sunset at Utulei Beach

One of the many beautiful sunsets overlooking Pago Pago Bay. Shot right at dusk with the lights bouncing off the clouds. I will be leaving American Samoa soon and will miss all the great sunsets here.

High Noon

As I started to learn photography, I soon learned that shooting in the bright afternoon light was not the best time. Early morning and later in the afternoon was much better. Cloudy days were perfect for shooting outside photos of people. In this photo, I was out scouting some sites to come back later in the early evening to take photos. I took this photo at about 12:00 in bright sunny weather. After goofing around with it in photoshop, I ended up liking the high contrast of the photo in black and white. This is a photo of pago pago harbour for those interested.

Pago Pago Bay

This is the view of Pago Pago Bay from Mt. Alava. To get here, it is a 3-hour hike up a 4x4 trail (and another 2-hours back). The hike itself offers limited views, but at the top the view is incredible. There used to be a cable car that would take people up here, but it has long been out of service. This would be a wonderful spot to take some sunrise photos, but I am not dedicated enough for a 3-hour hike in the dark. When we got to the top, it was mid day (not the best time for photos) but when you hike that far, you are going to want to get some photos. This trail is actually only one of a few in the National Park. I really wish they would develop some more trails here. Pago Pago was once called the Pearl of the Pacific. It is also the most naturally protected deep water harbor in the Pacific. Unfortunately, the inner harbor is now polluted. Yet, the bay is still quite beautiful. Nothing much to say about this photo. When taking a photo like this, it often helps to get some foreground to give your photo a sense of depth (in this case the leaves). Used a zoom lens at wide angle and an aperture of f16 to get everything from the foreground out in focus. It helps if you know the hyperfocal distance of your lens (google). Set your camera on a tripod, and use manual focus. Set the focus at the hyperfocal distance. There is a great site at www.dofmaster.com where you can check out this method and even figure out the hyperfocal distance for a given lens and aperture. Once you figure this out, you will know that everything from the hyperfocal distance out will be in focus. Anyway, Happy Advance Thanksgiving