Kauai, Hawaii Locations

[jmcglawn]

Greetings all,

I will be making a trip to Kauai, Hawaii in April and wondering if anyone has any suggestions for good locations to get some night/astrophotography done?

I'm new to astrophotography as I typically photo landscape/nature. I have an Oly EM10 and planned to use either the Oly 25mm f1.8 or Panny 14mm f2.5 for my shooting w/ a fixed tripod. I've searched thru the forums and other online articles to get educated on the process, settings, etc. Unfortunately, I live in the city and light pollution is in abundance but planned to still attempt to practice to get a feel before the trip.

Any other thoughts are suggestions are welcomed.

Many thanks

 

[rkaufmann87]

Depends on where you are staying. If you are on the Poipu side I'd go up to the top of Waimea Canyon, to get some elevation. However if you are staying on the opposite side in the Princeville area, near the Kilauea lighthouse or Mokolea has some nice locations too.

Only real advice on where to stay away from is the Lihue side. We were there in October and got lots of rain so I did not have any AP opportunities.

 

[jmcglawn]

Thanks. I'm staying closer to Kapaa so kinda in between. I'll have a rental so will be driving to most parts I need to get to. I had planned on going to Waimea Canyon anyway for a bit of hiking so might make sense to wrap it into an all day affair and stay into the evening to get some shots.

 

[Bob in Baltimore]

I just returned from Kauai and I can testify to wonderful dark skies in the area near the Kilauea lighthouse. You can shoot due north from just outside the gates to the lighthouse and get the lighthouse and the northern sky. Not the best time of year for it, but its worth a try.

The lighthouse's 2nd order Fresnel lens is no longer in use; they have a LED lamp mounted on a low platform just north of the lighthouse. (No romance! Think of a folk song that says, "Me father was the keeper of the Eddystone LED"!) This means that the lighthouse won't ruin the sky for you, and may anchor a nice sky/landscape shot. You may want a longer lens with less sky in order to have the lighthouse show up better. I had intended to get a shot with the northern Milky Way and the lighthouse when I was there, but expended all of my effort getting the full Moon rising behind it from 2 miles the the southwest. Clouds were a major problem in December, but should be better in April.

Cloudiness will be less on the south side of the island than it will be over in Kapaa to Kilauea area. (Unless they have an unlikely failure of the trade winds.

Have a great time.

 

[jmcglawn]

Thanks Bob, very helpful. I plan on it being a fairly laid back trip so may be able to try both sides of the island see how it goes. Will likely also be weather dependent so will have to check closer to time and plan accordingly, but I do like the idea of the lighthouse in the backdrop.

 

[rkaufmann87]

The lighthouse is a park so check to see what the hours of operation are so you can plan accordingly. The link to the park is:

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www.kauai.com

I see it closes at 4PM on the days it is open so you obviously won't be able to do any AP on the grounds.

 

[Bob in Baltimore]

The lighthouse is a park so check to see what the hours of operation are so you can plan accordingly. The link to the park is:

http://www.kauai.com/kilauea-lighthouse

I see it closes at 4PM on the days it is open so you obviously won't be able to do any AP on the grounds.

You actually have a pretty good view from just outside the park gate, and there is a small parking lot there. So closing hours need not be limiting. Of course, it would be better if you could shoot from the park grounds, but you have to go with what you can get.bvSee screen capture from TPE below.

It is about 1,500 ft from the lighthouse, which is why I suggested that a wide angle may not be the weapon of choice for this shot if you want the lighthouse to be significant in your picture. More lighthouse or more sky ... that is the trade.







--
Bob in Baltimore

 

[Matt Fulghum]

I like Polihale State Park - secluded, beautiful beach. very dark skies. it's kind of a pain to get to, though.

 

[jmcglawn]

Did some research and seems like the Milky Way will be South in that area. Any suggestions for a location on the South Shore of Kauai?

Polihale Beach may be an option as I could get some sunset photos in as well, but not sure about the drive out there yet.

 

[rkaufmann87]

I made the drive to Polihale State Park about 10 - 12 years ago, the road will take you out there however if memory serves me taking a car rather than a 4WD may not be the best idea. Perhaps someone has more current information than me. However the good news is it should be pretty dark out there, so if you go please take due caution and have someone reliable with you.

 

[Matt Fulghum]

Yeah, I should definitely mention that I haven't been there in 20 years either, so I have no idea of the current conditions.