aloha!

long time no blog. 

i hope you have all been well and that your new year is off to a pleasant start.

in this blog, i want to introduce you to the pinnacles that run all along the heritage trail from poipu to mahaulepu-- on the south side of kauai.

pinnacles and fan of a waveanother sunrise on the south shore sees blue skies and day full of promise and aloha.
mahaulepu, poipu, hawaii

pinnacles and time

the picture above is one of my favorite places to shoot on the south shore and on the day of this shoot, naomi and i woke up early so that we could get a few sunrise shots either on or in the pinnacles. this day was gonna be all about high risk-high return. 

we arrived at shipwrecks early-- well before sunrise-- and affixed our headlamps and began our little hike to my favorite pinnacles.

although i knew where i wanted to shoot, and how to get there,  i wasn't quite sure how i was going to get the sunrise and the pinnacles in the same shot. so when we arrived at the location i had to scout around a bit-- climbing up and down, over and in the pinnacle formations all the while keeping an eye on the horizon for signs of where exactly the sun would appear. climbing into the pinnacles was a bit tricky. and once when i thought i had a good spot i took out the camera and tripod only to have a big wave splash all over me.

um, this spots not gonna work.

now, how to get down safely!?

without injuring camera or body.

while the sun's beginning rise!?

this is what i call "high risk-high return photography." high risk because of the location-- proximity to heights and drop-offs, water and waves, strange or unfamiliar angles, and other compositional challenges. basically when shooting high risk-high return you're taking a chance that while some of your photos may turn out interesting or spectacularly unique, you are also risking the light, the gear, and pretty much the entire shoot.

i finally found a cramped little corner that would provide a glimpse of the sun, but the angle wasn't that great for the pinnacles. not too great of a return, but the adventure and challenge was fun. after getting a couple of shots here, i decided to climb down and approach the subject from another angle. 

sun on the pinnacles (bw)

i like this one. the sun just off the lens, giving a hint of the warmth and light in the day. like the guru.

macbeth

the reason why i look shooting here so much is because of the mysterious quality of this specific section of the heritage trail. it's like another world. one from a different place and time. it reminds me of macbeth, where the time seems out of sync and the loose ends are frayed.

and continuously changing.

aloha,

lee