NEW - Ken Gilbert

PLACES OF
INTEREST:
With this feature, you
can fi nd historical
landmarks and places
to stay overnight or
eat—even farmer’s
markets—near your photo
destinations.
A lone icon
in an otherwise
undotted location
is also worth clicking
on, as it often denotes a photo op that’s
off the beaten path. This led me to such
photogenic villages as Makawao, on
the interior of the island.
Once you have part of your itinerary
planned—from, say, the airport to your
hotel, or your hotel to a beach—Google
Earth will not only give you directions,
but allow you to take a tour. Click on the
Play button in the lower right corner of
your directions, and Google will “drive
you,” on street level, along the route.
You can pause at any time if something
catches your interest.
Besides businesses, such points
of interest as small parks or notable
WHERE THE
SIDEWALK ENDS:
When you drag your
mouse over the satellite
image of a national park
such as Mt. Haleakala,
Google Earth will show
you the different trails and
geological features of
the terrain.
memorials are marked on the terrain
with Wikipedia icons. A side road or
beach catch your eye? Click on the
camera icon, and Google Earth will
put you into Street View, which lets
you view that terrain just as if you were
actually standing there.
It also shows trails in some national
parks. For instance, I’d read about the
wonders of sunrise and sunset at Mt.
Haleakala, but dragging my mouse over
an image of the crater, I discovered
a path leading through the rocky red
terrain, called the Sliding Sands Trails.
Panoramio snapshots showed me that
late afternoon sunlight turns the rock
path warm amber.
Another cool feature: the Daylight
tool, which allows you to see how the
landscape will be lit at any given time.
Hit the Road
No matter how much research you do
in advance, and even if you don’t bring
along a laptop, you’ll always fi nd more
to shoot once you arrive. Maui natives
are known for their Aloha and quick to
share wonders of their beautiful island. I
heard about the stunning Olivine Pools
from a friendly beachcomber, and
the concierge at Hotel Hana-
Maui let me in on a few nearby
red-sand beaches where
you’re sure to fi nd surfers.
Plotting these locations into
Google Earth made it easy to
hit several spots in one day.
Google Earth contains
up-to-date traffi c and weather
information, too. Maui’s ecological
diversity means that certain parts of
the island (such as Lahaina) are sunny
at the same time that it’s raining in
others (such as the north shore). With
the weather app activated, you can
check the weather wherever you’re
visiting—so I knew to pack a jacket to
climb Mt. Haleakala, although it was
warm outside my hotel room.
The business search can be handy
on the road, as I learned when, after
a 2-hour drive, I found that I’d left my
camera battery charger in the hotel I’d
checked out that morning; I stopped at
a café that had Wi-Fi access, typed in
“camera” near my location, and found
an authorized Canon dealer, Lighthaus
Camera, just 15 minutes out of my way.
Finally, Google Earth comes in
especially handy on a long scenic drive.
The Road to Hana, Highway 360, one of
Maui’s spectacular sights, stretches 34
miles with innumerable places to stop
off and photograph waterfalls, blacksand
beaches, and rocky cliffs. Driving
to Hana, I stopped so many times on
the fi rst 15 miles of highway that had
to hurry through the next 15. So on
the morning of my return, I opened up
Google Earth and prowled carefully
down the miles I’d missed.
That was how, a few hours later and
just past the legendary black sand
beaches and caves of Wai’anapanapa
Beach, I knew to stop over at Pua’a
Ka’a State Wayside Park. Hidden
behind a few picnic benches up on
a hill was a small, secluded tidepool,
wrapped in dense green foliage, with a
waterfall spilling down from the small
cliff above. The perfect fi nal photo spot
on my way home from Maui. p
60 WWW.POPPHOTO.COM POP PHOTO MAY 2009