Lava Entering Pacific Ocean Kalapana, Big Island, Hawaii When I first visited the Big Island to see the lava spewing into the ocean I was in for a real treat! I watched lava pour beautifully into the ocean for almost an hour. Despite having to wait a few seconds for the wind to blow the steam away from the scene, I came home with a ton of amazing photos. However, one thing I didn't witness were the lava bombs! The lava bombs occur when the pressure from the lava tube builds up so much that the lava explodes to the surface. Using a long shutter length you can capture the explosion as if it's silky and on a string. One our second day on the Big Island we got to the lava flow early and just as the sun began to come up, the tube began to explode! For almost 15 minutes we watched this lava bomb go off over and over. We snapped away, hoping we got all the settings right in our cameras and sure enough, I did! Nikon D800 w/Sigma 150-600mm: 150mm, f/6.3, 2.0 sec, ISO 500
Sunset at Secret Beach Brookings, Oregon One thing I've noticed when taking pictures is that if you stare at a scene too much, you end up taking the same photos over and over again. So it was nice to get away from the Redwood forests and rhododendron blooms and see something different for this sunset. Miles had wanted to photograph some of the Oregon coast and since it was only 30 minutes away, we decided to hop on up. He knew of a few beaches and we stopped at 3 or 4 before deciding to head to Secret Beach. We arrived after a mile hike, in which we were *very* careful not to step on Poison Oak, which filled the sides of the trails at every step (and of course when we arrived, I set my camera down in a clearing surrounded by more Poison Oak). Thankfully none of us ended up touching the Poison Oak. The seastacks along the Oregon coast are known for there bulbous shapes that dot the coastline. Secret Beach is no different and was a beautiful place to watch sunset. At one point David walked out onto these rocks for a selfie, and he was a perfect model in my composition. I ended up loving having the human element in this photo. It reminded me of the break we were taking from life, from COVID, from the Redwoods and Rhodes ... and even the break David was taking from photographing to just BE IN THE MOMENT. Nikon D850 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 18mm, f/22, 1.3 sec, ISO 31
Wave BreakerSunset near Hole in the Wall Beach Davenport, California I’ve always loved photographing water and of all the wonderful places along the Santa Cruz coast the place that holds my most nostalgic experience is Hole in the Wall beach. Not because it’s the prettiest beach in the Bay Area (it’s not) or because it has beautiful sea stacks and stunning cliffs, but rather because I had a near-death experience here. Several years ago Willie and I photographed this beach and on our way back to the car I managed to get swept up in a wave and tossed against the rocks before I managed to drag myself back onto the beach. I’ve had a respectful fear of the Ocean ever since. Willie had scouted this section of the beach on a previous trip and wanted to return for this evenings’ sunset. The climb down was fairly steep and I was a little bit nervous of the massive waves crashing against the rocks but on this trip I managed to avoid any life-threatening experiences. Instead I witnessed a beautiful sunset. I had been fascinated by this little channel almost as soon as we arrived here. I loved the little arch and noticed how the waves drained off the background cliffs, creating mini-waterfalls. To my right were beautiful wave-carved granite slots that I hoped would reflect the sunset. Unfortunately my gamble failed and the sunset color stayed low in the sky, not high enough to reflect in the slots. Trying to make do I ended up back at this channel. I still wish the sunset had reflected on the granite rocks but hey, it turned out pretty nice anyways. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8: 24mm, f/9, 0.6 sec, ISO 100
