Not too long ago, we packed up and went in search of a hike. Armed with my film camera, my husband, kids and a good pair of walking shoes, we ended up at the Aiea Loop Trail. I think we took a wrong turn somewhere though because we were in search of a waterfall and didn’t see any… but what we did see was some beautiful landscapes and foliage. I think I shot this with a roll of Fuji 400, I can’t remember. Being a professional photographer, a lot of times when I’m not working, I just don’t want to lug around my heavy, expensive equipment. I found the perfect solution! I promised myself that I would take more pictures for myself and shoot on film to continue to hone my skills. Just look at the pretty fern trees above and that beautiful, lush green. Glorious!
Oahu’s dirt is red and moist. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen plain old dry brown dusty dirt. We were lucky on this day as it had been a dry week and the trail wasn’t muddy. That’s what I’ve discovered here.. Oahu hiking trails are muddy and messy.. California hiking trails are dusty and dirty.
Those are 2 of my 3 kids ahead of us on the trail. I think my husband and I drive them nuts because we are always stopping to take pictures. Pictures with them in them, pictures of the plants, pictures of the scenery, selfies… I’d drive ME nuts if I were my kid too.
But how could you not stop to take photos of what’s around? I want to remember where I was and the story behind it. Are you following me on Instagram? I take and post a lot of pic there too.
I think this is the first dandelion I have seen since moving to Oahu three years ago. I was a little excited about spotting it because in California, they are everywhere and they get up your nose and make you sneeze. So when I saw this one, I was taken aback because I haven’t seen one in a really long time. It’s the little things isn’t it? This was a little thing, but it brought up some beautiful memories of picking up just the right dandelion in a field of dandelions, closing your eyes and making a wish. I didn’t pick this one, I just admired it as the memories flooded.
Those stripes in the middle of the image is the H3 highway that cuts from H1 north to Kaneohe. I thought it was pretty cool to see that. Perfect composition.
This photo really doesn’t do the real thing justice. That one majestic tree seems to come out of nowhere and just dominate everything around it. I love trees and I found this entire sight before me to be wondrous.
This was a pretty good hike, more like a nature walk. I think about 2-3 hours round trip. You’ll run into other hikers coming up the other way and at a certain point you’ll ask, “How much longer?” Peaceful, serene and lots of green landscape to check out. By the way, we did find the old bomber airplane that crashed there, but it’s not much to see as it’s really buried in all the brush, but it was cool nonetheless to have found it. I think a passing hiker mentioned that he wanted to find it and it was marked by an orange plastic marker wrapped around a tree… I think we passed the marker and happened to look to the right. My husband wanted to check out the little valley. With some careful downhill maneuvering, he checked out the the little valley and there was the remnants of a crashed war plane. He said it really wasn’t much to take a photo of because it was pretty buried. If you want a fairly easy hike, put this one on your bucket list of things to do while on Oahu, places to hike. Bring plenty of water, good hiking shoes, mosquito spray and sunblock!!
Happy Trails! Warmest Aloha, ~j
Jennifer Brotchie Photography is based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jennifer enjoys blogging about all things Oahu for vacationers seeking out things to do and places to eat on Oahu. She is also a professional family and wedding photographer specializing in photographing awesome people worldwide, but shoots film for her own personal pleasure. Contact jenniferbrotchie@gmail.com to schedule your professional beach photo shoot today. Disney Aulani, Turtle Bay Resort, North Shore, Waikiki, Honolulu, Sunsets
