I was so positively overwhelmed with the photos I took on our anniversary trip to Hawaii that it’s taken me a month to edit my favorites. I knew I couldn’t go to Hawaii and not dedicate a good portion of the trip to getting photos that I would love and want to display, and I’m SO glad that I stumbled upon Oahu Photography Tours. I want to do something like this for all our vacations from now on, though I’m not sure such a personalized experience exists elsewhere.
Alex, owner of OPT, and our tour guide has a background in photography, so he had a ton of tips and tricks for capturing images I’ve never attempted before. In addition to all those mad skillz, though, he knows SO MUCH about the islands. So even Scott, who is not at all excited by photography, had a great time and took away a lot from the tour.
I was 32 weeks pregnant, and while some of it was a little physically draining for me (like trudging uphill in the sand), I didn’t have much of an issue making my way around.
I’m sharing 13 of my very favorite images from our trip for you to download for FREE. Make them your desktop wallpaper, your screensaver, even print them (up to an 8×10). Just please DO NOT sell them or use them to make anything that you sell, or use them to create advertisements or marketing materials. And I’d love if you’d credit me- Jill Krause- if you repost them online. If you’d like to print them larger or use them for marketing or for re-sale, please reach out to me to discuss pricing.
Alex met us at 5:30 in the morning outside of our hotel, which sounds pretty brutal, I admit. BUT, remember that Hawaii is so many timezones behind the continental US that it was basically 10:30 our time (central). We booked this for the first morning we were there, so obviously we were still not at all adjusted to the new time. It worked out perfectly. We’d actually been awake for a couple hours already.
I’m NOT a morning person, so it’s super rare I see the sunrise. Getting to do that on the beach and capture all that through my lens? Such a treat! You guys, I have SO MANY sunrise pictures, these are just a fraction of my favorites.
Click to download from SmugMug
Click to download from SmugMug
Click to download from SmugMug
Click to download from SmugMug
Click to download from SmugMug
We did the Golden Sunrise Tour, and stopped at about 5 or 6 places, making our way back to the hotel a little after lunchtime. I can’t remember exactly how many places, nor can I remember the names of most! If you recognize these spots, feel free to let me know in the comments. My Googling game is tired right now.
I purchased a polarizing filter (by B+W) specifically for this trip, and had so much fun experimenting with it. It definitely gave my photos a pop of color that I love! But also? We went to some insanely beautiful places that were already naturally saturated with so much color! That water!
I hope you love driftwood as much as I do because DRIFTWOOD!
I do know this shot was taken from Tantalus, overlooking Diamond Head. It was our final stop for the photography tour.
And this final shot is from the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. I took this the day after our photo tour.
If you’re headed to Oahu, I can’t recommend Oahu Photography Tours enough. It was probably one of our top 2 or 3 experiences from our entire island vacation. It wasn’t at all what you think of when your hear “tour.” It was a small group, lead by a really personable and knowledgeable guide. And I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I do! I’m having a hard time narrowing down what to print and where to hang them!