Early Mornin' Boardin'

I received a call from a friend about heading out in the morning to go wakeboarding on Lake Oroville before I had to go to work. This is one of the benefits of not going to work until the afternoon. It is always nice to have a morning full of things to do. I decided to join them.

Eric Christensen prepares for a morning on the lake Wednesday, June 17, 2009. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Matt Plummer gets ready to jump into the water of Lake Oroville for a morning session of wakeboarding June 17. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

I took the opportunity to test out some fun photographic technologies that I have been playing with. Having the fisheye, clamps and intervalometer, I decided to clamp a camera on the tower of the boat for a neat angle. Since this was really only one shot and there wasn't a need for two camera bodies, I decided to create a time lapse of our morning ride. I took a picture every five seconds and would put it into a video of our adventure.

Seen from a fisheye view, Eric drives the boat as Matt wakeboards behind on Lake Oroville. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Matt Plummer jumps the wake as he boards in the morning. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Eric Christensen grabs the board as he soars in the air wakeboarding on Lake Oroville. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Eric Christensen strikes a pose as he wake boards on Lake Oroville. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

The time lapse video came out pretty good. I put a little music to it to move it along, but overall it worked great. 1,290 pictures created a 1:27 video.

Watch on YouTube

Na na na na na na na na Native! 8 of 8

Day 8: Thank you Hawaii!

Our last day, we came home. We left early in the morning about 8 am and accounting for the time change and layover we ended up arriving back home around 1 am. There wasn't much to capture, but the open sky.

Moloka'i island peaks out from the clouds in April 2009. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

It was a long day coming home with a 3 hour layover. But it really was a great week. And don't think it was great just because of all the awesome images I took and sights I saw. It would have been just as great without all that because I was with my new wife who I love very much. I think I love her most because she still allows me to take all these photos while we are on our honeymoon. I can't thank her enough for allowing me the freedom to go take my camera around after 10 minutes of laying out by the pool. We are both independently-dependant with each other and love every minute of it.

Maui is seen from an airplane in April 2009. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Thank you Hawaii for a wonderful location, but thank you Cass for a wonderful honeymoon!

Na na na na na na na na Native! 7 of 8

Day 7: Last Day of the Resort

This was our last full day to enjoy the resort. We relaxed most of the day. I got a chance to go out and capture some of the offerings that the resort had. There was not enough time or money to do everything the resort offered. One exciting thing was the dolphin experience. We didn't experience the dolphins ourselves. We had already done that while we worked 3 months at a resort in the Florida Keys. We didn't think of paying for it again. There was also a Japanese restaurant that we did not get to try. It was really elaborate in the design and offered a nice koi pond.

A dolphin jumps in the air as guests look on at the dolphin experience at the Hilton Waikoloa Village in Kona, Hi. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Imari, the elaborate Japanese restaurant featured a koi pond at the Hilton Waikoloa Village in Kona, Hi. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

We did decide to have our nice dinner at another restaurant that overlooked the ocean. We booked the dinner around sunset and were treated to a nice meal. Though it may have been overpriced, you paid more for the view and scenery than the actual food. We even saw a sail boat, probably from the sunset cruise, that sailed past the setting sun.

Waves crash in the ocean in Kona, Hi. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Cassie and I enjoy our last evening at the Hilton Waikoloa Village in Kona, Hi. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

The sun sets as a catamaran sails in the ocean in Kona, Hi. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

All in all, it was a nice ending to our wonderful week. The week was very relaxing and enjoyable.

Na na na na na na na na Native! 6 of 8

Day Six: To the Mountains

On Wednesday of our week long Honeymoon we ventured into the mountains of the Big Island. We took off early in the morning to head over to the Hilo side of the island. We were able to search out two waterfalls, Akaka Falls and Umauma Falls, that even put Feather Falls to shame. A ton of water poured over the cliff sides with the thick saturation of tropical vegetation.

Akaka Falls is a 400 foot waterfall that flows into a small pool as seen from an overlook on a short trail. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Umauma Falls cascades through Hilo, Hi in April, 2009. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

With a light sprinkle overhead we went to a botanical garden where we were greeted with an assortment of flowers. There were hundreds of beautiful natural decor. As we were looking around Cassie stumbled upon a frightening discovery. Right in the midst of our path was a huge spider. The spider was about 5 inches long. Cassie, who is terrified of spiders, was frozen in place. She turned around to walk back from where she came and turned into the view of another huge spider. They were everywhere. Then we saw the webbing dangling above our heads. We decided to leave the botanical garden knowing that as nice as the flowers were, the spiders were much more scary.

A spider sprawls out on its webbing in the botanical garden in Hilo, HI in April 2009. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Later that evening we made our way up the mountain to an observatory. This observatory was above 13,000ft located atop Mauna Kea. Being so high in elevation, allowed the mountain top to be covered with snow. Yes, snow! You don't really think of snow being in Hawaii, but it is true. There is often snow on Mauna Kea. We were able to go around sunset to the top where there is an observatory. This observatory is one of the best because the islands have some of the least amount of light pollution. We actually have to leave the top a half an hour after sunset so that our headlights don't give off light pollution to the telescopes. We descended down to an visitors center where we were able to use telescopes to see the stars. It was such a difference to go from the sea level hot beaches to the high cold mountain.

Snow covers the mountain top of Mauna Kea above 13,000 ft on the Big Island. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

An observatory sits atop of Mauna Kea above the clouds as the sun sets on the Big Island. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

The stars shine above a visitor's center at Mauna Kea. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

The stars shine above Mauna Kea. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Na na na na na na na na...Native! 5 of 8

Day Five: Enjoy the Beach!

The fifth day we were able to relax again for most of the day. And isn't that what being on a honeymoon is? We ventured out onto Hapuna Beach, a nice place just north of our resort. The beach was very nice. The sand was soft and perfect. While we laid out for about 20 minutes, my photographer side began kicking sand in face telling me to get up and take some pictures. I admit it. I can't just lay out under the sun for very long before I get bored. And with being in such a wonderful place, why would I just lay around?

Water crashes onto the shores of Hapuna Beach on the Big Island - Hawaii in April, 2009. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

Relaxing in the soft sand of the Big Island - Hawaii in April, 2009. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

I took my underwater camera and went into the water. I tried to get a shot of the waves crashing down on the beach. The beach was nice. It wasn't great. The sand was nice and the weather was fine. But this was a sandy beach. There wasn't any coral to snorkel around.

Sand fills the crevice of a carving in the rocks along the shore of Kona-Hawaii in April, 2009. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

By law, all the shoreline of Kona-Hawaii and all the other islands are public property. (Jason Halley/ProPixelographer)

After a while of relaxing and playing, we decided to search out other parts of the island shores. In Hawaii, all the beaches are public property by law. This means that no one can have a private beach home. Just something to keep in mind. Because we went searching and found a couple of public access areas that emptied right into people's backyards. They had nice views, but I am sure occasionally you would find a tourist (just like us) who would be wondering around your property.