Photography Tips and Advice

Wake up early

I'm an early riser even on vacation! Im always awake by 6am no matter how late I stay up the previous night! I like to be up on deck about 30 minutes before the ship docks in port. I love this time of morning as there are usually only a few people up on deck which means you can walk around getting a lot of nice shots without having to battle 2000 other people with cameras. Also the lighting is much nicer.

Invest in a polarised filter

A polarised filter is a must for anyone travelling with a dslr camera. They are a little pricey but they make you photographs look a million dollars. They are very simple to use; just screw on the end of you lens, then once your ready to take a photo look through your lens finder and gentle rotate the filter. You will notice the sky will go lighter and darker. Once the sky is the darkest you are ready to take your photo like normal. Remember to rotate the filter for every shot. The results are amazing and no doubt you'll be impressed. I like to remove the filter for photos with people in them as I find the result is very dark and not that nice. The filer will come with a little box to keep it in which is handy to keep in your pocket or bag.

Camera bag that does't look obvious

I was given a nice camera bag when I purchased my camera several years ago. Its lovely and comfortable however its bright red and has Canon written in large font across the front. Its ok for when i'm at home taking photos but overseas I feel like it draws a lot of attention for the wrong crowd. I had a look online for suitable bags but they all looked very obvious camera bags or were extremely expensive. A cheaper solution was to purchase a triangle shaped bag, which was padded, and put it inside of a normal handbag. My camera is nice and protected and stays nice and hidden inside my boring looking satchel bag. If you didn't want to purchase a triangle shaped bag you can also wrap your camera in a jumper or t shirt.

Use flash for people photos

It breaks my heart when i see friend's holiday photos of beautiful sunsets or landscapes and their faces are in darkness. Its simple to force the flash in all cameras now and the results are amazing. Have a look at the photos after you have taken them to make sure everyones face is in focus and bright.

Charge your batteries

Make sure you get into a habit of charging your camera batteries when you return to the room. Always bring a spare battery that is fully charged incase the battery dies suddenly.

Put your chargers in you carry on

I always like to take all my various chargers in my carry on luggage. This way I know where they are at all times and wont have to worry about if my main luggage gets lost or doesn't make the ship!

Luncbox for camera stuff

If your looking for a nice simple solution for carrying your camera charge/batteries/memory cards or makeup and jewellery just head to your local junk store and buy a $2 hard lunchbox. Its waterproof and will provide a nice strong box to protect and also store your items. Its also handy once onboard so you can locate and store all your memory cards, batteries and filters in one nice location.

Things I'm looking forward to in the USA

It might seem sad to some people but I've seen so many movies and read books set in America that I want to experience some things for myself. This isn't a completed list- I'm still thinking of things! 

* Walmart- I must go here! I cannot imagine a store that sells clothes, electronics and groceries all in one!! 

• Macys - Its just a store but i'd love to go there!

• Mc Donalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King and similar - Just to see the difference!

• Forever 21 and Victoria's Secret - I've heard its amazing and am bringing and empty suitcase!

• Ranch flavour Doritos- Ok this is a weird one. I read a lot of Babysitter Club books growing up and Claudia always used to eat these flavoured chips. We don't have this favour in Australia and I'd really like to try it!

• Police and Fire Brigade- Hopefully not for the wrong reasons but I'd love to see their vehicles up close.

• Taco Bell- Fascinated by this- must try! 

• Driving on the other side of the road- I've had a day here and there over in Noumea where they do this but not for an extended amount of time. 

• Television- On past cruises we've been able to get some American stations and loved watching shows like Nancy Grace and Cake Boss. I'd love to see the news and some more programs

• Talking about American TV programs- We don't get Parks and Recreation, we stopped getting The Office past season 5, no one knows about Cake Boss here, How I Met Your Mother is still 2 seasons delayed- I would love to talk to people who watch Parks and Rec! 

Airport Transfers

So now we've figured out where we are staying the next part is wondering how we will get there!

We are not renting a car at all this trip ( confusing left hand drive plus driving on the other side of the road- no thanks!) so getting ourselves to the hotel is out. Initially I was thinking a shuttlebus or transfer service but I asked my workmate his thoughts and he recommended just taking a taxi.

I thought about this for several days weighing up the pros and cons before deciding to go for a shuttlebus.

Pro
Taxi: It will just be us and will head straight to the hotel
Shuttle: I think Roberts only goes to 5 different hotels in 1 trip
Taxi: Take our time through customs
Shuttle: Price is know and paid for upfront ( no surprises!)

