Capture the Perfect Shot on Hawaiʻi’s Oʻahu

Located on Mount Tantalus, Puʻu ʻUalakaʻa State Wayside Park offers an amazing scenic view of Honolulu and Diamond Head, the site of a dormant volcanic crater and one of Oʻahu's most scenic spots. For best results, use a wide-angle lens or shoot with your smartphone's panorama setting.

Pro Tip: Photograph the sun setting behind the ocean before the park closes at 6:45 p.m. in the winter and 7:45 p.m. in the summer.

Hanauma Bay's turquoise-colored water is best captured from its overlook using a wide-angle lens or the panorama setting. From the parking lot, go back toward the gate and bus stop and walk about 20 minutes up the paved trail.

Pro Tip: Time your visit for sunrise; after 9 a.m., the parking lot fills up, and the sun gets very hot, as there's little or no shade.

Oʻahu's North Shore, legendary for its big winter waves and professional surf competitions, also features some of Oʻahu's best beaches and bays. Parking is difficult; it's best to arrive before 7 a.m.

Pro Tip: Use a selfie stick to photograph yourself in front of the big waves.

Lanikai Beach in the town of Kailua, which is considered one of the best beaches in the world, also makes for a great sunrise location. Park on a side street, and use any beach access route to snap a gorgeous sunrise selfie.

Pro Tip: If you miss sunrise, come at 7 or 8 a.m. and photograph the early morning neighborhood, beaches and Lanikai Bay from the fairly easy Pillbox Trail above Lanikai.

The free Friday Night Fireworks at the Hilton Hawaiian Hotel is a tradition in the city of Waikīkī held every week at 7:45 p.m. Photograph the show with a one-second shutter speed to capture the firework's burst and tail. If you walk along the “Walls" in Waikīkī, a jetty extending into the ocean, you can see the fireworks over Waikīkī's nighttime cityscape.

Pro Tip: No tripod? Hold a point-and-shoot or smartphone steady with both hands close to your body.

Magic Island, a peninsula at Ala Moana Beach Park across from the Ala Moana Shopping Center, offers a stunning nighttime view of the Waikīkī skyline. Use a tripod and set your camera at ISO 100 and a 30-second shutter speed.

Pro Tip: To prevent camera shake and blurred shots, use a shutter release cord or the camera's timer.

A bamboo forest is one of the natural highlights of Hawai'i's landscape. This example is located off Pali Highway at the Nuʻuanu Pali Drive exit. Park near the water facility on the left. Walk 30 yards farther along the road for the trail entrance; from there, it's a five-minute walk.

Pro Tip: Shoot upward along the lines of the bamboo for an interesting composition.

Laniakea Beach, or Turtle Beach, is a habitat for Hawaiʻi’s endangered sea turtles that's located off Kamehameha Highway as you drive toward the North Shore. It's best to arrive by 8 or 9 a.m. before it gets crowded.

Pro Tip: It's against the law to get too close or touch the turtles. Use a telephoto lens to capture images of them sleeping on the sand.

Poke (prounced “po-kay") is a local delicacy consisting of cubes of fresh raw fish, often tuna, and usually seasoned with soy sauce, salt, sesame and onions.

Pro Tip: Turn off your flash and use natural lighting when photographing your bowl (or plate) of food.

Hula is a traditional Hawaiʻi style of dance that can be experienced at a weekly free performance Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at Waikīkī's Kūhiō Beach, weather permitting. When photographing hula dancers, use a fast shutter speed between 1/500 to 1/1000 second.

Pro Tip: Did you know you can increase the ISO setting on a smartphone and eliminate some of the blur?

These are just 10 places on Oʻahu. Be sure to check out the other islands that make up the state for more beautiful, breathtaking photo opportunities.