This is a sampling of photos from Dallas Nagata White, a professional photographer in Hawaii. The guy in the photo is her husband, Ed White. This photo (above) is one of my favorite photos from Dallas. I’m pretty sure it’s at the Makapu’u Lighthouse.

I’ve followed Dallas’s work for a couple years now and finally had the opportunity to meet her and do some photo adventuring with her this year. If you haven’t already seen her work, I’d like to share it with you.

Dallas is an artist. She was born and raised in Maui but came to Oahu to attend UH Manoa. She got her degree in Studio Art with an emphasis on painting and photography.

You can see that Dallas applies her painting skills to her photography.

She’s able to use color in a way that blows me away.

And whereas it takes me 30 to 50 photos to tell a story, Dallas can tell a story in just one frame.

Each of Dallas’s images capture a Hawaii moment like you may have never seen it.

When I look at Dallas’s photography there are two things I admire. The first thing is her bold use of color.

Her colors totally pop.

The second is the artistry she brings to her photography. It takes a lot of thought and effort to get the timing, composition and pose correct for a shot like this. I don’t know how coordinate this type of shot so I’m always impressed when I see it done.

Her shots are carefully crafted into powerful images.

Dallas can of course capture the candid scene as well. But her candid scenes somehow look like paintings. She shoots with the exact same camera as me but seems to get better pictures. Drives me nuts.

Here’s a frame during a crazy electrical storm we had on Oahu a couple years ago.

This is the moonrise from the Lanikai Pillboxes Trail.

Cloudy conditions? No, problem. The scene becomes super moody.

This is a moment from the Annual Lantern Floating Hawaii Ceremony.

Up on Mauna Kea on the Big Island, Dallas captured the moonrise and the milky way.

She also captured some beautiful views of the lava flow ocean entry.

This is a crazy photo of the moon and stars above the glowing Kalapana lava field.

This is Dallas and her husband on the lava field in the rain. You can learn about this photo, called “Lava Kiss,” on Dallas’s blog.

The “Lava Kiss” photo became super popular and went viral on the Internet. It was picked up on some major online publications like Huffington Post, Gizmodo and Petapixel. Here’s Dallas (and her dog Kodachrome) holding a copy of Digital SLR Photography magazine that featured her photo.

Now, while Dallas’s landscape photography is stunning, she’s actually an editorial and commercial photographer.

She works on a bunch of projects for Hawaii magazines, clothing and jewelry brands and major events.

Her clients include: Pepsi, Gillia, Salty Girl Jewelry, Honolulu Magazine, Modern Luxury Hawaii and Flux Magazine.

Learn more about Dallas Nagata White and see here work:

• Check out Dallas’s website at www.dnwphoto.com.
• Order prints of Dallas’s photos at dallasnagata.smugmug.com.
• Follow Dallas on Instagram @ dallasnagata.
• Like Dallas on Facebook at Facebook/dnwphoto.

We went swimming the other day at a local hangout in a remote part of Hawaii.

This swimming hole sits where a fresh water stream hits the ocean. On this day, waves were rushing in filling the pool with fresh sea water.

Part of the attraction of this place is the cliff jump.

It’s a nice drop that gets the blood pumping.

I gave it a go.

There’s a short jump off point as well for keiki.

A big group of friends showed up.

This crew knew how to have a good time.

They also knew how to cliff jump.

One after the other, the guys stepped up and hurled themselves off the rock.

There’s a higher jump off point to the right. It’s a higher launching point but the water depth is much shallower. Each guy that jumped off said they hit the bottom.

A cliff diver prepares to jump.

He launches for a gainer.

Now he’s fully inverted.

At this point he can spot his landing.

He lands feet first.

Splash.

Here’s another cliff jumper launching for a gainer.

He stays tucked.

Now he’s inverted.

Spots the landing.

Now he’s gotta get his feet under him, quickly.

Here’s the mini-splash that occurs when his toes just break the surface tension of the water.

And now the big splash.

I’m not sure a floaty is a common thing here. It definitely did not fit on the trail you have to hike to get here.

We stayed for a few hours swimming, relaxing in the sun and watching the cliff jumpers.

