Shooting on The Big Island of Hawaii
Last month, my family and I were fortunate to spend a week on the Big Island of Hawaii. Adding to my good fortune was putting my new Pentax 645D through its paces for the first time in any major way. This article includes my rationale for buying the 645D, first impressions of using the new camera and a few tips for shooting on the Big Island.
Pentax 645D Selection Rationale
To say the Pentax 645D has captured the attention of the hard to please medium-format audience’s attention is quite an understatement. It was introduced with the lowest price-point of any 40M pixel medium format camera, but price alone is not the key reason it has garnered numerous camera-of-the-year awards and achieved solid commercial success. Admittedly, though, price was probably the biggest factor that tipped me in favor of the 645D.
When I was shooting film, my system of choice was the venerable Pentax 67/67ii. I eventually also acquired a Contax 645 system which I still have, but sold all my P67 gear in order to buy a Canon 1DS Mark II. I had been shooting digital for a couple years, but decided to give film one more try, so on one trip to Hawaii I only took the Contax. What a hassle that turned out to be. I couldn’t get the film processed easily and wound up spending close to $400 on processing alone for results that I couldn’t see for a couple weeks. After that trip, I swore I’d never shoot film again.
I held on to the excellent Contax, though, waiting for the prices of digital backs to come down. I recently tested a nice 50 MP back, but decided the combination was just a bit too bulky (with battery grip) and the communication between the back and the body was just a bit redundant enough that I figured it would be too easy for me to bungle the controls in the heat of battle. Much of the time that I’m out shooting at a photographic destination of choice, I’m with my family and need to be able to keep the duration of my photo stops to a minimum (or shoot before everyone else gets out of bed). For that reason, the closer my camera gear can get to near point-and-shoot controllability, the better. I also prefer the better weather sealing of a fully contained camera like the Pentax 645D or Leica S2 over the Contax + back combination.
The week I decided on the Pentax 645D, Ricoh announced it would be buying Hoya’s interest in the Pentax camera business. At first I was put off and postponed the purchase. I talked with my friends at Pentax and was reassured to learn that the folks at Pentax were actually quite enthusiastic about the transaction. Ricoh is about 5 times the size of Hoya and Pentax was a solid strategic fit in their goal to build a camera business, whereas Hoya was more interested in the medical optics business of Pentax than the camera business. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a 645D, rationalizing that Ricoh would most likely put more resources behind the Pentax medium format success and hopefully plug the massive holes in the current 645D lens line-up.
The three key factors that swayed me in favor of the Pentax 645D over other options, in order of importance are:
- Price – The whole system cost for a 40 MP camera and three lenses was less than any comparable back alone.
- Likelihood of Future Full-Frame Sensor – The camera/mirror mechanism has enough real estate to accommodate a full-frame sensor and the latest lens designs are also full-frame compatible. The Leica S2 system, on the other hand, is pretty fixed with their current sensor size.
- The fully integrated, weather-sealed body should prove to be intuitive to use and more reliable in the field.
First Impressions
I only had two lenses to take on my trip, the new DFA 55mm f/2.8 and a used manual-focus 120mm f/4.0 macro I found on eBay. I was hoping the DFA 25mm f/4.0 I ordered would arrive before I left, but now US shipments are pushed back to spring 2012. As alluded to above, the lack of current lenses for this system could prove to be its Achilles heel if Ricoh doesn’t address it soon after taking over in October. If I were a working pro dependent on this camera for my income, I would be unable to make a living without combing the internet for used lenses that may or may not be capable of delivering the resolution promised by the 40 MP sensor.
As reported in other reviews, I found the DFA 55mm f/2.8 to be a bit soft in the corners, but certainly usable. I wonder how it would hold up if used with a full-frame sensor. The 120 mm macro is tack sharp corner to corner. I used our PG-02 to take multiple images stitched together with Adobe Photoshop Photomerge. I’m quite pleased with the results.
I’ll rarely print any images the size that a stitched medium-format sensor would achieve, but purely as a test, the folks at Light Photographic Workshops helped me print the one captioned “Akaka Falls” on their Canon IPF8100 large format printer into a 30”x 46” image. The detail is nothing short of phenomenal. There really is something to the adage “if you can’t make it good, make it big.” The image was just a post-card shot, not all that intriguing, but standing in front of the 30x46” image is awesome and captures a bit more of the actual experience of being there than any mere mortal 8x10 can achieve. This image was printed at a full-resolution of 240 dpi, but we also tried printing a single, non-stitched image at 30x40” at 180 dpi (native resolution of 240 dpi yields a 22x30”image). Before you gasp, let me tell you that it held up extremely well and you’d be hard pressed telling the difference in detail from the two prints at any normal viewing distance.
I’m hooked. Hal Schmitt is teaching a 4-day workshop called
“Print Perfection” along with Jennifer Wu and Barbara Ellison October 6-9, 2011. Really Right Stuff customers get a $200 discount off the normal price of $895 (use code RRSLight). Timing is short, but I know they have a couple seats left and you can’t get better instructors or equipment than at Light Photographic Workshops.
Light Photographic Workshops
1062 Los Osos Valley Rd
Los Osos, California 93402
805.528.7385
http://www.lightworkshops.com/
The Big Island
The Big Island of Hawaii is extremely diverse. Though the largest of the Hawaiian Islands, still you can drive all the way around in one very long day. We only see the tip of the iceberg above sea-level, so when measured from the ocean floor, Mauna Kea’s summit is 10,000 meters, making it the tallest of all the earth’s mountains. A two to three-hour drive will take you from the semi-arid sun-kissed shores of the Kohala coast resort area on the West side to the tropical rain-forests, towering waterfalls and the world’s most active volcano on the east side. On the way, you’ll pass through the 150,000 acre grasslands of the Parker Ranch, one of the country’s largest and oldest cattle ranches. In short, the Big Island is a Mecca for the travel/nature/landscape photographer who wants to combine family fun with serious shooting.
