Hawaii – The Big Island

Ocean of Fog. Hawaii. December, 2014 Pentax 645z with Pentax 300mm f/5.6 lens @ ISO 100 1/8 sec @ f/11
The biggest island in the Hawain chain is called "The Big Island". Why? Well, obviously because it is the biggest, but also because it is called The Island of Hawaii, and since the state is also called Hawaii, this causes no end of confusion. So, everyone simply calls it The Big Island.
How big is The Big Island? One can drive its circumference in less than a day and from one side of the island to the other between the two mountains, Manua Loa and Manua Kia, across the Saddle Road, in about two hours. Big, but not that big.
Though over the years I have vacationed in Hawaii a number of times, on Maui, Oʻahu, and Kauaʻi, I had never been to The Big Island (or TBI as I'll now call it).
TBI has the usual tourist beaches and golf courses but they are mostly restricted to the Kona coast. The Hilo coast (both cities have their own airports) is where one goes for the adventure and photography...