This guy and his dog hung out with his friends on the floaty.

Then his dog gave him a ride back across the pool.

When we left the pool we noticed a trail that lead towards the coastline.

It took us around the bend to this view.

[UPDATE: 4/24/2013] A lot of people have been asking where this place is. I think it’s one of those locations that should be left undisclosed. Tourists are advised to avoid the place. While the location is not exactly a secret, I’d rather not post the information on my website. For most people that see this, believe me, the spot is going to be far from home. It’s really not worth the effort to come here unless you live or are spending the night nearby. And if that’s the case, you probably already know where it is.

Other spots to watch people cliff jump:

• Waimea Bay
• Moku Nui Island
• Spitting Cave

This is Jake Marote and his pet goat Billy.

Billy is a baby.

They go everywhere together.

Jake is a local boy from Big Island. He lives on Oahu now and spends his free time adventuring and photographing the island. You can follow him on Instagram @jake_of_all_trades to check out his adventures.

Jake grew up surfing on Big Island and has lately been working on his surf photography.

He’s been shooting with Zak Noyle (staff photographer for SURFER Magazine and RVCA advocate) and is developing a tuned eye for shooting people in the barrel.

He shoots mostly with a GoPro and iPhone (in a Watershot housing), which just goes to show, it’s not about how expensive your gear is. If you are in the right place and right time, any camera can take a good photo.

Case in point.

Jake also fishes.

And, he bow hunts.

And that’s how he came to own a pet baby goat. He found this little guy while on a hunt. Yes, for goats. And yes, Jake realizes the irony.

But the mother had abandoned the baby and Jake decided to take it home and take care of it. The umbilical cord was still attached. The baby was a male and male goats are called billies so Jake name him Billy. (Females goats are called nannies.)

I met Jake through Instagram. Some of Jake’s friends had taken Billy for a hike up Koko Head and I ran into them. I took this photo and posted it to Instagram. A couple weeks later someone tagged Jake in my photo and that’s when I found out who the owner was.

I figured it would be fun to meet the goat and take photos of him. What resulted was a day of cute overload. Here, Billy is chewing on a dried up orange peel.

I went to meet up with Jake out a the Halona Blowhole Lookout. I figured it would be fun to take little Billy on a hike up to the Koko Crater Arch.

When Jake arrived the first thing he wanted to do was feed Billy. He found a farm supply store that sells goat milk formula and that’s what Billy has been living off of. That and orange peels.

When Billy saw the bottle he attacked it. I’ve never seen a goat drink milk so voraciously. I have also never seen a goat drink milk before this day.

He splattered milk all over his face and we were all like “awwwwwww.”

Then Billy went back to the orange peel.

Once we got over to the trail, Jake took off Billy’s leash and the goat just followed him around. Apparently goats are very loyal.

This goat is freakin’ cute dude.

It looks pretty soft here but he’s all fur and bones.

But his little chin is pretty soft. It’s hard to see because they are so small but his tiny baby goat horns are just starting to come out. You can feel them when you rub his head.

Billy is not trying to go for a kiss here, he’s trying to eat Christina’s hair.

Hello.

At one point, Jake left Billy with me and Christina and went to take this photo. With Jake gone, Billy started to cry and cry. It was cute for a minute but then it got annoying so I stuck my finger in his mouth.

He likes sucking and gnawing on fingers. It totally shut him up.

When Jake came back, Billy was all happy and stuff.

Billy is one of those goats who knows he’s cute.

Look at those tiny little hoofs.

We stayed up at the arch for an hour or so talking story and getting to know Jake. When we got down we walked off dramatically towards the horizon.

Bye Billy. I miss you.

See also:

• If you want to see two examples of Instagrammers who totally epitomize the outdoor Hawaii lifestyle, check out Jake (@jake_of_all_trades) and his adventure buddy Shaun (@2scoopsofaloha).
• If you want to see more photos of Billy, check out the tag #billybaahba on Instagram.
• See the Koko Crater Arch hike.

When the sun comes out, the ocean off of Waimanalo (Oahu) glows electric blue.

