Brand new aerial photos of Ko’olau Mountains Oahu Hawaii-Part 6

December 15, 2018

Last week I showed you new aerial Kualoa & Mokoli’i photographs I captured on Oahu Hawaii with my DJI Mavic 2 drone. (Please have a look if you haven’t yet; the views are stunning).

This week we take a short aerial excursion in the Ko’olau Mountain Range, that extends down the entire eastern side of Oahu island in Hawaii.

The Koo’lau Range is not a true mountain range in the usual sense, but the remains of one huge volcano, known as the Ko’olau Volcano. The high cliffs (pali) are what remain of the western side of the giant caldera, with the whole eastern side having slid off into the Pacific. Kaneohe Bay, the largest bay in Hawaii, is what remains of the caldera.

Aerial photograph of the Koolau Mountains, Windward Oahu, Hawaii — Aerial photograph of the Ko’olau Mountains, Windward Oahu, Hawaii

In the aerial photograph above, we can see the aforementioned cliffs of the Ko’olau range. To get this view, I hiked about an hour from the trailhead off the Pali Highway. It took me a while to find an open spot in the dense tropical forest to launch my Mavic 2 drone. (if you look closely at the top of the cliffs, you can see two electric line towers that bring power from Honolulu over to Kailua).

Aerial photograph of Mt Konahuanui, the highest peak of the Koolau Mountains, Windward Oahu, Hawaii Add to Cart — Aerial photograph of Mt Konahuanui, the highest peak of the Koolau Mountains, Windward Oahu, Hawaii
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Mt Konahuanui is the tallest peak of the Ko’olau Range. It is thought that the Ko’olau Volcano rose to about 10,000 feet high thousands of years ago. In the millennia since, the Ko’olau’s have eroded significantly as Mt Konahuanui is “only” 3100 feet high.

To get this view of Mt Konahuanui, I flew my drone as close as I dared to the cliff face. Even though I and my drone were at least a couple of thousand feet above sea level at the time (while never flying my drone higher than the legally allowed 400 feet above ground level), I still had to point the camera up to capture the peak looming above me.

Next week: even MORE of my new aerial photos from Hawaii!

Please remember that all of my photography is for sale as fine art prints and canvases. And if you’re an art director or photo editor, you can license my work for your commercial or editorial project. Contact me for more information, or go to my web page; markjohnson.com.

Until next time, Aloha,

Mark

Mark A. Johnson

My name is Mark Johnson, and I’m a professional ocean, travel and adventure photographer. As a young kid, I started surfing at Kailua Beach in Hawaii, and as I got better, progressed to Pipeline and other North Shore spots, and then to surfing on Kauai and around the world. I live in Australia, and travel to Hawaii each year.
From my early teens, when I started shooting surfers and waves, I was in demand by my fellow water lovers, and when my first photograph was published in Surfing at the age of 18, my work was also sought after by photo editors, art directors, and regular folks who bought my fine-art prints. I’m far from only a surfing and wave photographer; my love of traveling and nature has allowed me to branch into those photographic realms as well.