Kilauea Volcano
May 2025, ISO 200, F/8, 1/125s
About:
The Big Island of Hawaii is comprised of 5 volcanoes. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park contains 2 of the 5 volcanos within its border, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. The 5 volcanoes are:
Kohala (extinct)
Mauna Kea (dormant) – largest mountain on earth when measured from the base
Hualalai (active)
Mauna Loa (active) – largest volcano on earth based on volume
Kilauea (active) – one of the most active volcanoes in the world
Kilauea has been going thru periodic eruptions approximately every 7-10 days since Dec 23, 2024. As of the writing of the post (8/5/25), episode 30 will be erupting soon. This pattern of eruption allows a photographer to plan a volcanic eruption, how crazy is that? This current series of eruptions has been occurring within the crater of the volcano and viewing of eruptions is relatively safe, depending on the winds. There are numerous locations around the crater where you can view an eruption. The closest view point is about 1.1 miles from the vents. Note that eruptions last about 8-12 hours, the fountaining of lava stops ending an episode.
Photographing an eruption is still, all about the light. Pele will control when Kilauea is active but the times around sunrise and sunset provide the best light and will give you beautiful colors in your images. Expose for the highlights, otherwise you will lose a lot of the data within the lava, smoke and fountain.
Other Stuff:
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of the most diverse parks in the entire National Park system. You go from sea-level to almost 14,000 ft (summit of Mauna Loa) and can view some of the driest desert areas to wet tropical rain forests all within the boundary of the park. Sights not to be missed are:
Nahuku Lava Tube – A long cave created by flowing lava. Nice and cool in here. The surround area is a nice hike around a rain forest.
Chain of Craters Road – Nice drive through the park where you can easily view the diversity
Pu’uloa Petroglyphs – short hike to a big archeological site with many petroglyphs. Best photo here are early or late in the day when sun is low.
Holei Sea Arch – Arch located in the water. The landscape here is very barren.
There are many beautiful trails to hike but I will not name here due to closures from eruptions or changing conditions in an area. This is a very dynamic park where conditions can change daily if not hourly. If interested in hiking check conditions when you arrive on island.
Volcano House – A quaint hotel on the crater rim of Kilauea. Great place to stay. Allows you to get photos early or late in the day and without having to drive a long way to get back to your hotel. The restaurant at the Volcano House is excellent, I highly recommend dinner reservations AFTER sunset. Reason is, if there is lava in the crater and once it gets dark there is a beautiful orange glow that lights up the crater and some sky. A very beautiful and romantic setting.
Lastly, if you are ever on island and want the current conditions for eruption, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Off to another location!
Dave
May 2025, ISO 400, f/8, 1/320s
Sarbale’ Ke
Hi All
The “f/8 and Be There” section of Light Works is to provide you some ideas on where to photograph that you may not know about. Not only will we tell you where the image was taken but we will also provide you with some background information regarding the image and the surrounding area.
Address:
82200 Dr Carreon Blvd, Indio, CA
Time of Capture
July, 2025
About:
This is a public art instillation at Dr. Carron Park in Indio, CA. The art is titled Sarbale’ Ke, which means “House of Celebration” in the Bissa language of Burkina Faso. These towers were inspired by the baobab tree and were initially displayed at the 2019 Coachella Music and Arts Festival. These colorful towers “trees” grab your attention as you drive by. I stopped around 7:30 in the morning, lighting was perfect and not too hot. Park in the lot and explore the instillation. You can get very different images from various locations in and around the art display.
The first image is from under one of the towers. Depending on the direction you are shooting you can get very different images. Normally, I see a BW image before I capture the photo and convert it in post. This was different. I totally surprised at the image I captured.
The second image I have included shows, what I image it looks like to be caught in a web and the spider is looking at his next meal. The last image is more of an overview to give you an idea on what the display looks like.
Other Stuff:
There are many public art displays in the Coachella Valley and you can make a nice day trip capturing these different displays. I will be highlighting more in future postings on f8.
A couple of good places to eat near here are Shields Date Garden and Coral Sushi.
Shields Date Garden
80-225 CA-111, Indio, CA. 92201
Hours: 9am – 5pm
This is where the Date industry in California started. They have a little gift shop where you can purchase their famous Date Shake or watch a movie about the Date. The movie “The Romance and Sex Life of the Date” continuously plays, it is a little dated (pun intended) but very informative its about 18 minutes long. If you cant wait to see it, you can view it online at the shieldsdategarden.com website. They also have a café there that is very good. I have had breakfast and lunch there and have not been disappointed. The item they are most noted for is their Date Shake. This is a must! A great milk shake that is not too sweet and different what you may have had in the past.
Coral Sushi & Sake Bar
49830 Jefferson St. Ste 108, Indio, CA 92201
Hours: 4pm-9pm
Excellent sushi! A beautiful restaurant with outdoor seating. Went there for the first time a week ago and it is now my go to sushi place in the Coachella Valley. Service was outstanding. They have a purple rice, it is an heirloom rice, that was prized by royalty and used in some of their rolls. You can’t go wrong here.
Off to find another spot to share!
Dave