Nick Galante Photography

It’s never too late. I leave for Japan on May 28th and return on June 8th. I still have several openings for Kauai family beach portraits and wedding photography before I leave. Don’t forget the $395. special. This is great if you have multiple families here at the same time. Shoot the big group and each family individually all for one low price.

Ok, so against the advice of my wife and sister I went back to the place where I fell. I wanted to see how close to reality my memory of it was. I also had the hair brained idea of digging up the cactus and planting it in my yard.

I must have stumbled backward a couple of steps because the distance between the two points is quite a ways. I guess the rock just to the right of the cactus was where I hit my leg.

The cactus head catcher is just as I remember it. I knew there were a lot of rocks but did not realize the plant was right on top of a rock.

My memory of the cliff was not as accurate. The third photo is taken from where I landed. It would have taken some effort to get over the cliff.

At one point while taking these photos I heard what sounded like a baby crying. I soon realized I was standing right in the middle of a shearwater nesting area. The shearwater is a seabird that likes to nest in holes dug in the ground. They are very vulnerable to cats and dogs. I have seen a few shearwater nesting areas near the sea and this is a very large and important one. I came in a way where there was no indication of the site. There is some construction fence but it is haphazard and there are no signs. This type of fencing is probably not the best for this purpose as I saw two dead birds caught in it. I left as soon as possible.

I hope the Kukuila golf course and/or the state understands the critical nature of this site. They need to keep everything out and yet allow the birds in. A nice start would be some signage of any kind.

Please don’t go to this place, I am obviously sorry I did. It is very close to the road and you can get great photos from there.

All of these photos were shot with my iphone. Did I mention that I love my iphone.

There is a place in Poipu where they have been clearing invasive plants near the ocean. As this work has been going on they have been uncovering interesting features like this rock trail and rock walls and stairways. I could tell from a distance that someone had put a lot of work into this trail and I wanted to photograph it. After taking some photos I walked to the end of the trail and started back.

I was carrying my camera on a heavy tripod with my camera bag/backpack on my back. After this trail ends there are some large boulders to climb. At the top of the boulders I somehow lost my balance and fell backwards landing at the bottom of the boulders on the trail, about a ten foot fall. I landed on my back and hit my head hard. After catching my breath and checking for broken bones I noticed that my head had landed right on top of a cactus plant that had been cut off on the trail. The cactus stub acted as kind of a cushion for my head. All around this spot was lava rock. If I had hit my head on rock I would have been badly injured or worse. I also noticed that three feet to my left was a cliff dropping thirty feet down to rocks.  All I suffered was a badly bruised leg and a crushed ego.

I have done a lot of hiking on Kauai in search of photos. This is the first time I have ever fallen. How is it my head hit exactly the right place or I didn’t go off the cliff? I learned three things  from this experience. 1) I am sixty not thirty. 2) To be more grateful for every day cause you just never know. 3) This lens does not do well at f22.

Happy to be offering studio headshots in Koloa.

Headshot portrait photography in Koloa by Nick Galante