As a result, my wife and I decided to round up to an even $350 for our annual donation to the Pacific Whale Foundation and for everything thing do all year round.

Mahalo to everyone that helped spread the word about our Facebook Page and sharing your Aloha stories with us.

- Kris

Aloha Maui fans,
I’m excited to announce a new fan drive for our Facebook page that will help benefit one of our favorite organizations, the Pacific Whale Foundation.

The Whales are Coming

Every time around this year, the first humpback whales end their long journey back to the Hawaiian islands from their summer homes up north in Alaska. It’s also about this time when my wife and I, who have had a membership with the Pacific Whale Foundation for many years now, make a donation to help celebrate their arrival.

Well, this year I wanted to do something a little different, something more interactive. Instead of just us writing a check like we do every year, I wanted to have a some fun with it and reach out to all of you to help determine how large of a donation to make this year.

Enter the ’09 Maui by Photo Fan Drive

So what I came up with was pretty simple. For every fan we have on our Maui by Photo Fan Page on Facebook at the end of October, we will donate $1 to the Pacific Whale Foundation. For instance, at the time of this post, our Facebook page has 309 fans, so that would be a $309 check to PWF just right there. If we can add 200 fans this month, the check goes up to $509. Adding 500 fans would go up to $809, and so on. All the way up to a maximum donation of $1,000 (although if we top 1,000 fans by the end of the month, something may be worked out for a little extra).

It’s that easy. If you’re not already a fan, just visit our page on Facebook, have a look to see what it’s about, and click “Become a Fan” up at the top. Optionally, you can also leave a message on our wall, to share your favorite whale stories or even just to say Aloha!

If you’re already a fan of ours on Facebook, mahalo nui loa! Your involvement then becomes helping to spread the word about our fan drive and our website. It can be as easy as posting a note on your own wall, sending a message to your FB friends, or even posting a quick note on your own blog or website. Obviously, the more fans we have at the end of October, the larger the donation to the Pacific Whale Foundation, so it’s all for a good cause.

About the Pacific Whale Foundation

First, I wanted to add a disclaimer that neither our site or my wife and I are officially associated with the Pacific Whale Foundation. We are just long time supporters of theirs, believe in everything they do for the environment, the whales, and the community, and recommend them to all of our friends and family whenever they visit Maui.

With that out of the way, the PWF is responsible for so many great programs and activities on the island of Maui, and also throughout the entire Pacific Ocean. The following is their official mission statement listed on their website:

Our mission:
To promote appreciation, understanding and protection of whales, dolphins, coral reefs and our planet’s oceans. We accomplish this by educating the public — from a scientific perspective — about the marine environment. We support and conduct responsible marine research and address marine conservation issues in Hawaii and the Pacific. Through educational ecotours, we model and promote sound ecotourism practices and responsible wildlife watching.

Rather than me go on about everything the Pacific Whale Foundation does year round, I recommend just checking out their website at www.pacificwhale.org and spending a few minutes reading through their cause and their programs. And if you’re visiting Maui, be sure to check out their locations in Lahaina and Ma’alaea Harbor to meet some of the fine folks in person.

Mahalo For Your Support

From Cindy and I, I just wanted to pass on a big Mahalo for reading about our fan drive and helping to spread the word. With your help, we can make this fan drive the start of something pretty big that we can continue for years to come.

Aloha and Mahalo,
– Kris

Related Links

• Share your stories of your favorite whale watching moments.
• The official Pacific Whale Foundation website
• The Pacific Whale Foundation Group on Facebook
• The Maui by Photo Facebook Page

Aloha Maui fans, it’s finally here!

Tonight brings us the opening ceremonies for the first annual Maui Photo Festival and Workshops, and all this week I’ll be bringing you the best of the fest and the island of Maui.

In preparation for the festival, I’ve been out shooting various spots on this gorgeous island, both day and night. You can check out some of the results on the Maui by Photo page on Facebook, as well as photos from my Flickr photostream.

Follow Along

If you’re not out here for the festival (or even if you are), you can still tag along with me by following @MauiByPhoto on Twitter. I’ll be sharing updates from the different excursions and sessions that I’m attending, including a Haleakala sunrise trip and a doors-off helicopter tour on Friday.

It’s going to be an amazing week that you don’t want to miss, and if you love photography on the islands, something you’ll sure to want to see for yourself next year, too.

Talk Story

As always, drop me a line or leave a note if you have any thoughts or comments on the festival. Give me a shout if you’re here and attending, and be sure to say Aloha.

Mahalo,
– Kris