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Double Wave



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In early September of 2015, three major hurricanes passed just to the north of the Island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. These storms produced huge waves tha...
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In early September of 2015, three major hurricanes passed just to the north of the Island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. These storms produced huge waves that battered the coast, closing beaches to all but to world class surfers. These massive breakers were an incredible spectacle, especially with the dramatic lighting of a breaking storm. This dramatic wave capture was made at Kealia Beach on September 5th 2015 as 30 foot waves came ashore. Exposure at 1-1000 sec f 8, focal length 280 mm, ISO 200.
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Behind The Lens

Location

In early September of 2015, three major hurricanes passed just to the north of the Island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. These storms produced huge waves that battered the coast, closing beaches to all but to world-class surfers. These massive breakers were an incredible spectacle, especially with the dramatic lighting of a breaking storm. This dramatic wave capture was made at Kealia Beach on September 5th, 2015 as 30-foot waves came ashore. Exposure at 1/1000 sec f 8, focal length 280 mm, ISO 200.

Time

This exposure was made around 1:30 PM. I scrambled over a huge, beach wide, drift line of wood and debris to the beach. As I looked at the giant waves coming in I was very disappointed as the sky was so dark and gloomy ... no definition in the waves. I'm glad I stayed.

Lighting

I kept looking through my lens to possibly salvage the day with a shot or two, Darkness. Then, without any hint of what was about to happen, an opening in the dense cloud cover allowed a beam of sunlight to dance about on the churning sea. The light kept changing shape and was moving very fast. The wind was blowing quite steadily. I looked out to see and saw this double wave about to break. The shaft of sunlight was going to merge with the wave! I raised my camera and waited just a few moments for the light and wave to meet and snapped the shutter! Then the "sky hole" closed in the clouds and all was dark once again. Another photographer came running across the beach and yelled "Did you get it? ... Did you get it?" I showed him what I had captured. He said he missed the shot by a few seconds! We waited patiently for another half hour or so with no spectacular lighting events occurring again.

Equipment

I used a Nikon D5300 with a 70 to 300 mm lens. No tripod as I had to move fast to freeze the action should the right conditions appear. Exposure at 1/1000 sec f 8, focal length 280 mm, ISO 200.

Inspiration

I was on vacation in Kauai and was unable to go into the sea as it was so rough from the passing hurricanes to the north. So I grabbed my camera gear and drove around to see what I could capture. The giant waves looked so intriguing with their immense power and speed but the light was so poor with the dense storm clouds. Just happened to be at the right place at the right time

Editing

The only post-processing was to increase the saturation by 7%.

In my camera bag

My Nikon D5300 with three lenses. My Nikon telephoto lens 70 to 300 mm. My midrange lens is a Nikon 18 to 55 mm. And my Nikon wide-angle 10 to 20 mm. I also carry polarizing filters for all three lenses as well as neutral density filters. I carry two tripods and a small lightweight tabletop and a field tripod for outdoor use. I also pack an extra battery, always fully charged, and additional SD cards.

Feedback

As any nature or landscape photographer knows, being at the right place at the right time results in many spectacular shots, especially when dramatic natural lighting is involved. The photographer behind me missed his opportunity by mere seconds. Patience is also key, sometimes you just have to wait to the light for that spectacular shot that rises above the rest.

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