The fires of creation.....

Being a photographer affords one a unique perspective of the world we live in, we train our eyes to see what most would pass up. In so doing we are treated to some incredible glimpses of the beauty and complexity of our planet and the incredible creativity of its creator. We see the immense power and energy that the planet wields through the winds the can be slow breezes or turn into pillars of destruction, or by watching the ever pounding surf which can turn from calm soothing waves to incredible surges of surf pounding into coastlines. Such events are incredible to watch and experience and yet incredibly difficult to capture in a photograph. A 2 dimensional representation can only take you far, but to be there and experience it yourself is something that is truly beyond words. having lived in central america i have witnessed 1st hand the immense power of a hurricane, the frightening beauty of lightning storms and the destructive power of surging rivers after heavy rains. Yet even with these unique perspectives in hand none of them prepared me for the spectacular display that i was about to witness. As we drew ever closer to the parking lot we could see the fiery red glow off in the distance, it was like a beacon of amazing things to come. My excitement grew in leaps and bounds as the glow grew bigger, the moon out we could see the volcanic plume of smoke that we had seen earlier. This time it took on a whole different dimension though, the moons blue light was an incredible contrast to the lavas crimson red, it just seemed to hug the edges of the plume giving it incredible depth. The 3/4 mile hike from the parking lot to the the viewpoint was even longer and more arduous in the dark but we finally made it. We were finally able to see the spectacle in full view, and a spectacle it was........my very breath was stolen away and a chill overtakes me. It was one of the most beautiful things that i had ever seen. The view is truly indescribable, the visible power that is there presenting itself in violent eruptions as two extremes meet one another. Some of the eruptions as the hot lava collided with the cold water were truly spectacular and at one point the explosions were truly amazing and so much energy had built up in the plume that there were lightning bolts in the cloud. To be there and witness it 1st hand has been one of the greatest highlights of my life, to see it and hear it. To witness a force so powerful and destructive that all man can do is get out of its way when it moves against him and yet simultaneously it creates, truly something incomprehensible. We were witnessing the birth of new land, much destroyed and yet in time renewed.........WOW!!! It was cool to hear some of the locals say that they had not seen it this active in a long time........yes i will admit that it made me feel very special to be there. Now if youre reading this and thinking that i am being overdramatic and trying to sound cool with the words i write let me say this. My image is something i care very little about, yes i may sound dramatic but that is truly what i experienced emotionally. Whether these feeling come about from being a photographer i dont know. All i know if that we live i an incredible world, filled with endless beauty and wonder. I have a deep love and respect for its beauty and complexity and the incredible diversity of life that is contained within our world that yes at times i have been brought to tears at the sight of incredible beauty. I think that what brings these emotions about is not just the love i have for our planet but for its incredible creator, whose immense creativity has surrounded us with such great beauty. I feel blessed beyond all measure to have been given a gift that allows me to enjoy and appreciate these things and to have the opportunity to attempt to capture them in a photograph.......truly our is an amazing God. I will admit that i rode home with a grin on my face as i reflected back on it. These photos can do little but show what was there and can never really represent the event, but enjoy them nonetheless.

Day 7.........