The views are energizing.

These views can be seen by standing at the top of the mountain.

Tom (myspacetom), Dawn (djdawn) and I hiked the summit of the southeast Koolau Mountains to take photos of this view. Below us, Waimanalo.

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The dude pictured above is not Tom Anderson. It’s Steve Aoki, Tom’s friend. Tom took the photo though. This one was at Bellows Beach Park on Oahu.

Tom took this photo as well (in Waikiki).

You might have heard of Tom from his days as an internet entrepreneur. He’s the Tom Anderson that created the social network MySpace (which he later sold to News Corp).

If you were ever on MySpace back in the day, Tom was probably your “friend.”

Above: Koolau waterfall as seen from the H3. Kaneohe, Oahu.

But Tom is now happily retired and pursuing his passion of landscape photography. He has homes in a few different cities around the country, one of which is Honolulu. And it was here in Hawaii where I ended up meeting him.

Above: Group photo at Kalapana on Big Island. Left to right: Dallas Nagata White, Ed White, John Hook, Samantha Hook, Tom Anderson, me and Andrew (our lava hike guide).

I’ve been on a few photo adventures with Tom and some other Hawaii photographers this year. Last month we all went to Big Island. During the two-hour car ride from Kona to Hilo we had some time to kill and Tom handed me his iPad so I could check out his photos. I had only met Tom two weeks prior to the trip so I wasn’t familiar with his work. As I was flipping through his portfolio, his photography kind of blew me away.

I asked if I could share these photos here on Unreal Hawaii and Tom was kind enough to oblige.

Above: Hawaii Kai, Oahu.

Tom is not a professional photographer but he’s got the shutter bug bad. Real bad. Like shoot photos every single day bad. In fact, he’s set a goal to post one interesting photo a day on Instagram (instagram.com/myspacetom).

The way Tom was introduced to photography was pretty random. Famous HDR photographer, Trey Ratcliff (the man behind StuckInCustoms.com), contacted him and invited him to the Burning Man Festival. Trey told Tom that he needed to bring a camera. Though he had no experience in photography, Tom agreed to go and bought himself his first DSLR, a Nikon D7000.

The photos Tom got at Burning Man are stunning. Burning Man is in the desert and there are dust storms. When the dust comes, most photographers run for cover or shield their gear. Tom, being new to all this just kept snapping away and came back with some incredible shots. The dusk helped isolate his subjects the same way fog can.

As I was flipping through the photos on Tom’s iPad, these Burning Man images really caught my eye. Amazingly, this was Tom’s first attempt at photography. I could tell he has a natural eye for composition and a knack for capturing a moment.

As we talked about the Burning Man experience, Tom mentioned that he was surprised at how his photos looked when he reviewed them on his camera. He had experience in creating art in the past but had never worked in a medium where you can see results so immediately. Once he realized he could create art (that he was proud of) in a medium where you could produce a final product in a short period of time, Tom became hooked on photography.

I know if I took photos like these my first time shooting with my DSLR I’d be hooked too.

Above: Road on Big Island, Hawaii.

Shortly after Burning Man, Tom upgraded his gear. He currently shoots with a Nikon D4 and D800e. He’s been getting some super nice photos of Hawaii.

Above: John Hook sitting a rock bridge on Oahu.

Above: Ed and Dallas White standing on a ledge in front of the Kalapana lava flow.

Above: The Portlock cliffs on Oahu.

Above: The view from the Pali Lookout (Oahu).

Above: The moonrise over Chinaman’s Hat (Oahu).

* * *

Tom’s portfolio is also full of photos from his travels around the world. He told me that he never really had the urge to travel until he took an interest in photography. I guess he never had a reason to explore. But photography gave him that reason and Tom spent three months last year on a photo tour of some beautiful places around the world.

Here are some frames Tom’s shot during his travels.

Above: Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia.

Above: Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur.

Above: Taroko Gorge, Taiwan.

Above: Burros in Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas.

Above: Mountain road in China.

Above: The Hagia Sophia, Turkey.

Above: The Clock Tower, London.

Above: Forbidden City, China.

