Category — 1.)shots

On the way to the Honoka’a County Gym for the Waiawi public meeting, I took an unplanned detour, and found this excellent view of Mauna Kea and its observatories.

The 1.) shot is here: bigislandvideonews.com/20080717maunakea1shot.htm

Today I took a quick trip to the other side of Hawaii’s world famous volcano; it will most likely be the first of many. I had been to the Hawaii Volcano National Park a couple of times, but I had never made the trip down 130 to the Kalapana area, where current lava flows into the ocean produce an amazing plume of smoke visible for miles.

I drove the car over a narrow, paved road through daunting lava fields. Workers with the Hawaii Civil Defense were on hand to guide the traffic around the parking lot. A marked path led visitors through a 3/4 mile hike over the hardened lava rock toward a safe viewing area. Time was against me taking the hike, but I did steal a quick 1.)shot of the plume. I posted it here, at bigislandvideonews.com/20080716volcano1shot.htm.

I kept an eye on the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Daily Update while studying this natural phenomenon. The update is generated by the USGS’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and it can be a fascinating read full of scientific volcano jargon. Here’s the “activity summary for the last 24 hours” posted on their website at volcano.wr.usgs.gov/kilaueastatus.php

Kilauea summit and Pu`u `O`o cone are no longer deflating. Unusually small amounts of ash and elevated amounts of sulfur dioxide gas continued to issue from the Halema`uma`u vent. At the east rift eruption site, incandescence was observed from vents within Pu`u `O`o Crater; lava flows from the TEB vent through tubes to the ocean at Waikupanaha; surface flows within the abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision were active this morning.

The term TEB stands for Thanksgiving Eve Breakout, for the lava flow that started November 21, 2007.

The air was thick with heat. Steam exploded from the ocean, and the infamous vog lurched towards the west. Tendrils of what appeared to be funnels contorted from the edges of the menacing cloud.

I shall return.

One of the first video categories I’ve instituted is the 1.)shot. I admit it is strangely named, but it was born out of need for a short title rather than some sort of ill fated play on words. I had to fit it in the black navigation bar under the title banner of the webpage. It should be recognizable, at least.

Think of the 1.)shot as a moving postcard. Just one set shot of a scene of beauty or interest. There are lots of those on the Big Island. I doubt I’ll ever run out of different inspiring vistas.

The videos contain sound, and are looped so as to be able to run for as long as the user wants. I know most people on the internet don’t have time for such a thing, but if a visitor to the site wants to pick a cool 1.)shot and let it run while they occupy themselves in some other fashion, it is set up to do so. The sounds will usually be soothing to the ear, and the scene pleasing to the eye.

Of course, back in New Jersey, us news photographers would often get shots like these to run behind the meteorologist at the start of the weather segment. We called them “weather shots” and labelled the tapes “wx shots” (for reasons I never knew) … so I guess the bizarre 1.)shot title is also some sort of quasi-nod to my wx shot heritage.

Keep in mind that although we took pride in a well executed weather shot in New Jersey… it was still New Jersey. Which isn’t bad, but when compared to the scenery of Hawaii, its tough to compete. So I hope I don’t resort to those days of “tree outside the studio” or “flag billowing (or not billowing) in breeze” that so often plagued my former station’s weather casts.

I shall hope the excellent meteorologists I have worked with in the past appreciate my ode to our shared weather shot craft. And I shall hope they are not too jealous.

Here is what those 1.)shots will look like.

Of course, I envision greater things than these. But they are OK for now.

Hilo Nightfall

Red Sunset