It is about time that I post something new! I snuck in a trip to Maui before the holidays and have found some time to start processing images. The first sunrise location that I visited was the dramatic Dragon’s Teeth volcanic rock formation on the northwest tip of the island. This image portrays just some of the drama from the scene that morning.

The gentle rain that I started out in only got worse as I drove the 45 minutes around to the west side of the island from my hotel in Kahalui. It was pouring when I parked at the trail head. Add a stiff breeze along with that and it kind of made me want to just stay in the car and take a nap! As sunrise drew near though, the realization that I had spent the time and money to get here soon forced me to cover up in as much rain gear as I had and trek down the short trail to the coastline.

You could hear the waves pounding against the rocks as soon as I got out of the car. The sound only got louder the closer I got. I gingerly slipped through the mud and sometimes crawled over the slick rock for fear of sliding any closer to the edge. The sea was pounding up against the Dragon’s Teeth and occasionally the howling wind would blow it up over the top. Like it wasn’t wet enough! The sky was lightening to the east and you could at least start to see some breaks in the clouds. I set up my tripod and mounted my camera to quickly frame things up. As soon as I had what I wanted, I marked my spot, covered everything up, and retreated to a somewhat drier location out of the wind.

About ten minutes after sunrise, the rain let up a bit and the skies started to get interesting. I moved back in position and started shooting, often to be startled by a crashing wave that was way closer than I had wanted. I would have to say that I wasn’t feeling real comfortable and my shaking hands were probably a good sign. Probably fortunate for me, after getting only a couple of series of shots, the rain came back and I hightailed it out of there!

Click on the image to view a larger version in the galleries.