The big draw to the Big Island is Kilauea Volcano. Though I come here frequently, my travel visits seem to miss the peak photo ops. The image I’d love to shoot is one of molten lava venting into a stormy ocean. Though Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, wasn’t putting on any pyrotechnic shows this trip, I visited our friends at Extreme Exposure Photography over in Hilo town to feast on what is probably the best display of volcano eruption/lava images anywhere. Bruce Omori and Tom Kuali’i share a gallery in downtown Hilo and lead photographic tours in Hawaii. For those of us short on time (who isn’t) and experience in a new photo destination, I highly recommend hooking up with local photo experts whenever possible. They know the best places and times and can save you precious effort and time. If you aren’t able to participate in a full local workshop/tour, hiring a local expert for a day or even half a day is money well invested. For the Big Island, you couldn’t find any more knowledgeable shooters and all around nice people than Bruce and Tom at Extreme Exposure Photography (www.extremeexposure.com). I couldn’t bring home the trophy lava shot, but Bruce kindly let me share a few of his for your enjoyment. If you love these shots as much as I do, you owe it to yourself to visit their website gallery to view some more truly astonishing images.
Shooting Hawaii Sunrise/Sunsets
One thing Hawaii is never short of is fabulous sunrise and sunsets. The trade winds push the moist air around the mountains resulting in nice cloud formations. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have significant cloud mass forming off-shore, you’ll want to take advantage of the localized weather patterns that gather immediately around the mountains. In that case, you’ll need to be a bit flexible when planning your shot. Sometimes the best cloud formations aren’t in the perfect position to showcase your chosen subject, so a reposition or re-choosing the main subject is in order. About 45 minutes before sunrise/sunset you’ll be able to tell where the action is happening, so quickly position yourself and make your composition. Such is the case with the “Kohala Sunset” image. Originally, I was trying to frame Mauna Loa Mountain in the shot, but the clouds just weren’t cooperating, so I re-selected a foreground subject and took my HDR sequence.
In my experience, the Hawaiian sunsets are a bit more dependable for interesting clouds. Mornings tend to be clearer and require a bit more flexibility. At sundown, you can usually count on pretty good formations all around. Compositionally, I’m not drawn to the palm-tree lined tropical beach shot that immediately springs to mind when one contemplates Hawaiian sunsets. Rather, I love the grassy patches and low growing shrubs that accentuate the deep black and brown ancient lava flows on the Kohala coast. Our catalog cover of 2007 (see image at right) featured just such a sunset.
Joe Johnson, Owner of Really Right Stuff
©2011 Joe Johnson
Location: Akaka Falls State Park, Hwy 220, Honolulu Hawaii.
Camera: Pentax 645D with DFA 55mm f/2.8 lens; f/16 @ 1/25 (bracketed); ISO 200; 4-image vertical pano.
Support Gear: TVC-33 tripod with TA-3-LB leveling base; PG-02 LR Pano-Gimbal head with MPR-CL II nodal slide.
©2011 Joe Johnson
Location: Akaka Falls State Park trail.
Camera: Pentax 645D with FA 120mm f/4.0 lens; f/11 @ 3/10; ISO 200.
Support Gear: TVC-33 tripod with TA-3-LB leveling base; PG-02 LR Pano-Gimbal head with MPR-CL II nodal slide.
©2011 Joan Johnson
Location: Extreme Exposure Fine Art Gallery, 224 Kamehameha Ave, Suite 103, Hilo, Hawaii 96720, (808) 936-6028.
Camera: Olympus E-P2; f/4.0 @ 1/100; ISO 800.
Support Gear: Handheld
©2011 Joe Johnson
Location: Akaka Falls State Park trail.
Camera: Pentax 645D with FA 120mm f/4.0 lens; f/11 @ 1/5; ISO 200.
Support Gear: TVC-33 tripod with TA-3-LB leveling base; PG-02 LR Pano-Gimbal head with MPR-CL II nodal slide.
©2011 Joe Johnson
Location: Kohala Coast, near Waikoloa Villiage, Hi.
Camera: Pentax 645D with DFA 55mm f/2.8 lens; f/13 @ 1/2 (bracketed); ISO 200; HDR Sky with Photomatix Pro v4, Hand Composited in CS4.
Support Gear: TVC-33 tripod with TA-3-LB leveling base; PG-02 LR Pano-Gimbal head with MPR-CL II nodal slide.
©2011 Bruce Omori using Really Right Stuff gear.
Location: Kalapana on the Big Island of Hawaii.
About the Shooter: Bruce and his friend and business partner Tom Kuali'i own Extreme Exposure, a gallery and tour company on the Big Island. They lead lava photography hikes/workshops when the flows are accessible, and that info can be found
on their website or by
emailing them.
©2011 Tom Kuali'i using Really Right Stuff gear.
Location: Kalapana on the Big Island of Hawaii.
About the Shooter: Tom and his friend and business partner Bruce Omori own Extreme Exposure, a gallery and tour company on the Big Island. They lead lava photography hikes/workshops when the flows are accessible, and that info can be found
on their website or by
emailing them.
©2007-2011 Joe Johnson
Location: Kohala coast, Hawaii.
Camera: Canon EOS-1Ds Mk II, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM at 17mm.
Support Gear: Gitzo 1325 tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 LR ballhead and B57L body plate.