Below are a series of beach scenes all photographed Wednesday morning at Lumahai Beach. I wanted to convey a certain feeling in these images, and I think of them as vignettes of a dream— little fragments of experiences lived in sleep, and only vaguely remembered upon awaking. 

Upon awaking we look to sleep to continue the play. And rather than rubbing our eyes and sitting up straight we lie and long for the scenes interrupted and the memories we have forgotten. 

We seek to return to sleep if only to reenter the "me" of the dream. To talk to her one more time. To be with him one more moment. To find an answer to all the questions why.

It is difficult to return to the dream. It's like the alarm has caused a shift in time in the dream world of our mind. If we are able to reenter the dream it is often at a moment lost to where we were when we woke up. It's like our dream world went ahead of us. It seems to continue without us. Further reminding us that we are not the only actors in this subconscious play.

Lumahai Beach is just north of Hanalei Bay. There are actually two Lumahai Beaches-- one we call Tourists and the other we call Locals. Lumahai Tourists is the first one that you will come to as you approach from Hanalei. There is pullout parking at the bend as you crest the first hill after Hanalei Bay and the surf spot called Waikokos. To get to the beach you will walk down a path in the woods just to the right of the very limited roadside parking. The path is often muddy and can be quite slippery. 

Lumahai Locals is a little further down and it's the one that I prefer. To get to locals keep heading north and descend the hill. On the left you'll see a beautiful pasture and the mountains as a backdrop. On the right is the parking area for Lumahai Locals. If you go over the one proper bridge on the north shore, than you've gone too far. Locals is right at the river mouth.

Lumahai Locals, looking northwest towards the river mouth.

Lumahai Locals doesn't have the rocks or lava shelf that Tourists has, but for me that's ok because I love the long sweep of beach and the feeling of openness that Locals provide. In the summer you can see the sunrise from either, but only Tourists will give you a chance of watching the sunset. Winter brings big waves to both beaches and because of the rocks, lava shelf and enclosed space of Tourists it is the more dangerous of the two (in my opinion). Of course care and precaution should be taken when photographing either location. When the surf is not too large or when the tides are low it is possible to walk the entire stretch of beach and photograph both locations without getting back into the car. You will often see beach joggers and dog walkers (especially in the mornings) running and walking all the way from Locals to Tourists. 

Fully awake now, we go about the mental process of piecing together vignettes of a dream.

Aloha,

Lee