Something's Brewing

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Posted on January 3, 2017January 2, 2017 by Sam Kornstein in Nature, Photography, Travel

Laura and I visited the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden outside Hilo on our drive from Volcano to Hamakua. It far exceeded our expectations and I’d highly recommend an hour or so stop if you’re on the Big Island. The garden is along a trail that’s roughly a mile loop. It’s located off a scenic road which was among the best drives we did on the island. Just a mile south of it is the Onomea Bay Trail, which we walked as well. The trail actually passes through part of the garden, but you can’t get into the main area without first buying tickets at the main entrance. Here are some highlights from the botanical garden: And here are a few shots taken from the Onomea Bay Trail:

Music I Discovered in 2016, and Some Thoughts on Subscription Streaming

Posted on January 2, 2017January 8, 2018 by Sam Kornstein in Music

I spent some time organizing my music over the long weekend, and thought I’d share a playlist I kept throughout the year of songs and artists I discovered. Most of it was released in 2016, but there are plenty of exceptions that were simply new to me. For those who know my taste in music, it’s about what you’d expect – half americana/country/folk with lots of pedal steel guitar, and the rest a mix of indie, alternative, hip hop, and electronic. For full albums from the artists above, I’d recommend just a handful: A Sailor’s Guide to Earth – Sturgill Simpson Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit – Courtney Barnett Paradise – The Wood Brothers The Education

Photographing the Milky Way

Posted on January 2, 2017January 2, 2017 by Sam Kornstein in Nature, Photography, Travel

I’d never photographed the night sky until last week. Living in the Northeast, it’s rare for me to have a clear opportunity without lots of light pollution. And when I’ve been lucky enough to travel somewhere remote, I’ve generally been without a tripod or the right lens. In Hawaii, light pollution is low and visibility is great, so I decided to give it a try while Laura and I were visiting. Here’s what I used for settings on a Nikon D7200 with a 16-80mm lens: manual mode, ISO 6400, focal length 16mm, f/2.8, shutter speed 25 seconds, and focus just a few millimeters to the right of infinity. I tried a few slight variations of those, but found the results weren’t as good. I shot the first bunch while

Lots of Lava and Steam

Posted on January 1, 2017January 2, 2017 by Sam Kornstein in Nature, Photography, Travel

Picking up from the previous post on where to see lava in Volcanoes National Park, here are my shots from the Kalapana lava flow site. We arrived around 5:30pm, just before sunset. I had a lot of trouble choosing which pictures to post, but these are the highlights. Lots of steam coming off the ocean as the lava hits the water: Here there’s some lava shooting up into the air – it gets a little too close to the boat: This is my favorite shot of the bunch. I love the steam patterns over the ocean with the silver water and boat driving away: As it gets dark, the glow becomes brighter: Lots of explosions in the steam: This was by far my favorite part of our time in Hawaii. I’d never

Two Ways to See Active Lava Flow in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

Posted on January 1, 2017January 2, 2017 by Sam Kornstein in General, Nature, Photography, Travel

One of the things I was excited to see in the National Park was molten lava flow. This is something that you can only experience at a few places in the world at the moment, and Volcanoes National Park is one of them. After some research, I found that active flow has been relatively consistent in two places, with great visibility. The first option is easy. A couple miles from the park entrance is the Jaggar Museum, which has a viewpoint overlooking the active Kīlauea Caldera. The caldera is about a half mile away, so you can’t get close, but it’s still an incredible view. It’s best to go at night, as during the day it can be difficult to see the lava itself. Even

The Books I Read in 2016

Posted on January 1, 2017January 2, 2017 by Sam Kornstein in Books

I was reflecting back on the books I read throughout 2016 this morning, and thought I’d share the list, roughly grouped by how much I enjoyed them. I’ve gotten better about quitting books that aren’t right for me after a couple chapters, so nothing in here I wouldn’t recommend. Highly Recommend: The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov: This is my new favorite Asimov book, displacing ‘The Gods Themselves‘, which I also highly recommend. It’s a great story, with a clever approach to exploring the philosophy of time. Skyfaring by Mark Vanhoenacker: A detailed account about what’s it’s like to be a commercial aircraft pilot, with many interesting anecdotes. If you enjoy flying, you’ll probably enjoy the book. The Idea Factory

Two Days in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

Posted on January 1, 2017January 2, 2017 by Sam Kornstein in Nature, Photography, Travel

Following our beach day in the Kona and Kohala coast area, and then our drive to Volcano, HI with a few stops along the way, Laura and I had two full days in the National Park. Unfortunately, it rained like crazy the first day. We were told it was the heaviest rain the area had gotten in years. But we ventured into the park anyway, hoping to catch a break in the downpour. We stopped at the visitor center for some recommendations on hikes, and Mark, a ranger, convinced us that despite the rain, and despite the forecast for 24 more hours of rain, the park was filled with “micro climates” and there could be plenty of relatively dry areas. So

Drive from Kona to Volcano

Posted on December 28, 2016December 28, 2016 by Sam Kornstein in Photography, Travel

After our first day at the beach outside of Kona, Laura and I drove to Volcano, HI to spend a few days in Volcanoes National Park. We first stopped at Big Island Bees, a local honey farm that’s south of Kona and is just outside Captain Cook. We picked up a few jars of honey, and I was able to get a few shots of one of their demonstration hives, which was inside a large glass container: Just around the corner, we found a beach with perfect blue water: The guy at the honey store had recommended a hike along our route that’s only open on weekends. It’s called Kahuku and is in a separate section of the National Park

Turtles, Lava Rocks, Sunset

Posted on December 17, 2016December 17, 2016 by Sam Kornstein in Photography, Travel

Laura and I arrived on the Big Island Thursday evening for a week long getaway, and we had our first full day yesterday. Had perfect weather, a great start to the trip. Here are a few of the highlights. A bird on a tree while we were having breakfast at our B&B outside Kona: Some turtles, or Hono, on the beach at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park: Some lava stones at Mauna Lani: And then finally the sunset from Anaeho’omalu Beach: Time for day two.

Concerned Moose

Posted on December 4, 2016December 4, 2016 by Sam Kornstein in Photography

Last weekend I spent a bit of time playing with the Nikon SB-600 external flash. I’ve had it for a few years now, but rarely bring it along when I shoot. I experimented with some of the different settings and with a range of lighting angles and had some great results. My subject, of course, was the Moose. She sat still, but looked very concerned throughout. More on my photography site.