Hawaii Archives - Laughing Frog Images

2018 Holiday Sale Schedule

Posted on November 15, 2018November 15, 2018 by Kurt

Here’s the Laughing Frog Images 2018 Holiday Sale Schedule! We’re going to keep it simple this year – a sale within a sale, and just two sale codes.

From November 22 to December 24, save 40%* on paper prints, frames, canvas prints and metal prints. To take advantage of our 2018 Holiday Sale, use code 2018holidays.

Ellis River above Glen Ellis Falls. Jackson, NH. White Mountain National Forest.

If you’re a pre-planner and follow schedules well, this is the sale for you this year. From November 23 to November 26, we’re combining Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday into one event within our 2018 Holiday Sale. Save 50%* on paper prints, frames, canvas prints and metal prints. Use code 2018supersale.

Port Huron and Detroit Alco S-2 60 at the roundhouse.

* Please note that the discount does not apply to books, shipping, or applicable taxes.

Nevada Northern Railway Alco 2-8-0 93 on a photo freight at East Ely, Nevada. — Nevada Northern Railway Alco 2-8-0 93 on a photo freight at East Ely, Nevada

Why shop at Laughing Frog Images instead of at “the other picture place”?

We allow you to choose your medium – paper, standout, metal, or canvas. Each makes a different statement.

We allow you to convert a color image to black and white or sepia if that’s what you want. Each tells a different story.

We allow you to choose the size you want. There’s nothing like seeing an image you like that’s too big or too small.

We allow you to choose the aspect ratio you want – square, rectangle, or panoramic. Perspective and proportion can make or break an image.

Our image, your way.

If you have any questions about any of the images, or how to make a print your own, please send us an email and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

If you’re not buying for yourself, or for a gift, just forward this to “that” someone along with the link to the image you want. It may not be a subtle hint, but it’s a hint nonetheless!

Thanks for looking, and happy shopping!

Moloaa Beach

Posted on April 6, 2016March 27, 2016 by Kurt

Moloaa Beach was another new discovery for me on my photo hiking tour of the east and north sides of the island of Kauai, HI with Kauai Photo Tours.

I shot quite a few images here with my Nikon D-7100 and Tamron 10-24 and 18-270mm lenses, but it’s this image from my Lumia Icon smartphone that I like the best.

Why?

Possibly because it’s native aspect ratio lends itself to landscapes such as this. We were getting ready to leave, and I pulled my phone out and made this image using the automatic setting as I wanted to send one of “those” emails. You know what I mean. One of “those” emails or messages we tend to do from time to time when we want to share something… and perhaps make someone a little jealous… It’s a sign of the times – vanity made easier by technology! In this case though, I wanted to share it with Mrs Frog who was enjoying her time at a different beach.

My next favorite images from this location were made with the 10-24mm zoom. It’s just time and well, time that are keeping them from being posted at the moment. I’ve never done scenics on a beach with a 10-24 before, and I have to admit that I really enjoyed it.

I am not getting paid for this – but I do have to say that I love my Tamron 10-24mm lens. It’s not a Nik**, and no ultrawide zoom is perfect, and for what the Tamron costs compared to the Nik**, you can either save a lot of money or use that money to put more toys in your camera bag. But I digress… You’ll have to wait to seem more of that lens’ work.

Back to Moloaa Beach…

Technical details: This jpg is from a dng file. The original was at 0.00035 seconds, f2.4 at ISO 64. The camera is also capable of full manual settings, shutter priority and aperture priority, any one of which could have improved upon the original just a bit – but not bad from a phone camera at all! I tweaked the image just a bit in Perfect Photo Suite 9 – adding a slight skylight filter effect as well as a slight color enhancement.

Moloaa Beach on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai.

This image of Moloaa Beach is in the Coastal and Beach Scenes Gallery on Laughing Frog Images.

Sometimes, your lens is too short

Posted on February 22, 2016February 15, 2016 by Kurt

We’ve probably all been there before – you think you’re prepared for what you’re going to be shooting, and then reality decides to toss you a curve – and, sometimes, your lens is too short.

It seems that when this happens, it simply doesn’t matter which lens you have with you. I’ve had this happen on days when I’ve had a 500mm lens and a 2X teleconverter with me. It’s just the way things go sometimes.

In this case, I was on the north shore of Kauai, and there was what we think was a juvenile Humpback heading east and breaching several times. Why, we’ll never know – but you can learn more about humpbacks breaching here. Those of us that were there would prefer to believe that this was happy breaching on a beautiful day.

