Spouting Horn, Kauai - My Vision

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Spouting Horn is a blowhole on the south shore of Kauai, Hawaii. This natural water wonder is a popular tourist attraction that is often photographed quite badly, because most people visit it midday when the light is very flat and uninteresting (see for yourself in this Google search for 'Spouting Horn').


The most dramatic images of this natural water wonder come later in the afternoon or close to sunset when the sun's rays are more slanted (this gives more definition to the spray, and separates it from the ocean background and rocks). To obtain more power and height to the spray, it is also best to come at high tide.


Most of us just take "record" shots of the things we see on our vacations. However, with a little planning, you can schedule yourself to be at many locations when the odds for better pictures will be in your favor!

You can also view my Flickr Photostream to see more of "My Vision."

Improving Photos with Perspective and Size Relationships

In February I went to Kauai, Hawaii. I can't wait to return to that "Garden Island." You'll see more images in future blogs from this beautiful and diverse paradise that has been the background for dozens of Hollywood movies. My wife and loved the more relaxed and less commercial feeling of this island.

When I photographed these Giant Fig Trees Roots (Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) a Banyan tree native to Australia), I wanted to emphasis it's massive roots. Their size and sprawling nature were accentuated by forced perspective, achieved through using a wide angle lens (17mm, or 24mm equivalent). Including the round lava rocks in the foreground also adds interest.

The image still doesn't communicate how massive these roots are until a known relationship is add to the image. When I saw a couple posing for a picture, I asked them to stay a minute longer and keep looking at the man who was taking their picture, while I compose a different image of them. Using the same wide-angle perspective, I included them near the top of the image and to the right (following the "rule of thirds"), tucking them between two huge roots.

Their size relationship to the trees really makes the image speak for itself.