• Pure Mana :) - Stephen Oachs (ApertureAcademy.com)
  • Love the colors in the sky!! Great capture. - orly12
  • Fügen Sie Ihre Notiz hier ein. - markus / luchs3333
  • I had to brace myself on a rock so that I would not get sucked in!
  • This ledge is 20 feet above the water! The water hits this and shoots WAY over the top, then down the hole it goes!
  • Water rushing down after the last 30ft wave came crashing over the ledge in the middle ground.
  • Gorgeous! - Thomas Sittler
  • The wave hits the lava shelf and shoots out of this hole. Then the water spirals back down the hole, over and over again.
  • Waves go over the top in this spot too. Then down the hole it goes.

Kauai Maelstrom

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Sunrise at a north-shore Kauai lava-ledge 20 feet above the sea! This is not the Sprouting Horn and it is not Queen's bath! See the Map, it is east of the Kilauea Lighthouse. No HDR!

Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!

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Settings etc.:
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For an even more energetic view from this spot, check this out:
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/3412288518/

Canon 5D
Canon 17-40L @ 19
1/2-second exposure @F14
LEE soft ND grads 0.9 + 0.6 angled from 8am-2pm
Cokin z-pro filter holder
ISO 50
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop

If you wish to make the viewer feel like he or she is right next to the camera near the sea, capturing motion is very important. But that often means getting wet and incurring a certain amount of risk to both the camera equipment and the photographer. The water heading into the hole here is actually from a large wave which swept over the ledge and back down the hole. With each wave, the entire ledge shook as it might during an earthquake.

To get to this spot at sunrise, a slippery path had to be navigated in the dark. I studied this particularly dangerous place for about 15 minutes to determine how the water moved. It turned out that while the water coming out of the blowhole was spectacular, but the water motion going back into the hole was even more interesting. After finding a spot in the swirling water to brace the tripod, I was able to get several 'shoot and run' images.

A 1/2 second exposure was enough to show the motion and still show detail in the water. I set up the filters and the camera settings before heading into the water. There was no time to do that once the action was unfolding.

View 20 more comments

  1. fossiled 20 months ago | reply

    remarkable image

  2. DrgnMastr 16 months ago | reply

    Great shot worthy of being invited to both Galleries!
    You have great work and I hope you are as proud of it, as Howard and I are in inviting you to both of our sites:
    - DM

    Please consider submitting this photographic treasure to DM's Lair for inclusion in the Group's Gallery. (subject to approval).

  3. Lutan :h 13 months ago | reply

    patrick you had to take of his bath :p

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