The "aloha state", Hawaii may not be the paradise it seemed when Captain Cook landed there in , but most people find it to be pretty darn close. The lush vegetation, balmy air, flowers, rainbows, surf, sand, and mai-tais create a wonderful ambience, and the efficiency of the hotels and everything else set it apart from most other tropical get-aways. In addition to the tropical paradise stereotype, Hawaii has mountains high enough for winter snow, small deserts, massive ruins of the native Hawaiian culture, an international crossroads city, and erupting volcanoes.

I have been to Hawaii eight or nine times, usually for two weeks, once for a month - I even taught a field class there. Unfortunately my earliest panoramas, of Oahu and the Big Island, were done on film and no longer measure up. I plan to return to Hawaii at least twice in the next two years, to re-photograph these islands and add Moloka'i and Lana'i. Mau'i was well covered soon after I started shooting digital, and Kaua'i was reshot in March 2009.

The guidebooks to Hawaii each cover one island: Kaua'i the Garden Isle; Oahu the meeting place (withdrawn, but returning in 2010); Moloka'i (planned for 2010), Lana'i (planned for 2010), Mau'i the Valley Isle; and the Big Island of Hawaii (withdrawn, but returning in 2010 or 2011).