Skywatch Friday: Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii

My sister and her family went to Hawaii for the New Year this year. This is the second time they went to these beautiful islands. The first time was in March 2001, our whole family gathered at Oahu for our father's 80-year old birthday. Everybody loves the trip.

A few years later, our daughter went to the Big Island of Hawaii with her friend, and after that she was married on the island of Kauai in 2006. Last week, during my visit to her for the birth of her second child, I found some photos that we took at Kauai in 2006. The day after our daughter's wedding, Grace and I took a helicopter ride to fly through the famous Waimea Canyon.

We were not very sophisticated with our camera equipment at the time. I was using my old Nikon D70 with 24-85 mm lens, and she had her Panasonic point-and-shoot.

We had to take the pictures through the glass window of the helicopter. The scenery was incredible. However, our photos right out from the camera did not do justification to the majestic canyon.

Well, five years later, I am a little bit better with Photoshop. A few trick with the "curve" removed the haze, increased the contrast and brought out the true color of the Waimea Canyon.

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