Number 16 Akaka Falls

Number 16 is a photograph of Akaka Falls on the Big Island of Hawaii. Akaka Falls is a 442 foot waterfall that is found in Akaka State Park. The state park is well maintained with a half of a mile paved trail through a thick tropical rainforest to reach not 1 but 2 waterfalls. It takes about half an hour to go around the whole trail, and it is definitely worth it.

I usually do not have very good luck when I am photographing waterfalls. Since, I am not a professional and always on vacation when I am taking my pictures it is usually hit or miss when it comes to lighting, and like most amateur photographers I do not have all day to sit and wait for the light to get better or the clouds to open up. 9 times out of 10 when I am trying to photograph a waterfall it ends being a cloudy day. So, when I took this photo I tried to minimize the sky because it was a cloudy day and focus my camera on just the waterfall and the vegetation. Not that I should be shocked it was a cloudy day Akaka Falls is on the Hilo side of the island and one of the wettest places in the United States.

To help make my picture resemble what it was really like to see the waterfall it all its majesty I used what is called the Orton-ish effect on Picnik.com which is an online photo editor to make the vegetation and the waterfall standout. The picture does not do the park or the Akaka Falls justice, but it does remind of the beauty that is the Hawaii Islands. When it comes down to it that is all I am trying to do with my photographs.