Jun 16, 2019 | 7 Image Stories, Action, Hawaii, Kodachrome, Minolta 50mm f1.7, Minolta XG-9, Minolta XG-9 to Maui, Nature, Nikon Coolscan V, Vivitar 75-300mm f4.5-5.6
Minolta XG-9 to Maui | a 7 Image Story My first trip to Maui was also my first trip with my new Minolta XG-9 SLR camera. The XG-9 replaced my SRT-102 as my top camera. The SRT-102 was a great camera and a hard act to follow. The XG-9 was smaller and a bit easier to use. It performed quite well in Maui, even though it was new to its photographer.
Maui is known for it’s rainbows. It seems like there’s a rainbow everyday. Rain clouds frequent the tops of the west Maui mountains. Sometimes, the rain in the mountains will blow onto the beach while the beach remains sunny. You can sunbath in rain drops and get a sunburn. One night, when driving back from dinner after dark, a rainbow made by a full moon and mountain clouds could be seen for miles. It wasn’t very colorful, but was clearly a rainbow.
Maui is such a beautiful island, it’s hard to think about crops. The sugar cane fields dominate the southern slopes of west Maui. Notice the almost ever present clouds on the mountain tops. The West Maui Mountains are also called West Maui Volcano or Mauna Kahalawai. Mauna Kahalawai means “holding house of water” which relates to the huge amount of annual rainfall in the mountain tops. The mountains are made from a highly eroded extinct shield volcano; approximately 1.7 million years old.
Haleakala is the world’s largest dormant volcano. At 10,023 feet tall on the east side of Maui, it provides numerous breathtaking landscapes and skyscapes. Haleakala means “house of the sun” in Hawaiian. Sunrise on Haleakala may be the most spectacular sunrise on earth. Near the summit, the Haleakala Crater offers hours of hiking in a colorful, sculpted cinder desert. There are many hiking trails offering solitude with scenic vistas through sub-alpine shrub land, cloud forest, and cinder desert.
For more information on the Minolta XG-9 camera, please see Minolta XG-9 Camera.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Minolta XG-9 to Maui.
Click any image below for a slide show!
Jun 15, 2019 | Alaska, Daily Image 2019, Flying to Alaska, Kodachrome, Minolta XG-9, Nikon Coolscan V, Vivitar 75-300mm f4.5-5.6
Flying to Alaska | Brooks Range North Slope Before taking off from Fairbanks, ATIS said visibility was 100 miles. Actually after airborne and heading into the Brooks Range, visibility must have been 200-300 miles. It was clearest day I have ever seen. This image looks back at the Brooks Range from the North Slope. Anaktuvuk Pass with a large gravel runway lies between mountains down the pass a bit. For the whole story with all images, see Flying to Alaska | a 7 Image Story.
Jun 14, 2019 | Alaska, Daily Image 2019, Flying to Alaska, Kodachrome, Minolta XG-9, Nikon Coolscan V, Vivitar 75-300mm f4.5-5.6
Flying to Alaska | Denali thru Clouds Denali tends to be shrouded in clouds quite often. This image was captured enroute to Mount McKinley Airport; now called Denali Airport. Landing at Denali Airport took flying close to mountains and compensating for heavy downdrafts at the runway threshold. A few days later, the uphill takeoff cleared hills southwest of the airport by a hundred feet or so. For the whole story with all images, see Flying to Alaska | a 7 Image Story.
Jun 13, 2019 | Alaska, Daily Image 2019, Flying to Alaska, Kodachrome, Minolta XG-9, Nikon Coolscan V, Vivitar 75-300mm f4.5-5.6
Flying to Alaska | Eagle River Eagle River area has some great day hikes and they’re pure Alaska. For the whole story with all images, see Flying to Alaska | a 7 Image Story.
Jun 12, 2019 | Alaska, Daily Image 2019, Flying to Alaska, Kodachrome, Minolta XG-9, Nikon Coolscan V, Vivitar 75-300mm f4.5-5.6
Flying to Alaska | Glaciers Flying from Gulkana AK to Merrill Airport in Anchorage was the most beautiful flying in my life. This flight leg followed the Glenn Highway in the valley below as well as the Matanuska River. The height of the valley floor varied but was mostly less than 3000 MSL. Flying at VFR at 4500 or higher gave me plenty of altitude. The glacial mountains on both sides of this valley were over 8000 MSL with some over 11,000 MSL. For the whole story with all images, see Flying to Alaska | a 7 Image Story.
Jun 11, 2019 | Alaska, Canada, Daily Image 2019, Flying to Alaska, Kodachrome, Minolta XG-9, Nikon Coolscan V, Vivitar 75-300mm f4.5-5.6
Flying to Alaska | Flying thru Mountains Flying east, west northwest of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory of Canada, the Alaska makes a big turn north near Haines Junction. Next stop Northway Alaska to clear customs; only about 4 hours away! For the whole story with all images, see Flying to Alaska | a 7 Image Story.
Jun 10, 2019 | Alaska, Canada, Daily Image 2019, Flying to Alaska, Kodachrome, Minolta XG-9, Vivitar 75-300mm f4.5-5.6
Flying to Alaska | Flying Alaska Highway Mountain flying VFR means flying the valleys while keeping your finger on the road on the sectional chart so you don’t fly into a canyon you can not fly out of. Also, the road provides the only place to land in event of engine problems. Luckily, most of my flying days were mostly sunny or partly cloudy with occasional scattered showers. For the whole story with all images, see Flying to Alaska | a 7 Image Story.
Jun 9, 2019 | Daily Image 2019, Epson V600, Flying to Alaska, Kodak 35mm Print, Nikon Zoom Touch 500, Piper Cherokee 235
Flying to Alaska | Piper Cherokee 235 For this trip, I flew a Piper Cherokee 235 with a fixed pitch propeller. It cruises at 133 knots and burns about 12 gallons per hour. The panel included King radios, an Apollo Loran, and a simple 2 axis autopilot. Nope, no GPS; the trip occurred before GPS became common. The plane and the pilot were IFR certified and current, but my intention was to fly the entire trip VFR. I Followed Roads once into Canada; specifically the Alaska Highway to Alaska then state highways and roads once in Alaska. To fly through the north country, emergency gear is required including a large emergency backpack, basic camping gear, and a rifle, required by Alaska, at the time. When clearing US customs in Alaska, they actually checked for survival equipment and a firearm. The airplane required a little extra preparation. Obviously, all the maintenance was up to date. Although not used, extra equipment included tire tubes and a couple of air cans for the tires as well as extra tools and oil. For the whole story with all images, see Flying to Alaska | a 7 Image Story.
