Hawaii became the 50th state to join the United States on August 21, 1959. The capital city is Honolulu (Oahu). The highest point is Mauna Kea at 13,803 feet (4207 meters) (island of Hawaii, aka The Big Island), a dormant volcano last erupting 2460 BC. Mauna Kea is over 33,000 feet (10000 meters) tall, making it the world's tallest mountain measured from its base to the summit; the majority of which is under water.

Previously from Hawaii: The Beginning - Seaside Pinhole Photography - Tropical Clichés - Windy Drama of a Tropical Morning

Shipwreck Beach DaybreakKauai, Hawaii So you return to a wonderful place on Earth after several years, realize there's a very unusual cold front passing through, then recover by witnessing a wonderful coastal sunset. What is your next move?

Of course, ignoring the 6-hour jet lag and setting up the alarm for really early to be on a beautiful Pacific beach before the sun. And it's a move well worth it! There are many places where being an early bird yields its fruits, Hawaii being one of them. It always amazes me, despite having witnessed it several times, how solitary one can be on a tropical beach in a place generally perceived as very touristy. And that is a good thing and I hope it will remain so for a long time!

Maybe it is thanks to the limited development on Kauai preventing hoards of tourists (Kudos!). Maybe it is because of people being lazy to get up that early. Or maybe it is a reason altogether different. And you know what, I don't really care as long as it stays that way as it makes for some very memorable moments.

And the storm? Well, we arrived from Buffalo, NY and while the winter jackets remained in the car at the airport parking lot the long sleeve fleece tops did not. Not everyone in the crew was happy about the temperatures, and I could understand, but for me as a photographer, the storm brought clouds and high waves making for more dramatic landscapes, loud surf, and fresh wind to intensify the experience even without the camera. Just sit down on a rock and watch the waves crash against the black lava rocks. What a wonderful contrast between the white water and the black rocks. What a great repetition, but an unpredictable one. You get lost in trying to figure out the wave pattern. Do they come in threes? Are the breaks between the groups about the same length? Other thoughts come and go and you forget about the sunrise, and the fact that clouds on the horizon pretty much obstructed it, and just soak it all in, in high dosage, ... and then the struggling sun almost pierces through and lights up the morning with a wonderfully choreographed finish!

Cloudy Shipwreck Beach SunriseKauai, Hawaii

Cloudy Shipwreck Beach Sunrise, Kauai, Hawaii

Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you! (#etbtsy)

References: Hawaii on 50states.com

Would you like to see more seaside photographs? Visit my Seascapes Gallery and enjoy! Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.

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New Mexico became the 47th state to join the United States on January 6, 1912. The capital city is Santa Fe. The highest point is Wheeler Peak at 13,161 feet.

Road Trip 2013 - Day 15 - June 25 - Route 66 Part III, Tucumcari, NM (Previous 2013 Road Trip posts: Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies, Des Moines, Madison County Roads, Bridges of Madison County, White Pole Road, Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Golden Spike Tower & Union Pacific's Bailey Rail Yard, Loveland Pass, The Resting Day at Powderhorn, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Cimarron, Colorado National Monument, Fruita Rodeo, Grand Mesa, Arches National Park, Grand Junction, Grand Mesa Creek, Arches National Park Add-On, Canyonlands National Park, The Little Big Moments of Road Tripping, Mesa Verde National Park, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Train Depot, Pecos National Historical Park, Route 66 Part I, Santa Rosa, NM, Route 66 Part II, Santa Rosa, NM, Route 66 Part III, Tucumcari)

To end this wonderful road trip day # 15 dedicated to Route 66 I will let the photographs do the talking as nothing I say can express the mood better:

La Cita Restaurant, Tucumcari, NMRoute 66

Route 66: La Cita Restaurant, Tucumcari, NM

Motel Americana, Tucumcari, NMRoute 66

Route 66: Motel Americana, Tucumcari, NM

Trails West Lounge, Tucumcari, NMRoute 66

Route 66: Trails West Lounge, Tucumcari, NM

Blue Swallow Motel, Tucumcari, NMRoute 66

Route 66: Blue Swallow Motel, Tucumcari, NM

Blue Swallow Motel, Tucumcari, NMRoute 66

Route 66: Blue Swallow Motel, Tucumcari, NM

Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you (#etbtsy)!

Did you enjoy this post and the included photographs? Would you like to see more of my travel photographs? Visit the Travel Photography gallery or the On the Road photo collection. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered. Looking for a present? I also offer ready to hang solutions like canvas gallery wraps, prints on metal, and matted and framed ready to hang photographs.

Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!

References:  New Mexico on 50states - National Historic Route 66 Federation

Bridge from the RightKnox Farm State Park, East Aurora, NY Out for a New Year's hike to walk off some of the holiday calories, get a doze of fresh air, and get some new photographs early in the year to get the creativity going. The location was pre-meditated this time, however, I was not sure how it would work out as I was hoping for a fresh dose of snow, which did not happen. However, that created a great opportunity for a juxtaposition of two seasons - fall and winter. The path was mostly icy and white while leaves were clearly showing in the woods all around adding an unusual dose of color to the landscape.

I tried various tripod heights but decided to stay away from a low perspective as too much of the sky was showing through the trees taking focus away from the path through the woods and the fence-lined bridge.

I also did my usual left and right and back and forth dance to alter the perspective, along with working the zoom to keep the intended framing. I started with an angle on the right side that caught my eye first as I approached the bridge, after a few steps back again watching not to show too much sky. I used the tree on the left along with the fence to frame the scene and send our eyes wandering down the path across the bridge.

Bridge Head OnKnox Farm State Park, East Aurora, NY Then a few steps to the left a different perspective showed the foot bridge head on. I still liked the tree though and since this angle showed the tree's curves better I left some space to the left of it too to let its features stand out more. From this vantage point there was no sky fighting for attention. And while much has been written about not centering your subjects in photographs I quite often do just that, as in this photograph, and like the result!

So what next? As you might suspect based on how we got here, a few more steps to the left were needed to close out this trio of photographs. For the final photograph, more elements entered the scene to transform the view. The logs on the left were arranged as a fan further pointing the way and I also like the obstructed view. That seems to be a trend for me lately, hiding the true object of my photographs behind vegetation and other objects.

Knox Farm Bridge between Winter and FallKnox Farm State Park, East Aurora, NY

Bridge between Winter and Fall, Knox Farm State Park, East Aurora, NY

Enjoy the Beauty that Surrounds You! (#etbtsy)

Would you like to see more photographs from Western New York? Visit my Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! To get a dose of winter whiteness, click through to my Winter Collection of photographs. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.

Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything at all. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!