“T Minus 5″…A story of light

Lately there has been a boon of photo workshop requests and on this day, Dec 24, I met with my client on the north shore and off we went to Moloa’a Bay.  Now admittedly I don’t always like getting up for sunrises…they’re early :p  In the winter at least we are afforded a later start time, 715am at this point, so it’s not quite as harsh.  As we drove south/east the sky had already started to glow something wicked…what one sees AFTER a crazy sunset….my assumption…a precursor to an AMAZING sunrise.  Arriving on location the light was already very fun.  My goals during my workshops is direct instruction both with the technical side of the camera and the artistic side of “what the hell we put in front of the camera”.  Making sense of it all.  As we got set up and started a few compositions the light continued to increase.  My camera was already out as I was showing by example some of the techniques I was talking about.   Then….BAM!!!  Holy freakin light explosion.  (just as I expected…of course) 😉  Quickly getting the client’s composition dialed and settings in order I excused myself and scampered about 30ft over to the side, threw my tripod down around this rock where I saw the ocean washing past.  I clicked exactly 4 shots…4.  And then ran back to my client to make sure we kept recording this wonder.  The explosion lasted just 5 minutes.  Sometimes….we just get lucky 🙂
Thanks!
aF

Incredible light at Moloa'a Bay, Kauai
“T Minus 5”

Engagement in the rain?!

Was recently asked to do a last minute engagement shoot and managed to fit it in to a really busy schedule.  So what happens?  Rain!  The idea of walking along the beach, scrapped.  Backup plan…use the property and see what fun we could come up with.  While driving over I had the idea to try something that I had never attempted before.  Backlit rain.  Given as that would make the couple wet…I saved this for last.  Now, as luck would have it as we got to the end of the shoot the rain was tapering off!  Uh oh.  Good thing dad was standing close by to lend a helping hand and bring on the rain!  This was actually the very last frame of the afternoon after a handful of tries and two very wet people.  🙂  Worth it!
Thanks!
aF
 

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On The Road (and back) Again

Another trip to California in the books…and this one did not dissapoint 🙂 While I photographed a few places, the Shasta area was my target again. And after the recent storms, had completely transformed to it’s winter coat. Amazing to see. Of course, it was MUCH colder than the last time I visited in August which kept me thinking if I had brought the right clothes for the job. Admittedly I am a winter person. My body runs warm. I love playing in the snow and skiing. The cold air in the nose. Fresh. Tingling. The quite. It’s just a special time of year. How and why I ended up in a tropical paradise…I can only say that the universe knows better than I do 🙂
 
While there were LOTS of incredible photos taken I offer you up the story of a special sunrise I was able to capture…please enjoy 🙂
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445am alarm at hotel.
Get out to car…thick frost already over everything…it’s cold alright. Drive about 30min up to the trailhead on a frost covered road. Arriving in the parking lot there’s snow…in fact there’s a nice ground cover over the entire landscape. And it’s cold. Standing there in the dark I wonder what the hell am I doing up here? It’s completely dark, approx 25F and this hike will be completely in the snow. And there is wildlife out there…where…I have no idea, but that always enters the back of my mind. Well, this is what I’m here for. I just hope I stay warm as I hike up to 6k feet.
There’s something quite remarkable about hiking in the dark. Our surroundings merely include what our headlight illuminates, leaving the reset of the world a mystery. Then of course there are the forest noises. Which, thanks to the snow, are fairly minimal. I do love winter, a lot. No silence quite like it.
Having attempted this trail in August (and getting redirected lets call it) I was happy to follow the footprints of others that had already made the snowy trek. And to my surprise I was both warm and making great time. So much in fact that I arrived at the lake, (which was of course frozen over, so no reflections), before sunrise.
An even better surprise, the high cirrus glowing absolutely radiantly directly behind Mt. Shasta. Standing up on the ridge alone taking in the light and experience it makes that parking-lot-decision all worth while 🙂
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To see more images from this incredible sunrise and some truly remarkable sunset (with reflection!) photographs please contact any aFeinberg Gallery or email us for more info 🙂
 
Shaloha
aF

Hiking in the dark...the headlight made the snow to twinkle and dance as I hiked up the trail.
Hiking in the dark…the headlight made the snow to twinkle and dance as I hiked up the trail.

Self-portrait after a successful sunrise.  What a morning!
Self-portrait after a successful sunrise. What a morning!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Incredible pastel sunrise over Mt. Shasta as seen from the Heart Lake area.
Incredible pastel sunrise over Mt. Shasta as seen from the Heart Lake area.

LAST DAY FOR HOLIDAY ORDERS!!

Quick note for all that are wishing to hang their new aFeinberg for the Holiday Season….my deadline is today!!  Orders will start shipping around the 9th and to be sure we have enough time to print everything today’s the day!
 
Take an extra 10% off for meeting the deadline…use DEADLINE2012 as the code at checkout
 
Aloha!
aF