So, while us humans were there taking in the spectacle, jaws agape, I decided to pick up my camera a snag a shot. And I did. With an 18-270mm fully zoomed out. Which was fine for the scenic images that I had planned to be shooting. To say that the lens was grossly inadequate for breaching whales is a minor understatement.

Without cropping, the whale looked like a black dot on a blue rippled background. So I cropped the image. A lot. Just to prove that I got a shot. Notice I did not say “THE” shot, I said “a” (note the lower case) shot.

Is it a killer shot that’s going to grace my wall? Nope, not even close.

Is it going to be my conversation-inspiring screensaver on my computer or phone? Nope, not even that good.

So, why did I keep it?

Easy answer.

Because sometimes, it’s not about THE shot, or the quality of a shot that matters.

Sometimes, all that matters is that you got A shot that makes you smile and think back to what was happening at that moment in time.

And, sometimes, that’s all that really matters.

Sometimes, your lens is too short. A Pacific Humpback whale breeches near Kilauea Point. Kauai, HI.

You can check out more whale shots here on Laughing Frog Images.

Thanks for looking!

Puukumu Stream meets the Pacific Ocean

Posted on February 15, 2016February 15, 2016 by Kurt

Puukumu Stream meets the Pacific Ocean is one of my favorite images. It has a bit of an unlikely story behind it.

I was on a hiking photo tour of Kauai with Kauai Photo Tours. It was a bit of a last minute thing that Mrs. Frog encouraged me to do, so while I had my basic photo gear that I travel with (Nikon D-7100 body and Tamron 18-270mm and 10-24mm lenses), I didn’t have what I would take on a planned landscape shoot. (That’s another post and discussion!)

So, our group is hiking down to the mouth of Puukumu Stream. Puukumu Stream runs north from the mountains of Kauai between Kahiliwai and Kilauea carrying rainwater to the Pacific Ocean.

My gear is in my bag. We’ve crossed the stream and are heading north northeast to a small waterfall where the stream empties into the ocean. And the group is moving. And my gear is in my bag. And the group is moving. I look to the left and think “hey, that’s a great shot…” And my Icon is in my pocket. So, I stop briefly, pull out the Icon and snap a few in automatic mode, and then keep moving.

Puukumu Stream meets the Pacific Ocean on the north side of Kauai, Hi.

I thought it might have been a good grab shot. And the more I looked at it later in the day, the more I realized that it wasn’t just a good grab shot, but that it was in fact a great shot!

This image was taken in DNG format with a Nokia Icon in Auto mode, ISO 64, 1/1500 second. Minor post-processing took place in Perfect Photo Suite 9.

Puukumu Stream meets the Pacific Ocean can be found in the coastal and beach scenes gallery on Laughing Frog Images.

This image would be no ka ‘oi (“the best” in Hawaiian) as a metal print or on metallic paper in 1 high x 2 wide format (10″x20″, 12″x24″).

Power versus Persistence, Part 2

Posted on September 8, 2015September 5, 2015 by Kurt

It has been said to the Frog that perhaps the image of Power versus Persistence was in fact a bit too ominous or haunting.

In looking at it, I can see that perspective.

Recognizing that a picture speaks to different people differently, I asked “what would be different in your ideal image of Power versus Persistence?”

The common answer was along the lines of the untold story in the shadows.

So, off to the digital darkroom I went.

This time, I went to ACDSee Pro 8. Why, when the original was created using onOne Perfect Photo Suite 9.5? Well, I really like the Light EQ feature in ACDSee Pro 8 – there are nine (9) separate channels available to adjust an image. Sometimes, I use this feature to rescue an image from long ago, and sometimes I use this feature to fine-tune an image as I did in this case.

I worked on bringing out the detail in the roots and branches while not washing out the water and the waves.

As I was working on the image, I realized that I was telling a story that the original image left untold. The gnarled roots are part of the story of Power versus Persistence. You can see the tops of the roots – this is where the land once was. Power, aided by the wind, has slowly gnawed away at the sand. Persistence has dug deep and reached out to anything it can to resist power and stay alive. Persistence isn’t giving up, but you can see that Power is slowly winning. There will come a day, perhaps in my lifetime, and perhaps not, that Power will prevail. I don’t know how long the battle of Power versus Persistence has been going on, but I hope to be able to check in on their status from time to time and see how Persistence is faring.

It’s another of nature’s stories playing out before mankind.

Both versions of Power versus Persistence are available in the coastal and beach scenes gallery on Laughing Frog Images.

It would be interesting to see your comments on which version of Power versus Persistence you prefer and why.

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