Project 365 - Day 325 - 4X4 trip around the island

This morning we went on a 4X4 trip around the island of Bora Bora, and also went into the island at three points to go to areas that we could get great scenery shots.  Today's picture is from one of those spots, looking over the lagoon and various resorts.  This particular spot is up by a radio tower that allows communication from island to island. 

The tour was great, we had some fresh coconut water, straight from a coconut, and saw how they make Pareos - the traditional wrap that some women wear on the islands.  We also got to see a couple of cannons that were placed in 1942, when the US forces came to the islands to keep it out of the Japanese hands after Pearl Harbor.  Our guide was telling us that the US forces were here for four years, and there was never a battle on these islands.  When one of our other tour mates asked how the islanders took to the Americans, our guide responded that the US forces were great to the locals, and helped with building roads and buildings in the area.  The land was appropriated for their use, but they gave it back to the islanders in good condition once they were done in 1946.

So if you're ever in Bora Bora, I recommend you look up Vavau 4X4 Adventures.  Ask for Daniel, our guide.  He was awesome!  www.vavau4x4adventures.com

This is shot at 11mm using by 11-16mm Tokina lens.  I have my circ polarizer on, and it is shot at f/8 at ISO800.   Shutter is 1/400s

Project 365 - Day 324 - Into Vaitape

Today we went into the small village of Vaitape to do some shopping.  I bought a couple of shirts and Sonia bought a necklace from one of the craft vendors.   After the shopping was done, we treated ourselves to snow cones.  The snow cones were so good, after all I think it was the hottest day so far of our vacation.

When we got back to the resort, we went snorkeling again.  Sonia was feeding the fish from our bungalow above, and I was underneath with my camera in the trusty waterproof bag taking pictures.  The current here is slightly rougher than the past places, so it was a bit more difficult to stand but I eventually got the hang of it and was able to get some good shots - although there is a lot of bad ones to go along with the good ones ... :-)

This is one of those shots, from the coral nursery right under our bungalow.

Project 365 - Day 323 - Tern of phrase

Today we spent most of the day in the bungalow.  It rained for a bit, and then let up - after which Sonia and I went snorkeling.  Sonia accused me of trying to get her to touch the stingrays, but that was not the case - you know they/re really not that dangerous to humans as long as you stay away from their tail.

Before we went snorkeling, I was watching the birds flying around the lagoon between our bungalow and the main resort area.  There were so many birds fishing and it was really cool to see.  All of a sudden this one bird flew into my view - he caught my eye because he had light blue feathers on the underside of his wings and body!  It was quite cool! 

I already had my 70-200 Sigma on with the polarizer on the front so I was shooting away.   Unbeknownst to me, Sonia had decided to check out what I was shooting and came up behind me just as the tern (I believe that was what it was) dove in for a fish.  She put her hands on my waist just as this happened and scared the poop out of me!  I missed that shot, but soon recovered enough to get this shot.

I toned down the reds a bit on this, as the fish is almost split in two.  But yes, his wings are that blue.  No photoshop on that part ... ;-)

I tried to research the kind of bird - the closest I can find is the Greater Crested Tern.  But he is a tern of some kind ....

Project 365 - Day 322 - Sunset from sunny Bora Bora

We're on our last leg of our Tahiti trip.  It was really difficult to leave the Royal Huahine resort.  It is a small resort, but the biggest on the island.  You get to know all the staff, and they can anticipate your meal and drink orders.  

Snorkelling around our bungalow also proved very fruitful - we actually went twice yesterday before eventually dragging our butts out of the ocean to go to dinner. 

Going into the town of Fare from our resort required a short 20 minute boat trip - but that was no problem for us.  Fare is a cute little town, but is also the capital of Huahine.  We went to the supermarket there, and also bought fruit from a local grower - Sonia negotiated a fair price for what she though was one mango - it ended up being a plate of 8 mangos!   Man, I have never had mangos like that before!!  They are different from the ones we get in the stores, and super ripe as well!

So off to Bora Bora today, a quick plane ride (15 minutes - quicker than the boat trip to get to our resort) and we were here.  Once we got settled in our over-water bungalow, we went for a walk through the area.  There are many restaurants and shops along the road here and we ended up at a supermarket to get some water and, of course, some beer for me.  On the way back, we were just in time to catch the sunset ... here it is from the public beach across from our hotel.

Project 365 - Day 321 - There's a 4:45 AM now?

Up at 4:45 today to try and catch the sunrise.  Every day, with the exception of the day we left Moorea, the cloud cover has been too heavy to get a good shot of the sunrise.  Today was no exception.  The alarm goes off, I go out to check the state of the sky and set up my tripod, I wait, the sun comes back up, and I go back to bed.  No shot.

Today, however, when I first got up I went to the deck and noted that the full moon had yet to set.  Of course, where the sun was coming up it was cloudy, but where the moon was setting it was nice and clear.  So I set up this shot to get the moon as it reflected on the water.  Took a couple of shots here and then went to the front of the bungalow to see what the sunrise was doing.  So today's shot is of the moon-set - if there is such a thing ... :-)

Project 365 - Day 320 - Did I mention our bungalow faces West?

Today Sonia and I went on a tour of Huahine.  It was pretty cool, seeing all the
archaeological sites around the island.  Apparently this is why Sonia chose this island, to
see the restored sites from the time before Europeans came to Tahiti.   Our guide was
originally from Los Angeles, but went to the University of Hawai'i to study polynesian
culture.  His father was a French national and he first came to Tahiti when he was seven
years old and fell in love.  He studied Archaeology and hotel management, as he had always
wanted to get into this field.  Now he is working for himself.  The tour was great, and he
had a lot of knowledge to pass on.

In the afternoon we came back to the resort and snorkelled a bit.  When that was done, Sonia
lay out in the sun and I took a nap.  She woke me in time for the sunset, which was pretty
spactacular.  This shot is from tonight's sunset.

Project 365 - Day 319 - Underwater camera

So I bought an underwater camera at the camera shop in Papeete for $2300. Not a bad camera,

and it takes really good shots! Okay, it is not April Fool's day, nor is it backwards

Friday - I didn't buy a new camera. I did, howerver, buy this product called DICAPAC.

Yeah, it has an unfortunate name, but what it does is allow you to put your camera in a

ziploc bag and bring it in the water with you. Really. That's what I did! No, seriously!!

This bag is made of a thick plastic, and some of it is clear. There are ports where you can

stick your fingers in to fire the shutter and to adjust the lens and so forth. There is a

hard plastic piece that goes in front of the lens so the pictures are resonably sharp. You

can see the back of the camera and adjust any setting on the camera as well through the soft

plastic. You can shoot through the viewfinder (I recommend auto-focus as the scuba mask and

extra plastic will not allow you to focus accurately so you'll have to rely on the camera to

make the decisions on what to focus on.

I took it snorkelling, and kept it at the top of the water, but it was completely submerged.

Letting most of the air out of the bag is a good idea, as it will allow you to hold it

underwater better.

Now, it is not as good as getting a real underwater lens, or putting your camera in one of

those $2500 cases, but it does the trick. It has a ziploc seal that is really good, and

then you roll the end of the ziploc down and velcro it closed. Then another roll and velcro

and you are set.

The thing that I have to remember is to set the ISO high, 1200 or 1600, as light dies

quickly underwater - I followed this one really cool fish around for a while and got lots of

dark pictuers, then when I adjusted the exposure they were pretty blurry.

But this shot is from the trip today. It's of the plantlife that is growing on one of the

piers of our overwater bungalow.