Up up and away!

So for those that follow my social media posts you might have heard the news but a new era of photography is upon me…drone time. It’s been a long time coming and finally made the plunge last month. Finally receiving this amazing piece of technology this past week I had the chance to test it out yesterday. My mind has been racing for a long time with possibilities of compositions and potential images. Now the chance to capture these is here.

To answer the obvious question; yes I will be testing for my Part 109 to be commercially viable. Studying has commenced and look to take the test in Aug or Sept.

This is the first test image I took (after some video of friends) and am pretty surprised already. To capture this I took 6 images; 2 rows of 3, and then was automatically stitched using Lightroom. Going to be a fun adventure!

Off we go!
aF

While You Were Sleeping

Funny how ideas happen. These days it’s been more about figuring out how the stars align, sometimes literally. Planned out an evening where I thought the celestial objects would be what I was hoping for. This required sleeping in my car for a couple of hours and then shooting, in what I thought would be the dark. For anyone that has been to Shipwrecks knows there is a large hotel just next to the beach. While my original idea didnt work out (will be going back to try again), I figured I would stick around and hope that the clouds would cooperate. After over an hour of playing cat and mouse I was able to get some shots off that showed the Milky Way blazing overhead. The light from the hotel actually helped illuminate the landscape. Truly amazing what happens while most of us are sleeping 🙂

Enjoy!
aF

Milky way blazes over Shipwrecks Beach in Poipu, Kaua'i
“While You Were Sleeping” (unreleaesd)

Let There Be Light! – A Kilauea Lighthouse Story

So, with the recent injury I hadnt gotten out of the house too much at that point. It was a Saturday and my partner asked if I wanted to go for a ride and get some fresh air. Off we went that afternoon to drive around town, looking for our favorite food truck (which wasnt there of course) and then ended up at the lighthouse. As we pulled up there was a sign at the entrance that said ‘free today’ so shoots! Why not! Once there we found out that it was the birthday celebration and that they would be turning on the light around sunset. Woah! (For those that dont know the light is never on anymore but a different beacon that operate). In the 10 years I’ve been on island I’ve never seen this so plans were made to return later with our gear.

Normally the grounds are closed at 4pm and people shuffled away. The area is a National Bird & Wildlife refuge so it’s near impossible to get a good sunset photograph from up close. As the sun got lower and the bird returned home it was definitely a special experience. The view of the north shore was incredible (an image to be shared later) and then of course the main event. Now, in my mind, the light would have been what it used to be when used originally, and this was not the case. However as the light faded and the lighthouse did it’s thing it certainly was a special moment. As we waited for the cart to assist back down the path (was over crutches for the moment) it allowed for one last chance to push the button before we were escorted out. Good thing I got that one last shot 🙂

Cheers to 10 years living on Kaua’i!
<3 aF


Crutching toward sunset 🙂

Kilauea Lighthouse shines at twilight on the anniversary of it's founding.
“Kilauea Light” (unreleased)

The Next Chapter

Sitting here at 2am. Looking for the proper words. Some of which have been coming to me over the last few days while in the car (you know where all of our good thinking occurs), or while day-dreaming or while in the hospital last night dealing with a severe hamstring injury. Bits and pieces of these thoughts flicker by as I finally sit to write. But not from Maui where I am supposed to be, but from my place on Kaua’i, awaiting an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of said injury. The trip to Maui was to be one of transition. And because I know some amazing people this transition is occurring…but without me. Which makes it extra surreal. The cliché phrase has been running through my mind for days now…”you miss 100% of the shots you dont take”. Of course when you do swing/shoot it doesn’t mean a home run every time. In fact…sometimes we strike out. Had enough of the sports analogies yet? 🙂

As of today, 5/2/2017, aFeinberg Gallery Wailea has closed its doors. When we (I dont like using ‘I’ in these cases because this endeavour for a long time now has been more about the people I work with than me alone), embarked on this journey it was the great unknown. My first Gallery off of Kaua’i and my 4th in about 4 years. Along the way there were speed bumps for sure, but analyzing them in real time are they tests of the character to push through or warning signs to pull back? Of course there is only one way to find out! I’ve been tested many times on Kaua’i and the cycle continues…however!

Have no fear my fine feathered aFein Fans but this is just a pivot! Once recollected there are plans to venture out into the wilderness. Offers of Gallery space on Oahu and California (even Texas) come up regularly. The grand experiment will continue! And along the way…we have some EXCITING NEW WORK TO SHARE!

In fact…we’re having a RELEASE PARTY on Saturday, June 10th at the Poipu location. Unveiling 5 new works including a triptych and quadriptych! We’ve launched our brand new medium, LUCHAE in the last couple of months and are receiving incredible feedback (you’ll have to visit us in person to see what the hype is about!). And more surprises up the sleeve for sure.

This is not the end, just another beginning and I look forward to the continuing adventure. 7 years ago this all started selling prints on the sidewalk out of the back of my car. Now, with the Galleries, over 1000 Collectors from ALL over the world and individual pieces fetching 5 figures I can honestly say we’re just getting started 🙂 Let alone “Beyond Here Lies Eternity” winning Photo Of The Year for Popular Photography a couple months ago!