Con
Taxi: Apparently we arrive at peak time
Taxi: Trying to find a taxi
Taxi: Trying to get change immediately for the taxi ( will be swapping Au$ for US$ and the smallest note they'll give is $50)

 I discovered Roberts were not only very highly recommended but extremely reasonable. Its only $20 each return from the hotel to the airport which we thought was fantastic value. It will give us piece of mind knowing that the service is waiting for us and I think we'll be very tired/jetlagged after a 10 hour flight.

We've also decided to book Roberts to take us to the cruise terminal and back. Its only $7 each way!

Where to Stay: Waikiki

Having never been to Hawaii we had no idea on where to stay. We don't plan on hiring a car so close to public transport is very important. We also wanted to be close to the nightlife so we wouldn't need a taxi to go out. We weren't terrible fussed on being close to the beach or a hotel with a nice pool area. We knew we needed two hotel rooms and one had to have 2 beds. We started looking around at prices and deals and got completely confused!

I started looking at hotels then considered renting a condo, but after some interesting reviews I went back to hotels. The condo option would have us all in the one place sharing 1 bathroom which is a recipe for disaster!

Luckily an old friend from school had just returned from a week long trip to Honolulu and I was able to pick her brain! I got some great advice and finally settled on the Aqua Waikiki Wave. There's two queen beds in each room and a nice balcony. With the great exchange rate ( at the time) I splurged and booked us a partial oceanview room.

Some of the reviews said it was a bit noisy at night as there is a night club underneath. In March I had a weekend away with my friend in Sydney. We stayed in a nice hotel above a pub in the heart of Sydney. Yes it was noisy even though we were on the 12th floor but so worth it for the convenience of not having to rent a car, plus it meant we didn't sleep late and could get an early start!

We have booked the Aqua Waikiki Wave for both portions of the land holiday. Initially I wanted to book somewhere else but we couldn't decide where and we figured that we'd probably know our way around after 10 nights there and it would just be easier.

After booking I got onto Google Maps and had a look at the area. Nice and close to Mc Donalds (yes we are super keen on trying American McDonalds), the Apple store (massive geeks), the International Marketplace, a thousand ABC shops and the bus.

As I said before we are not fussed on a pool as we have one in our backyard and it hardly ever gets used or the beach ( sand-yuck!) but we would like to have a look at it and possibly get into the water. So long as no one looks at our pale skin in our swimwear!

Port of Call-Maui

So on our cruise we have two whole days in Maui. I've been told this is the most nicest port by several different people! To make the most of our days there I went onto Google, Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor to seek out the best plan of attack. There were so many things I wanted to do in this port and not enough time!! Aaahhh!! What to do?? After comparing and researching for weeks we have finally decided!

Day 1 - Hana Highway with Valley Isle Excursions

I likes the sound of the Valley Isle Excursions. The buses are small and they only take 12 at a time. We recently went to Melbourne and did the Great Ocean Road day trip. It was fantastic because we paid slightly extra and went on a small bus of only 13 including the guide/driver. We could easily get off the bus in less than a minute and we managed to stay ahead of the schedule all day allowing us more time once we got to The Twelve Apostles.

We wont be hiring a car at all in Hawaii and this seemed like the best option of seeing a lot of different places and not worrying about taxis or bus timetables.

The Hana Highway looks amazing. The scenery looks beautiful and i love how big the windows on the bus are. Its a very long tour but doesn't bother us- Great Ocean Road was 13 hours and we could have easily gone for a few more hours! We looked at all the reviews and there didn't seem to be too many negative reports.

I like to pick up some tips from previous travellers they are
• Wear old shoes that you wont mind getting muddy
• Bring snacks to nibble on. Lunch is included but its always nice to have a little something incase you dont like the food or start to feel light headed
• Bring some sort of travel sickness remedy. We thankfully dont suffer with motion sickness ( ignoring the time we were in a cyclone at sea and pretty much the whole ship was sick!)
• Bring water. Yes its included but I like to have my own 'stuff'
• Camera cleaning cloth. My lens is always getting mucky from the salt water splashes or sunblock. Bringing a little cloth to wipe the smudges saved me so many times ( also handy for sunglasses and glasses)


Day 2 - Haleakala Crater at Sunrise

I worried over this day for weeks! I wanted to do so many things. Finally I decided to visit the Haleakala Crater. I did plan on doing the day time tour but I got to reading so many reviews about the sunrise tour and somehow I managed to convince the others! So we are doing it. A 3am (or earlier) departure isn't really bothering me ( yet!) its just the coldness.

