Full Moonset from Diamond Head Crater and More – December 9, 2011

If you are lucky, a few days in winter will allow you to witness the spectacle above. It may as be as clear as this day, but none-the-less, is still a gorgeous view.

What am I talking about? If you haven’t recognized the landscape, its the full moonset (or near full) from Diamond Head Crater!

You will have to be gate early, well before 6am. Why? Tour buses… often, hundreds of Japanese tourists flock here to watch the sunrise. Do your best to “politely” pass them on the trail after you park, especially before you reach the narrower sections (e.g. the tunnel). On more than one occasion, I have seen ~200 Japanese tourists at the top. It really can be insane… so make sure your cardio is top-notch and you GET TO THE TOP FIRST.

Again, witnessing the full moonset from here is only possible in the winter months, as the sun rises later than in most months of the year. Full or near-full moonsets will always be in the morning around 630 give or take an hour so. Make sure to take a head lamp or flashlight and pack light. You REALLY want to get up there before the crowd does… and they aren’t usually there to see the same thing you are. Most of the time I don’t even stay for the sunrise because it gets way too “club-like” or the similar to the Great Aloha Run prior to the starting gun. lol.

Note the park opens at 6am and closes at 6pm on a typical day. Some days they close early or for the entire day due to trail maintenance. A small fee for per vehicle or for walk-ins (especially for if you’re kamaaina – Hawaii resident) is required at the front gate, or you can purchase a annual pass for unlimited access to the park. Keep in mind exploring outside of the designated trail and outside of business hours is illegal.

For those of you who want to take this type of photography more seriously, you should learn your lunar and solar azimuths, or the angle (0 or 360 degrees = North) at which they rise and set on a particular day. These cyclical patterns are predictable every single day of the year, and are well documented online. I’ve noted these times and angles for the month of January 2012. A digital compass will obviously be useful, but you can map out your foreground and moon/sunrise far in advance using 3-dimensional spatial viewers (e.g., Google Earth or ArcGIS Explorer – both free)… I’m sure there are inexpensive apps on your smartphone for such features.

…and if you plan to night hike, it is a good idea to have scouted the trail and viewing point far in advance AND DURING THE DAY (Moonset from Koko Crater, above).

…trust me, it will save you time on getting a great shot from a remote location (Moonrise from Stairway to Heaven / Haiku Stairs, above).

…but if you don’t plan on hiking to some remote area to get an atypical landscape shot (Moonrise over Waikiki, above),

…there are tons of opportunities in very accessible places (Moonrise over Manana/Rabbit Island, above).

Particularly, clouds on the horizon (Moonrise from Lanikai Pillboxes, above).

Sometimes, you will assume since the sky above you is clear, the horizon must also be clear (Moonrise over Chinaman’s Hat, above).

Not true, at least if you want the moon in your photo. I had to wait an hour after the “actual” moonrise time until it rose above the clouds above Diamond Head (see above).

And to be honest, on a typical day in Hawaii, there is almost ALWAYS clouds on the horizon… and directly above you for that matter. It’s the result of consistent trade winds which carry warm, moist air from the oceans towards the islands (Kayaking under the full moonrise in Waikiki, above).

But that doesn’t mean you can’t be patient, because there WILL always be another opportunity to photograph something AMAZING… well, at least if you do a little research (Moonset over Waikiki, above).

But where are you going to be when that opportunity knocks on your front door is really up to you (Moonrise over Hilton Fireworks Show, Above).

Hopefully not in bed sleeping. 😉

Good luck and stay safe!!!

To view this location on a Google Map also known as my “Adventure Map“, Click Here. For more adventures of the Lost Trailblazers, either look at my other blogposts and “Adventures with the Lost Trailblazers” photo gallery. Thanks for visiting and come back again soon!