Tag Archives: Ocean

Some of my Aerial Drone Photographs Around Kona, Hawaii

Aloha e na makamaka (Aloha my friends),

Last month I finally made it back to the big island of Hawaii. We have been trying to get back there for two years, but something called Covid kept getting in the way (you know, travel restrictions, testing, quarantines, etc.). But thanks be to God we got back for a week of diving and some relaxation. Ok, well not much relaxation but definitely some diving.

One of the things that I was able to do this time was bring the drone with me and get out flying a little bit. I managed to get it into the air more than once or twice and flew a little bit outside downtown Kona, on a lava field east of the airport (with FAA permission and all safety precautions taken, of course) and another close to South Point, around the Kona Small Boat Harbor, around Puako, and more sites along the south end of the island. And yes, the blobs are old lava fields.

I have to say that I am really enjoying the challenge of aerial photography. It is providing me some things to learn, new places to photograph, and new perspectives to see. It is not easy but it is something that I really enjoyed on this trip.

Lana koʻu manaʻo e hauʻoli ʻoe i kēia mau kiʻi paʻi e like me ka hauʻoli i ka hana ʻana iā lākou (I hope that you enjoy these photographs as much as enjoyed working on them).

Mahalo.

Chris

P.S. Want to see more of my aerial photography content. Click on the portfolio to see more. Thanks.

Posted in Drone Photography, Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , |

Shot of the Day, September 2, 2021

Hi Friends,

It’s been quite a month of August. Travel, diving, work, and a corrupted website that needed to get fixed kept us busy and off the grid. But I’m back now and ready to post.

I mentioned travel. I spent a week on the big island of Hawai’i diving and trying to soak up some rays of relaxation. Well I got the diving in but not so much relaxation. In between dives, I was able to break out the drone and get some flying in. These particular photographs are ones I took of the Kona harbor just north of the city. I took these for a project I’m working on.

I hope that you enjoy them.

Blessings,

Chris.

P.S. If you want to see more of my aerial photography, be sure to visit my portfolio page at this link: https://chrismckennaphotography.com/portfolio/drone-aerial/.

Posted in Drone Photography, Shot of the Day, Travel Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , |

Photographs of Maui in 2017

Ok, ok, ok. Before you start, I know already. 2017, you say? Yes, 2017. I was looking through my draft blog posts today and I saw one buried deep in there-this one. So I’m going to post it now regardless of the fact that the year is now 2021.

So we visited Maui, Hawaii again in 2017. This was our 2nd visit to the island, and it was no less disappointing than the first visit. In some ways, it was better. You see, it was February and that means whale season and we had arrived smack dab right in the middle of it (last time we went the whale season was over).

So in this gallery you will see a variety of pictures that I took over the week that we were there. It starts with some sunset photographs overlooking Molokini from South Maui, other sunsets from Lahaina, sunrise at Haleakala (the dormant volcano) including a startrail photo I took, surfing, whales, island landscapes, and ending with a variety of Hawaiian flowers that can be found on Maui.

I hope that you enjoy the photographs as much as I love taking them. BTW Maui is one of my most favorite places in all the work and I really look forward to getting back there in 2022.

Blessings,

Chris.

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Oahu 2021

Greetings friends.

Well after a year of lockdowns and quarantine for me (seriously a year), we managed to get away from the house and work for a few days last month and visit Oahu. We’ve only been one other time, so being the least restrictive of all the islands in terms of travel from across the Pacific we decided to go back and chill for a bit. So negative tests in hand, masks on the face, off we went.

We met Lynette’s cousin and his wife there for a week of fun and relaxation. We got in a few a sunsets, toured the island a bit, managed a few dives, and just turned off the brain for a bit.

And of course, I drug my cameras with me and snapped some photographs., both above the water and below. Landscapes, shipwrecks, mountains, sunsets, fish, and of course Diamondhead. Couldn’t ask for a better time.

I hope that you enjoy the photographs as much as I did taking them.

Blessings,

Chris.

