Philip Rosenberg, Keck Observatories and Milky Way, Mauna Kea, Hawaii
25 second exposure, Nikon D3, 24mm ƒ1.4 lens.
I've long since ceased to be amazed by "internet stories," but they continue to be a pleasure when they happen to me.
Recently, for instance, as you might remember, I wrote a bit about coffee, when I began roasting my own beans at home.
Some time after, I got a brief note in my email from a TOP reader named Phil Rosenberg, a transplanted Illinoisan (and still a loyal Bears fan) who lives on the Big Island of Hawaii. Phil is a working photographer who specializes in "overworked and overlooked" subjects around the Big Island and Truk Lagoon. He does stock, editorial, advertising, natural history, and construction documentation, with clients as diverse as the London Sunday Times and Men's Journal, McGraw/Hill, the U.S. Postal Service, and Norwegian Cruise Line.
That's not enough to keep him busy, though—on his 3.25 acres on the Big Island, Phil has 1800 coffee trees, from which he harvests three crops a year of Hawaii's famous Kona. Hard work. He "freelances," meaning they grow and process the coffee on the premises and then sell it to others who market it under their own labels.
Kuni'i Coffee, the Big Island of Hawaii
A few days after we exchanged emails, what arrived in my mailbox but a pound of green Kona beans—a gift from Phil at Kuni'i Coffee. The beans are beautiful and the coffee delicious—I roasted (carefully!) a quarter of a pound which disappeared in barely more than a day, and so far I'm keeping the rest in my "coffee cellar" (my stock of green beans—I have varying amounts of more than a dozen varieties so far).
Phil has a photo website but doesn't even maintain a coffee website, because he sells out his entire crop locally every year and has no need for further marketing. However, he says that if any TOP readers want to try his Kona, he can sell 10 lb. quantities of green beans for $115, or 5 lbs. of whole beans roasted in a gas-fired Probat for $90. Priority Mail shipping to anywhere in the U.S. included. (The quantities are determined by U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations.)
Here's his contact information:
Philip Rosenberg, Manager and part owner, Kuni'i Coffee
Philip Rosenberg Photography
75-5315 Mamalahoa Hwy.
Holualoa, HI 96725
Phone: 808-896-3281
Email: parosenberg@earthlink.net
It's always fun to "meet" readers like Phil for a cup of coffee!
Mike
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Original contents copyright 2012 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.
Featured Comment by Doug Reilly: "Not a coffee fiend, but I am an amateur astronomer, and Phil's photograph of Keck is really quite stunning. I like that he left the WB bluish as we see it. Really glows. Hope he's as good at growing coffee!"