Above: Zion National Park.

Above: Mount Cook, New Zealand.

Above: Venice, Italy.

There are plenty more photos in Tom’s portfolio that you can only see on his Instagram profile (or on his iPad). I hope you’ll have fun discovering Hawaii (and the world) through Tom’s lens.

You can follow Tom online here:

• instagram.com/myspacetom
• plus.google.com/+myspacetom
• facebook.com/myspacetom
• twitter.com/myspacetom
• new.myspace.com/tom

I recently went on a short trip to the Big Island with a group of Hawaii photographers (Tom Anderson, John Hook, Samantha Hook, Dallas Nagata White and Ed White). The weather was cold and rainy on Oahu, so on a whim, we decided to fly out to Big Island for the weekend to shoot some landscapes. The weather forecast was looking better there.

The flight was nice and empty.

We arrived in Kona on a Friday night, checked in to our condo rental, got bundled up, and drove out to Mauna Kea. The important part of that last sentence is “got bundled up.” When you go to Mauna Kea, wear a lot of layers. Dress like you’re going snowboarding. Especially at night.

The drive to the summit of Mauna Kea from Kona should take about two hours. You don’t need to go all the way to the top though for stargazing.

On the way up, we took a few breaks to take photos of things. And wizz.

I’ve never seen that many stars before.

When you go stargazing, you want to be in as dark an environment as possible. That’s why a remote place like Mauna Kea is so great. For one, the Big Island doesn’t have much city lights. And for two, the summit of Mauna Kea is 13,803 feet above sea level. Even if you’re not at the summit, you’re going to be way up there.

But remember this too, the moon is bright and will wash out stars. Make sure you find out when the moon rises and time your stargazing accordingly. We drove up in time to get maybe 30 minutes of stargazing and then catch the moonrise.

Just like how sunrises are stunning, so are moonrises. They can even take on a golden hue if you are in a dark enough environment. We saw the glow as it started to rise above the clouds.

When it rose, the moon was super bright. It wasn’t even a full moon on this day either.

We drove further up the mountain to get a better look.

The moon lit up the rolling clouds below us.

Clouds looks o fluffy when you see them from up above.

Looking south we could see Mauna Loa peeking above the clouds.

I should remind you now, that it was FREEZING up here. I think we spent close to an hour stargazing and moon watching. After just ten minutes or so I couldn’t feel the tips of my fingers which meant I couldn’t feel the buttons on my camera. So it turned out that fingerless gloves, as cool as they looked on me, were not the call for this night of stargazing on Mauna Kea. Dress warm and bring real gloves.

I know this looks dubious but it’s not. As we drove down the mountain, John pulled over to inspect this road kill (we did not hit it.).

John an Tom got closer to figure out what it was. Turns out it was a sheep.

And then an epic selfie was created. Which, if you want to see it, came out like this.

Being that we were all here on a mission to shoot landscapes, we turned our attention to the road and noticed this view.

When we got back to Kona we unpacked our gear. John Hook and Dallas Nagata White are professional photographers on Oahu (I am a total amateur) so I was interested in learning how they travel.

We filled up all the sockets with battery chargers.

Tom got to selecting and editing a photo.

Dallas and I checked out what he was working on. Tom only recently discovered a passion for photography. But he shoots everyday and his pictures are ridiculously good. He tries to post a photo a day on his Instagram account Instagram.com/myspacetom.

On this night we all got to gather around his laptop and give our unsolicited advice on how he should post process his photo.

Ed (Dallas’s husband) shoots with a dSLR but has become more interested in taking photos with his phone. His goal is to prove that it not the camera that takes good photos. Have a look at his photos (Instagram.com/spyhi) and you’ll see what he can do with that thing.

The next morning we woke up and found that our view from the lanai was amazing.

We were about to start day two of our Big Island photo adventure which would involve lava.

Photos from day two coming soon…

See also:

• I did an profile on John Hook in June of last year: John Hook Photography.
• John’s website: handsomeunicorn.tumblr.com
• Dallas’s website: www.dallasnagatawhite.com
• Tom on Facebook: www.facebook.com/myspacetom