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography, Underwater Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

Hawaii 2020, part 1

Hello Friends,

What an absolute crazy year this has been! Crazy is an understatement to say the least. We’ve all had our challenges with the coronavirus crap and everything that that has meant (if you have lost a loved one because of it we are deeply sorry and offer our prayers for you and your family), but me personally this year started with us losing my father and needing to say goodbye to him. There have been other challenges that 2020 has thrown at me but I’ll keep those to myself and not bore you all with my sob stories.

Anyway, we were fortunate enough to have planned a trip to Hawaii (Maui) and were able to travel (and return home) before we were all locked down and sheltered-in-place. Our kids joined us and we had a fabulous time.

The photo’s below are but just a few of the many photographs (non-diving related) that I shot when we were there. Certainly not as many as previous trips as our kids were with us, but always just as entertaining. There are a few of our family scattered within.

I hope that you enjoy. My next post will be some of the underwater photos I shot so stay tuned.

Blessings as always,

Chris.

Posted in Family Portraits, Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , , , |

Kona, Hawaii Part I

Hi Friends,

Earlier this year, we took a trip to Kona, Hawaii for a round of diving and underwater photography. The images below are just a sampling of those that I took

I was particularly taken with the Manta Rays. Those were taken during a night dive we had with a local company (Kona Honu Divers) and specializes in the Manta Ray dives. What a fantastic opportunity to get so close to these magnificent creatures.

And of course the turtles and I share a special bond. For whatever reason, I find myself drawn to these animals too. Since my first encounter with a turtle in 2016 to these latest ones, I love them.

With great humility, I am proud to say that two of these pictures are now award winners. Albeit small awards, they are winners nonetheless. They are the first photo in this gallery, the one with the two divers that I call “Divers and Hoover’s Pinnacle” and the sunset photograph with the two boats entitled “Waiting for the Mantas”. Thank you to Tacoma Scuba and the Sea Horse Diving Club for the recognition of these two.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these photos. I look forward to getting many more on my future trips to our 50th, and most beautiful state.

Blessings, Chris.

Posted in Travel Photography, Underwater Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Iceland 2017

Hi Everyone,

Back in late September, 2017, I traveled to Iceland for a few days with some friends after they completed teaching at one of their workshops on the island. We traveled to the Snæfellsnes peninsula for 3 days of intense shooting from the famous Budir Black Church, to the crashing coastlines, and ending up at the famous Kirkjufell mountain and waterfall.  We ended our last day at the lavafields at Hraunfossar and the Þingvellir National Park.

Iceland is a special place for me and even though I’ve been there only 2 times. As a landscape photographer I find myself longing to spend more and more time there and capture the beauty of the place before its gone forever or access to various places is restricted (which is a real possibility-thanks Justin Beiber).  As a human, I find God’s hand everywhere and I find my inner peace.

I look forward to my next trip, where this time I will spend up to 2 weeks traveling around the entire country.

I hope that you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Blessings,

Chris.

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

New Years Eve on the Beach

Huh? New Years Eve?? It’s now September-isn’t it? I think so, so what business is it of mine to post something from New Years Eve? 

Well, it’s my blog and I can do whatever I want. And since I haven’t posted these pictures anywhere yet, and since I’m bored tonight, I thought maybe I’d share a few photographs from a trip to the beach that Lynette and I took last NYE.

So enjoy. And as always, blessings to you. And if you don’t like the selfies, too bad. Hahaha. 😉

Chris.

Posted in Event Photography, Landscape and Nature Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , |

Iceland, Day 3

Today began very early at the beach for some shots of ice on the beach. There are so many pictures out there of this spot, so I was looking to capture one of those. However, two things were working against me: the tide was heading out, the waves weren’t coming at and exiting the beach at the right direction (not 90 degrees), and I didn’t have my rubber boots so I was constantly battling to keep myself from getting wet. I guess that’s three things.

After which, we spent part of the day resting, part of the day looking around the immediate area, and finally ending us at Jökulsárlón for some sunset pictures.

Enjoy.

Chris.

Posted in Landscape and Nature Photography, Travel Photography Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , |