and stuck in a dry spell.

Tom

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