chrismoyer
FollowLava ocean entry point in Kalapana, HI.
Lava ocean entry point in Kalapana, HI.
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Everything Nature Photo Contest
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Exposure Bundle
Contest Finalist in Visuals of Life Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Off The Grid Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Awesome Destinations Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Powerful Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Water Worlds Photo Contest
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Joey_Howard
February 20, 2014
Awesome capture, Chris!! Congrats on getting in the finalist, well deserved .
TimothyPrincehorn
February 20, 2014
I love the fact that both the waves and the lava flow are racing towards each other. A battle taking place before me. Great shot. Congratulations.
loriblackburn
November 21, 2014
We were in Hawaii in June and I absolutely fell in love with the islands. Fantastic shot.
kathymuhle
February 24, 2015
Awesome picture - congrats on your all your finalist wins! What time of day did you take this picture?
Blazer13
March 07, 2015
What an amazing capture. You should be so proud! magnificent color and long exposure! keep it up!
Pblais
May 13, 2015
Great picture! Getting there to take it is all that and more! Doing both gets the prize!
murraymartin
May 16, 2015
This is a great "Hot Shot", so good to be in the right place at the right time, well done.
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on the Big Island of Hawaii after hiking in 3 miles from Kalapana to the ocean entry point of the lava fields. We hiked in with a group of about 10 people and had 3 guides that led us to this area.Time
This was taken during the golden hour about 30 minutes before sunset. Initially I was hoping to shoot this area with a great sky and sunset in the background but there were no clouds or drama in the sky so I chose to focus on the action where the lava met the sea.Lighting
For this particular photo I knew that I wanted a slightly longer shutter speed to capture the movement of the waves and get the streaks in the water. Shooting during the last 30 minutes before sunset allowed me to do this whereas if I was shooting with the sun overhead I would have needed an ND filter to achieve these results and the lighting would not have been as even as it was.Equipment
I shot this with a Canon 5D MKii with a Canon 24-105 L lens, and Manfrotto tripod. An interesting note is that I left my rubber feet on the tripod and the ground was so hot where we were that two of the feet melted and deformed.Inspiration
I traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii with my family for vacation but I knew that for me personally I wanted to photograph lava more than anything. Things worked out so that my brother in law and I could make the trip out and hike the long way out with our guides to get here. I am a huge fan of long exposure photography and I wanted to incorporate some of that into this scene. The lighting was perfect and the conditions were great. The wind was blowing away from us which allowed me to really focus on capturing the battle between the flowing lava and the ocean waves pushing in. I took many photos dragging the shutter and hoping to capture a great curling wave as it prepared to slam into the lava. Luckily I got was I was hoping for.Editing
Only basic post processing was used. I had to color correct because of the setting sun. The raw photo had a strong warm tone that did not look natural. I adjusted to bring back the blue of the water and retain the natural color of the lava. I also cropped the photo slightly to get a better composition and ran some noise reduction. Otherwise no major adjustments were made.In my camera bag
I always carry my camera and a few lenses but in addition I usually have various polarizers and ND filters available. For landscape photography these are a must. The other thing that my bag is never without is a good cleaning cloth. I shoot a lot at the ocean and sea spray is unavoidable. You always need something to clean your lens.Feedback
Hire a guide! For this and many other photographs in nature there is an element of danger involved. To get to this area in Hawaii it requires hiking over miles of dried lava beds which are brittle and very rugged. Not to mention there are spots where lava has been recently and if you do not know where you could walk right into a recent flow which can very well result in death or serious injury. The guides are experienced and can help you avoid serious pitfalls while also helping you learn more about the local landscape and culture. Be safe and never go alone!