Milky Way prints from Hawaii are available to backers of my up-coming documentary, MOUNTAINS in MOTION: The Canadian Rockies. Please check my Kickstarter page for more info on print availability. All of the astro shots posted below this video (via Flickr feed) are available as high-quality prints. Thanks for your support!
kickstarter.com/projects/upthink/mountains-in-motion-the-canadian-rockies



Highlights include:

Being above the inversions on Mauna Kea (13,796') and Haleakala (10,023' summit, Holua back-country cabin @ 6,900') was a memorable experience. The weather was so predictable during our stay. Clear through the night and into sunrise, then the Trade Winds shift all the clouds into the Haleakala's crater around 9am. For the rest of the day you're stuck in the clouds with limited visibility. Around sunset the clouds begin to clear and the inversion settles back into place just under 7,000'.

The shadow of Mauna Kea (13,796') attempting to bend over the earth's atmosphere, although it wasn't as spectacular as I have seen in other videos due to some unwanted clouds blocking the sun near the end.

The Zodiacal light is visible near the end of several easterly facing star-lapse sequences. This is caused by sunlight reflecting off of dust particles in space in the final hours of darkness proceeding sunrise. Normally this is masked by light pollution.

Viewing other islands: you'll notice Maui as seen from Mauna Kea (Big Island), Mauna Kea & Mauna Loa as seen from Haleakala (Maui), and Molokai, Lanai, & Kahoolawe as seen from Southern/Western Maui coastline.

Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, as viewed from where we camped on Green Sand Beach, the southern most point of the United States. Lots of other Hawaii Milky Way photos posted on my Flickr page.

Waxing Gibbous moon light across Haleakala's Ko'olau Gap with the grand finale being the setting moon as shadows dynamically passed across the super wide cater and Hanakauhi (8,910').

Relaxing on the beaches, hiking through the rain forests, etc.... all the awesome stuff not featured in this video!

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Music: "Sun of Haleakala" by Paradise Blue - Mykonos Chillout Cafe (Feelings del Mar)

A chronological photo journey from the trip can be viewed here:
flickr.com/photos/dougurquhart/sets/72157627550947742/with/6100673115/

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No fancy motion-control on this one. Minimalist 5DMII 'vacation' rig. Here's the run-down: My wife and I took a 2 week anniversary trip to the overly popular archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, Hawaii. We started on the Big Island and finished the vacation on Maui. To our surprise, we found peace and solitude for a majority of our journey which was incredibly refreshing.

I wasn't able to shoot time-lapse everywhere we went, but still managed to capture enough motion sequences from sea to summit for this montage. Check out my Flickr page for other Hawaii photography such as Volcanoes National Park in which I didn't shoot any time-lapse but had some great clear night sky for stills. Overall, an amazing trip with only one negative event: I lost a hard-drive mid-trip due to a head disk assembly failure. Lost all of the photos from Waipio Valley & Hana which explains the absence of waterfalls and lush, tropical greenery. Time-lapse is purely a hobby for me at the moment, but I look forward to the day in which I can provide my clients stunning, moving images. You know where to find me.

I'm fortunate to have such an understanding wife who allows me to pursue my hobby while on vacation together. Thanks Karen, you're the best.

Special thanks to Jennifer Rice-Morton @ AAA for her travel assistance, Jim & Margi Urquhart for giving our Huskies a home while we were away, Erik Huber for the 70-200mm lens hook-up and Oscar @ Aperturent.com for the 5DII & 24mm 1.4II rental.