Day 7 on the Big Island will forever be a day that holds a special place in my heart, little did i know that this would be the day that i would witness one of the most incredible sights i have seen thus far. It was so incredible in fact that i will do a separate post of it even though it was part of day 7. It began early in the morning, if you know me at all this is a very rare occurrence for me as i am NOT a morning person. Amazingly i was in good spirits for having to get up early, per has it was the prospect of good photos ahead. Jen had wanted to visit a place called black sand beach, we had put it off for a while and finally decided to go to it. Also on the itinerary was the return to the other side of the volcano to see if we could get a better view, so off we went just jen and i. We were to meet up with the rest of the fam later to head to the volcano. The drive to black sad was long and windy but it was fun, just cruisin listening to music as the rain came down. We had not eaten breakfast yet so we stopped a long the way at a little restaurant called Hana Hou. It was a cool little place, not seeing a lot on the menu that appealed to me i decided to be brave and try something called the "Loco Moco". Basically it was a bed of rice topped with spam gravy and eggs.......so basically spam and eggs. I was a little apprehensive when the waitress put it in front of me and almost changed my mind, but i had ordered it and so i charged forward. It passed the 1st test........i didnt go blind......actually it wasnt bad at all albeit it was incredibly salty. I couldn't finish the whole thing though, but got through most of it, bellies full and me feeling more Hawaiian than ever having now tried spam and eggs we hit the road. Soon we reached Black Sand Beach and yep you guessed it the sand was all black. We soon were ready for some snorkeling and hit the water, few fish were to be seen and the water was kind of murky, iwas about to call it quits but soon found a nice clear area and some turtles that were more curious about me that any i had photographed before. This beach would provide some of the best shots i had gotten so far, satisfied and tired i got out of the water to wait for the rest of the crew. My wife ever vigilant had spotted some kids fishing on this old bridge that was there, it was seriously like something out of the book, i only wish that the light had been better. Still i came away with a shot that i was happy with. The fam arrived and William told me they had passed a turtle that was on the sand sleeping. So off i went to get some shots. I can honestly say that i now understand (at least partially) why so many locals detest tourist. I think that these people come here and are either alliterate or stupid or both, i say this because there were signs clearly posted saying to stay at least 15 ft way from a sleeping turtle. So what do people do? they go up to it, poke it, pet it, get real close to take pictures with it. The animal was clearly agitated but people are to idiotic to understand i guess and keep doing it. At any rate i know hate tourist........ ok so off to the volcano we went. After a long drive we arrived and could see a huge plume of smoke so we were all excited. In the end we were a little disappointed though since the lookout was further away than we thought, it was for safety reasons of course but hey a photographer always wants to be closer. Since it was daylight there really wasnt much to see except for the occasional explosion of water when the lava met the water. I shot what i could and soon left, many of the locals had told us to come back at night so get a much better view. So jen and i committed to coming back later at night despite the long drive back home. We made our way to some other sites in the mean time including a natural steam room, and a geothermal pool that was right by the beach. With all the volcanic activity in the area there were some of these sweet places like the steam room that were naturally heated. In fact the steam room was crazy, cus its just a hole in the earth but you go in there an its easily 100 degrees in there. You can feel the heat even at the rim of the cave, i was covered in sweat by the time we left. The pool was pretty neat too as it was also naturally heated, i didnt go in though as im not a fan of hot water and by this time i had realized that i had shot almost everything underwater so i was trying to get as much cool landscape stuff as i could. I wanted to be back to the volcano by sunset, and as the sun was ever closer to the horizon i knew that we would not make it in time. That drive back was a painful one for me, as the light was just beautiful and we passed so many cool spots to take photos, but it was one or the other at this point and i was placing my hopes on a good show at the volcano................i was not disappointed.

Day 6........

Day 6 we decided to take a stroll through a little farmers market in Kona, you the little places with all the trinkets that you just cant live without. It was pretty cool, bunch of locals, fresh fruit, little kids running around it was ridiculously hot though. After that we all did our own things, Jen and i decided to keep walking down the main strip and check out some of the shops. We came across a man who makes hats and other things out of palm tree leaves. Its really amazing to watch these guys and see what their making, they make baskets, hats, little roses (jen was given one of those) its pretty sweet. Soon after we visited a little hole in the wall sushi place that we had heard about, super cheap and the sushi was tasty (albeit the rice was a little dry) you just cant go wrong. Seeing as how the end of our week on the Big Island was drawing ever nearer we decided to visit a beach that we heard had some sweet snorkeling. We were not disappointed and i was excited since i saw my 1st eel, it was a spotted moray eel and it was incredibly stubborn. I shot forever trying to get a good photo, but in the end i settled for a decent one that i had gotten as the current was just getting to strong and i was getting really tired. Lots of cool fish though, this site had provided the clearest water so far but a las conditions changed quickly and soon the tide picked up and murky it became. Still a lot of fun though, and i think that was pretty much it for day 6.......seems like we took it pretty easy. Brace yourselves cus this one has A LOT of photos!!

Day 5.....

On day 5 mother Wilson (aka jens mom) treated us to a sweet boat trip, we did something similar last year on the island of Kauai and it was a lot of fun. This trip was way cool too, not only did i learn a lot by watching the videographer that they had on the boat but it was incredible because we were visited by a pod of spinner dolphins. Words cannot describe the amazing experience that i was to be in the water with them, my heart skipped a beat when i went under the water and i could hear them. Just thinking about it gives me goose bumps, it was truly incredible. I was still having a hard time getting good photos underwater and the place where the boat docked was particularly challenging as the reef was a lot deeper than any other site that we had visited. Still i gave it a try, and did what i could and like i said i really learned a lot by watching the video guy and how he would dive under the water. He made it look so easy.......but it truly is a technique that comes with experience because when i tried to do it.......well lets just say that i was less than graceful and leave it at that. Soon the boat trip was over and we were on our way back to the hotel, we made our way back home and everyone was exhausted and took naps or just relaxed. I soon became bored and went out to do some bug hunting and gecko hunting, i wasnt disappointed. It was fun to be shooting some macro stuff but i could tell that i was way out of practice. The geckos presented a nice challenge as they dont stay still very long (this was my frustration with many fish as well, man those things are skittish!!) Came away with some cool shots though so i was happy, i was losing light fast so it was perfect timing when i was summoned for dinner.........mmmmm Bubba Gump. If you havet eaten there go now!!! Like seriously right after this sentence....i recommend the pear and berry salad.......im salivating just thinking about it. Ok now you can go......