I decided on an afternoon flight with Paradise Helicopters as the light would be softer. Meeting at Turtle Bay, we were taken through a short safety demonstration then met our pilot for the fight. Younger than expected but he had years of flying experience and from take-off, I felt safe. Lucky enough to get the front seat with views on all sides, I opted to pay that little bit extra to have the door removed for even more visibility. This was such a good decision as my range of view was extended and the experience felt so much more real.
We took flight over the golf course and were immediately above the vivid blue waters of Turtle Bay. My breath was taken away instantly and I was left in awe. In no time at all, you could see to the other side of the island and we made our way inland over the Dole Plantation pineapple farm towards Pearl Harbour. The military base was so interesting to see from above. The giant cruisers were waiting patiently in the bay and our pilot pointed out the USS Arizona which was sunk in 1941.
Continuing south to Waikiki we watched the surfers waiting for the perfect wave, yachts cruising in the afternoon sun and from so far away what seemed like a peaceful Waikiki Beach. I had never realized how the city curves around the water. I’m not usually one to appreciate buildingscapes but it was actually quite beautiful from the sky, especially the pink Royal Hawaiian Hotel sitting proudly in the middle.
Circling around Diamond Head was spectacular. I could appreciate its beauty even more after seeing it from another viewpoint. We passed over Haunama Bay, Koko Crater and Lanai Lookout before reaching the east side of the island. Seeing the beauty of all these landmarks in full was grounding. We flew around the Makapu’u Lighthouse and Rabbit Island before heading inland and flying straight through the Koolau Mountain Range. The shadows of the ridges create the most exquisite textures and depth.
After hiking through these mountains I knew the beauty and ruggedness up close. Something I’ll never forget is approaching the mountains and flying right over the top, so low we could wave to the hikers on the peak. What I was most looking forward to was seeing the Sacred Falls up close and it didn’t disappoint. The 1100ft drop of the water felt powerful, even from afar. It was just simply gorgeous.
Top tips:
- I had a camera strap, iPhone safety strap, and a necklace around my neck. At one stage I was so caught up I felt like a fish in a net. Leave the jewelry at home and just focus on either a camera or a phone.
- If you have the doors off wear pants and a sweater, it can get very cool up there in the wind, even on a warm day. Tie your hair up, like I said… wind!
- If the doors are on and you’re keen to take some photos, wear dark clothing to reduce the amount of reflection from inside the cabin.
- Research the route you’ll be taking and try to get the best seat. You want the seat closest to the island. Going anti-clockwise? Sit on the left! Sometimes you don’t have any control over where you’ll be as the flight needs to be evenly weighted but it’s always worth a shot.
Photography tips:
- Shooting from a helicopter was one of my biggest photography challenges to date. Set up your camera before you leave the ground and be prepared to be quick on the shutter.
- I shot with an 18-55mm lens, generally at 18mm to get as much as I could in the shot.
- You cannot swap lenses, batteries or SD cards during a doors off flight, so ensure your battery is full and your card is empty.
- Take more photos rather than less. I took 300 photos on the hour-long tour and ended up with about 50 worth keeping. As the helicopter is moving incredibly fast I put my camera on shutter priority of 1/1000 with ISO between 800-1000. The aperture would adjust accordingly between f/5.6 and f/8. There is a little bit of noise in my images but they are razor sharp so I was ecstatic.
- Make sure you’re constantly checking your ISO as cloud cover can leave your photo underexposed.
- I was shooting with my DSLR and taking videos with my iPhone. The iPhone had issues recording video due to the rolling shutter. It couldn’t keep up with the speed so I would recommend leaving it behind unless it’s to take photos.
- Keep your camera on continuous burst mode and take about 4 shots for every scene. When the helicopter is tilting towards your subject it’s incredibly easy to catch the rotor blade in the image. If you’re unlucky enough to catch it in every image you can use a mixture of the various images to create one.
- If you have chosen a doors off flight, leave the lens hood and lens cap in the Paradise Helicopters office. You don’t want anything that can fly off and end up in the tail rotor.
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