gone fishing...

it was 4:50am sunday morning and not only was i awake (sort of), but i was riding in the backseat of my friend's car half asleep. with Renee at the wheel and Bill riding shotgun, we were heading to the windward side of O'ahu to go shoot the sunrise from Lanikai Beach.

when we got to Lanikai, we walked toward the end of the beach because Renee wanted to shoot the half dead palm tree. the sun hasn't risen yet and there isn't much color in the sky, so i switch to tungsten balance and pick a long exposure, not because i want the maximum depth of field, but because the wind is blowing and i want the palm fronds to blur so you won't see how pathtic looking they are!



i don't want to spend too much time with the palm tree (there is only so much you can do with an ugly subject) so i shoot a few frames and then it starts to rain. so out comes the plastic bag to cover the camera. a few minutes pass and so has the rain. after wiping the filter, i shoot a few more frames and start looking for other photos to take. while the colors in the sky start to emerge, i notice the reflections and patterns in the receding water, so i shoot a few frames of that and then start shooting the sunrise.



i made sure to get the reflections in the sand as well to add a little more color and dimension to the photos.



after shooting the sunrise, i remember seeing some locals walking by with fishing gear. so i go down the beach a little farther and find them all standing in a line fishing in the surf. well, that looks cool. so i shoot a few frames of that.



once i get something i'm satisfied with, i decided it's time to get wet. i borrow Renee's 15mm fisheye lens and get knee-deep in the water behind the fishermen. i hold the camera just above the water level, and shoot some frames. i had the live view feature on my 40D on so i could compose my shot, but i also had to keep an eye on the surf because my camera is just above the water level, so any incoming waves could be hazardous to my camera, Renee's lens and ulimately, my wallet.

eventually i get lucky and capture a frame while one of the guys (2nd from left) catches a fish and mother nature provides some rays of sunshine.



yes, there is a fish at the end of his line and while the diminshing effect of the fisheye lens will make things appear smaller than they are the farther away they are, that fish really is that small. maybe 3 or 4 inches in length. needless to say, i don't know why these guys get up so freakin' early to stand in the surf just to catch some bait.

maybe it was male bonding. maybe they really were catching bait. i should have asked, but my brain was still sleeping.

at least i caught a few pictures.