On November 9, 2016, we had a sudden urge to skip our 4.5 miles morning walk, skip our daily 1.5 hours visit to Pacific Island Fitness, and, instead, drive clear across the Big Island. The previous evening, we had stopped at Costco and bought two of their salads and croissant turkey sandwiches. 

That’s right, we went on a picnic to Laupāhoehoe Beach Park.

The park is seldom crowded, and this day was no exception. We had a nice picnic as I eyed the waves crashing in front of us. I then spent the next two-and-a-half hours calming my troubled mind by watching, photographing, and videoing waves. 

That’s right; you hear correctly . . . videoing.

I chose to upload the videos to YouTube and put the link here because the files are big and might slow the loading of the page . . . but also because if you click on the little sprocket at the lower right of the frame, you can change the speed of the video. I suggest watching these at the regular speed and then both in slow motion and speeded up. Only if you want to, of course. Also, you can click on the symbol to the right of that to view the videos full screen (press ESC to exit full screen).

There are ten photos and four videos, and, as usual, I have a SmugMug album of both the photos and videos HERE. Also as usual, you can click on the photos and a larger version will open up in a new tab or window. 

The videos were shot before the photos, and these particular videos were shot with the Nikon D7000 and my Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 lens. I did have to clean the surface of the lens twice because of the spray, and at least in one video, you can see a spot appear in the frame about halfway through the video. 

I also took some video with my Panasonic PnS. I’ll probably put those up sometime soon. 

The whole time I was shooting videos, the skies were cloudy and the air kind of hazy. Once I started shooting pictures, the sun kind of gave it a half-ass attempt at being out there. I am fairly pleased with both the photos and videos.

Although I moved along the shore, the shot shots above looking roughly NNW, and those looking ENE . . . 

. . . were the most satisfying. There was another area which would occasionally get great wave action, but it faced the wind and it was impossible to both capture the waves and keep the spray from coating the lens and camera.  

These shots do not convey the sound and the awesomeness of watching a wall of water rise in front of you and crash into the rocks. Perhaps the videos help . . . 

This one was shot with me a bit back from the action. After watching for a bit, I got a good sense of how far the waves got onto the shore and moved a bit closer. Please excuse the slight tilt to the video. I rushed in setting up, and then I did not want to move the camera once the waves were heading in. 

Here’s where I will remind you about the full screen and speeds options. 

Mind you, as much as I like the videos, I do also like the stills . . . 

The larger versions are nice, but those interested in details should go see the full-size versions in SmugMug. 

There was an area where I could set up and catch some of the wave action from the side. 

From what I’ve been told, winter is when waves get bigger and more impressive. I can hardly wait. 

Yes, there are people who have seen and photographed amazing waves and I still have great memories from Oahu’s North Shore from before the days of digital, but for now, on that day, on that week, this experience was just what I needed.  

We also needed the four Tex Drive In Malasadas we bought on the way back to the condo.

Stay safe, stay strong. 

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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