Join us June 10th in Poipu if you can and thank you all for the continued support!
Much love and Aloha,
Aaron

The Kraken – Huge surf on the North Shore of Kauai

Well…that was fun. Had a last minute private workshop client last Friday 3/31 and just so happened to coincide with a massive 25-30′ WNW swell. While waves that size are common in the winter, a swell of that size this time of year is relatively rarer. What this means is that the sun is in a completely different part of the sky than usual toward sunset. Knowing this we went down to a favorite spot but decided that it wasnt safe to go any farther so hung out on the rocks and shot a bunch of impact and abstracts. Being that the sun is far enough north the late afternoon light doesnt get blocked by Mt. Makana. This is what I was excited for. This particular capture was just after I pulled out my longer lens and looked up to see this monstrosity stand up headed toward the rocks. With the strong back-lighting I fired a few shots in hope of capturing the elusive beast…The Kraken.

Enjoy!
aF

Massive swell at sunset along north shore of Kaua'i.
“The Kraken” (unreleased) © 2017

Transitions – The battle between day and night

Recently I had the pleasure of photographing along the Central Coast of CA. While in CA a lot I hadnt been to this part of the state yet. Just so happened the trip coincided with the full moon so naturally my mind starts to line up ideas that could be possible. While we had been at the dunes earlier in the week the decision was to come back for sunset on our last night. Full moon rise right around sunset. While sunset was great (see previous post) the light was about to get crazy. There is a very small window of time, where the fading twilight starts to balance the brightness of the moon. It is in this brief window that I am now completely enraptured by. Nothing compares to the uniqueness of the colors that become possible. In the end I believe I was able to just take 3 photos before the light wasnt quite the same. This image I have two versions of, one cropped to make an interesting panorama. I am including both for your viewing. Which do you prefer??

Enjoy!
aF

1

Ripples on the sand illuminated by twilight and moonlight.
“Transitions” (unreleased) © 2017

2

Ripples of sand illuminated by twilight and moonlight along California's Central Coast.
“Transitions II” (unreleased) © 2017

Dunes in…CA?!

Just got back from a 10 day trip to CA…of which I was able to shoot for 7 of them. Havent been able to shoot that much in, perhaps years. Not only was a pushing buttons but also exploring places I hadn’t been yet in California, then Central Coast. Even with all my trips I had not made it down to that part of the world. Needless to say I will be returning. Incredible seascapes, rolling hills, incredible Oak trees…dunes (my favorite). After looking out of the window on one of my many plane trips I noticed an area below that I had to explore. Didnt know it would take years to get there but we ended up spending 2 separate shoots there over 4 days. This particular shot was taken on the return trip for sunset. Which started out VERY windy (and chilly, even though the temperature was 15F higher just a bit inland). As the sunset the wind subsided and the light turned magic. In normal aF fashion I was scurrying around as the light dwindled trying to find whatever compositions I could. I was initially above this dune and then noticed the shape of the shadow and curves leading toward the point in the background. After tweaking the composition 3 times the 4th resulted in this image.

There will be lots to share from this adventure and please enjoy this surreal place!

aF

Sunset along Oceano Dunes in Central California
Untitled Dune © 2017 (unreleased)

10 Minute Secret

“10 Minute Secret” (unreleased) © 2017

Not often I shoot/process in same day. I took (1) photo Feb 16, 2017. Been enjoying my 16stop filter as it mostly sits in the bag. Decided to start playing with it more.

This was shot as the sun was setting so the light was moving from foreground to background. I had actually wanted more golden light on the water but I was enjoying the beach and waited too long. Ran up and set up this shot…10min later, viola. Considering the swell was approx 20′ this is a far cry from the crashing waves at the time. Quite a different feel and mood from the chaos of the surf.

Enjoy!
aF

"10 Minute Secret" (unreleased) © 2017  Not often I shoot/process in same day. I took (1) photo Feb 16, 2017. Been enjoying my 16stop filter as it mostly sits in the bag. Decided to start playing with it more.  This was shot as the sun was setting so the light was moving from foreground to background. I had actually wanted more golden light on the water but I was enjoying the beach and waited too long. Ran up and set up this shot...10min later, viola. Considering the swell was approx 20' this is a far cry from the crashing waves at the time. Quite a different feel and mood from the chaos of the surf.  Enjoy! aF

Kalalau Love – New Release

Tis that time of year and with it comes a very special image! This photograph, Kalalau Love, was actually taken way back in 2009 and not released until now! On this particular adventure I was with some friends on my first trip down this ridge. While the hike isn’t very long it makes up for that in exposure and sheer beauty. Arriving at the ‘end’ there is one last section that it is possible to cross…not for the faint of heart. Years later this was captured during the filming of aFeinberg – The Documentary. The point in question is in the first section.

On this first time I was even more timid and couldn’t bring myself to do this section with my camera backpack on. So after reaching the other side my friend let me borrow his camera (good friend!). As the clouds danced below us a brief opening in the clouds allowed me to see what was below…Kalalau Beach. Not only was the revelation truly stunning but the opening in the clouds was seemingly in the shape of a heart! Only nature could be so cheeky. Needless to say this started my love affair with this particular vista. 🙂

We are proud to offer this special image in a VERY Limited Edition of only 50 prints. 5 Artist Proofs will also be available.

Clouds break briefly from a ridgeline above Kalalau Beach. True love shines through.

http://www.afeinbergphotography.com/photo/kalalau-love/

Much thanks and Aloha!
aF