Temperatures can be as low as 2 degrees Celsius! Plus add in the wind and possible rain- what have we done! We've spent a week looking for thermal clothes to bring with us but where we live in Australia it doesn't really get that cold and there is nothing in the shops! I've Googled how to stay warm and what to bring and they've all said a down jacket - which isn't available in shops anywhere near here!

Here's the plan
• Jeans ( was bringing them anyway)
• Tights under the jeans ( was bringing them as relaxing clothes/ pyjamas)
• Long sleeve t shirt ( the thickest one I have)
• Cardigan ( was bringing one anyway)
• Hoodie ( was bringing it for the plane)
• Scarf, beanie and gloves ( will weigh nothing in my bag and take up no space)
• Bring a blanket from the ship ( hope they dont stop me!)

I'm also going to carry my camera and tripod with me. Am praying my hands dont freeze and I can still use all my equipment.

Originally it was just going to be myself doing the tour ( am going with NCL so everyone was happy I wasn't going to go by myself in the middle of the night) but then I showed my sister some photos and reviews and she decided to join me. Then we showed our dad and he decide to come, then my mum was going to be left by herself so she decided to come- yay! They wasn't impressed about the coldness or the departure time he he :)

Its going to be a crazy few days but hopefully it will be worth it!

Victoria- Great Ocean Road Trip- This size bus was perfect for us

Victoria- Great Ocean Road Trip- Nice country side

Victoria- Great Ocean Road Trip- Beautiful sunset

Victoria- Great Ocean Road Trip- The 12 Apostles 

Port of Call- Honolulu

I've been reading loads of cruise reviews for months now and have noticed something strange- well strange for Australians. It seems that lots of people do tours and activities on the first day of the cruise (the embarkation day) before getting to the port in the afternoon to check in and board the ship. This seems odd as this is not the norm on Australian ships. We usually start driving to the terminal at 9am and arrive at 10am to check in an wait. Its not just our family- its everyone. We all gather in the terminal waiting and waiting to be allowed on the ship. Boarding usually starts at 11am and everyone is on by 2pm at the latest. 

Another strange thing is the cabins aren't ready until the afternoon. That's the first thing we look at as soon as we board. I'm not knocking it, im just fascinated :)

With all that said and I think we are going to head to the terminal as soon as we can and get rid of our luggage. The Aloha Tower seems close by so maybe we'd go and check that out. 

We are super excited to cruise with a different cruiseline- after 9 cruises with P&O Australia we are ready for a change! 

Overseas Passanger Terminal- Sydney Australia

Portside- Brisbane Australia

Princess Ship going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Ship docked in Noumea New Caledonia

Why we are cruising

When we decided to go to Hawaii our first thought was to do a land based holiday with a few day trips to the other islands. I really wanted to visit Maui while the other wanted to see the Big Island. After researching these day trip and figuring out they were over $300 each to each island we soon began to search for other options. 

A 7 night cruse on the Pride of America seemed like the ideal cruise. Stopping at 3 different islands with 2 days in Maui and Kauai- perfect! And no days at sea! 

So without any delay we booked our cruise. We would have liked a balcony cabin but with so little time spent on the ship an outside obstructed room felt like a good choice not to mention very cost effective.

Cruising is the ideal way to travel. Food is included, its safe to walk around at night or by yourself, your cabin is only a few flights of stairs away, loads of people to talk to and something is always happening! 

We've done 9 cruises since 2004 so here are my tips

* The laundry room is great for unofficial news and gossip

• Start a conversation with people in lines or when waiting for the shows or activity to start

• Organise your clothes and day bag the night before- its loads easier waking up early when you know your camera is ready to go and your clothes are laid out

• Whenever you are in your room charge your camera batteries!

* If you plan on collecting the daily newspapers bring along a plastic sleeve. This will keep them neat and tidy in your luggage.

* Book your tours before you leave and seek out an alternative activity if it gets cancelled.

* Wait till the second last day to buy any photographs from the ships photographer- they often have specials that will save you money

*Bring a spare bag to store dirty clothes

* Wake up early to see the ship sail into port

• Always bring a light jacket for nights on the ship- the air conditioning can be really cold