Night Fishing On East Oahu

Milky way oahu hawaii kai East side ocean horizon night stars HawaiiSunshine Photography fishing How amazing it is to be a part of such a massive universe. Night fishing waves ocean stars milky way meteor shooting star comet

I have been out shooting on the East side of Oahu for weeks now, trying to capture the milky way.  Living on the tropical island Oahu can be quite challenging for an amateur astrophotographer as our volcanic mountain chain seem to constantly attract and hold clouds.  I have yet to be out shooting on Oahu when a perfectly clear sky.  However, the colorful clouds can sometimes add some dramatic contrast to the dark sky.

night fishing oahu hawaii milky way lanai lookout headlamp waves intertidal

I thought it would pretty cool to capture not just the milky way with the rocky shoreline, but also some fishermen.  As luck would have it, the first night I noticed fishermen down in the precarious rocky intertidal regions, I did not have my camera.  My 2 or 3 subsequent trips to these cliffs were a bust as the nights the milky way was out, the fishermen would not be.  They often use glowing floats and headlamps, which I feel adds more interests to the foreground of the shot.

Oahu East side Cliffs Lanai lookout night fishing stars milky way

I continued taking pictures as I moved along the cliffs.  The waves would crash and I could feel their spray surrounding me.  Hearing the waves without seeing the waves made me a bit uneasy.  I had not checked the surf report and had to clue if an increasing swell was due to arrive during the night.  What started as concern for my camera turned to prudence for my life.  Nobody knew I was down there, and one slippery rock could have lead to some rather tragic circumstances for me.

lava tube hawaii oahu night milky way fishing cave cavern HawaiiSunshine Photography

As continued along, I came across an amazing lava tube.  I immediately got the idea to take the above shot (milky way framed by the mouth of the lava tube). Although it seems like a rather simple shot, I waited for nearly 3 hours for the milky way to be perfectly aligned/visible from the mouth of the lava tube.

Night photography astrophotography milky way cave lava tube HawaiiSunshine Photography stars Oahu hawaii

I took one last shot to celebrate a beautiful evening under the stars and then headed home.  Taking pictures of the stars at night becomes so addicting that I sometimes forget that work starts only a few hours later and that I should really get some rest.  But when the universe wants to show off its beauty, I do not ever want to miss it.