Sunsets

  • Hawaii sunset reflected in the coastline tide pool.
    Oct
    2019
    12
    2019 / Oct / 12

    Coastline Reflections

    Coastline reflections of a beautiful Hawaiian sunset by Christopher Johnson.

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    A different perspective of the same coastline. With the high surf pounding the Kailua Kona coastline the water found its way to the grassy patch well behind the surf. Instead of positioning myself of the edge of a blowhole I chose to work with this grassy reflective scene. This was my second attempt when I wasn’t thrilled with my first composition from the previous day. Lucky for me the sunset and water waited for me to return.

    © Christopher Johnson

     

    Hawaii sunset reflected in the coastline tide pool.

  • Surfer girls silhouetted against a beautiful Hawaii sunset
    Oct
    2018
    28
    2018 / Oct / 28

    Surfer Girl Sunset

    Silhouette of surfer girls walking toward a Hawaiian sunset.

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    I wanted to get a little creative with this image. I had the panned sunset image that I wanted to add more interest to after getting inspiration from other artists on FineArtAmerica. I combined a silhouette of surfer girls walking in a sunset from an image I took in 2012 and a more recent image of birds in front of the sunset. Without much editing I had the scene I envisioned.

    Surfer girls silhouetted against a beautiful Hawaii sunset

  • Panoramic view of Hualalai Mountain in the sunset
    Oct
    2018
    23
    2018 / Oct / 23

    Hualalai Sunset

    Hualalai mountain shrouded by sunset lit clouds from the Kailua Kona shoreline

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    Standing on the coastline waiting for the sun to get into position to photograph the rocky shoreline swallowing the waves during sunset, I looked behind me at the mountain. This was too good to pass up and immediately shifted focus from the ocean to the land. My single wide lens couldn’t capture the entire scene that I was witnessing, so I needed to shoot a panorama.

    This image is a combination of 9 images. I first panned the landscape and then the sky to create the largest single image I have ever worked on. 20 hours of warping, masking, blending, and enhancing as well as another 3 to polish the shot to how I saw this amazing sunset.

    Panoramic view of Hualalai Mountain in the sunset

  • A beautiful sunset from the Hawaii coastline.
    Oct
    2018
    08
    2018 / Oct / 08

    Clouds Mimic the Earth

    A beautiful sunset from the OTEC coastline on the Big Island of Hawaii

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    This sunset was one for the books. I had a suspicion that the sunset might be good, but as the light began to fizzle I became skeptical. Just as the sun moved under the distant clouds it began to highlight the underside of the lower clouds to gift me a beautiful shot. I was completely blown away that the shape of the clouds mimicked the shape of the landscape I was shooting, which gave me some interest in the sky.

    See this location from the air. A photo and video of this amazing location. “Keahole Coastline Aerial”

    A beautiful sunset from the Hawaii coastline.

  • Beautiful Hawaiian sunset along the Kona coastline
    May
    2018
    03
    2018 / May / 03

    Fiery Sunset

    Beautiful bright and colorful sunset from the edge of a blow hole along the Kona coastline.

    The sunset last night was amazing!
    I set out when I saw low lying clouds underneath the upper clouds along with a clear horizon. Usually the sun will begin to illuminate the lower clouds with color and slowly hit the upper clouds to create an amazing glow of color, but when I got to the coastline I had second thoughts. The sky was gray and dismal. It didn’t change much as the sunset came near so I thought the hazy on the horizon would stop the color and fizzle into nothing.
    I setup to capture a totally different scene and was facing south when the explosion of color began. As fast as I could along the treacherous jagged and slippery rocks I moved to this location, looking through the large holes in the reef, to compose for the colors in the sky. I threw caution to the wind as I precariously setup on some small boulders and watched the large waves flood in toward me. I was rusty because I hadn’t been out in a while, but I’m happy that I walked away with some usable images to work with.
    Enjoy!
    © Christopher Johnson
  • Pink sunset off of the Keahole Point coastline on the Big Island of Hawaii
    Oct
    2017
    16
    2017 / Oct / 16

    Pink Sky

    Photograph of a beautiful reflected sunset along the coastline of the Big Island of Hawaii

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    This was a surprising sunset. The colors came out of nowhere.

    I was standing in a different location when the sunset just seemed to fizzle in muted dull colors like I had seen so many other times before. A lot of times there is a VOG layer or clouds just off of the horizon that block the sun from hitting the underside of the clouds when it sets. So when the sun set and there wasn’t any sign of life I began to pack up. It was just then the pink under lit clouds began to glow. Filling everything with an amazing warm glow. The only thing I could think to do was setup my camera and jump into this reflecting pool to capture a full frame of color and landscape.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Water fills into a large hole in the Hawaiian coastline during a beautiful golden sunset.
    Sep
    2017
    28
    2017 / Sep / 28

    Golden Hour

    Photograph of an amazingly clear golden sunset from the Keahole Point coastline on the Big Island of Hawaii.

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    I stood precariously close to the edge of this Big Island blow hole in order to capture the details of water flowing through the seaweed and into the large hole. Luckily the tide and swells were low so that I could do this without too much worry or trouble. Like always there is the rogue wave that helps me to not get too comfortable and to always be prepared. I was pleasantly surprised there was a golden sunset to accent the golden foreground of the seaweed.

    Water fills into a large hole in the Hawaiian coastline during a beautiful golden sunset.

    Visit another golden sunset post Golden September Sunset.

  • May
    2017
    19
    2017 / May / 19

    Hawaiian Sunset in April

    Sunset from the Kailua Kona rugged coastline

    The trade winds were giving us a bunch of clear VOG-less Hawaiian sunsets at the end of April. I was excited to go out and photograph the sunset.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Sunset of a fallen tree along the Honoapiilani Hwy, Maui
    Nov
    2016
    27
    2016 / Nov / 27

    Kailiili Sunset

    Fallen tree along the Maui coastline

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    This is the second time that I visited this location along the Kaliliili coastline of Maui. The long stretch of coastline that runs along the ocean side highway on the way to Lahaina there is a small section of old fallen Kiawe trees that stretch out into the ocean. The black sand of the beach slightly covers the lower branches and they reach out into the air making it look like they are independent of the fallen tree.

    I originally setup further away from the tree to get more of the tree into the photograph, however, the tree flattened out the flow of the scene. Instead I began to work on several different perspectives as well as different trees close by, but I wasn’t feeling that creative spark. As a last minute composition I decided to move extremely close to the tree I started with in order to express the organic detail as it moved into the ocean. At this point the sunset was at a close and I was graced with an orange glow of light along the trunk of the tree.

    After capturing this shot I continued to shoot the ocean with long exposures and experiment with other compositions, but this was the favorite.
    © Christopher Johnson

    Purchase a print by visiting my RedBubble page.

  • Tropical scene from the Big Island of Hawaii
    Jul
    2016
    24
    2016 / Jul / 24

    Hawaii

    Golden sunset shines through the beautiful silhouetted palm trees during sunset

     

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    On my way down to the shoreline of Kailua Kona to view the sunset I was taken back by the beauty of the palm trees silhouetted against the vibrant Hawaiian sunset.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Waves rush around a large hole in the reef during a golden Hawaiian sunset
    Feb
    2016
    17
    2016 / Feb / 17

    Two Fifteen

    I visited this location two days in a row when the sunset had some promise. The first day was disappointing when the sun popped under the clouds as a dull glowing ball surrounded by the colorless grey haze, blocking any chance of color and light. I was successful when I shot while the sun was high, but during the finale the absence of light pushed my shutter speed too slow. While I wan’t going to compromise any more on aperture and ISO I packed up. However, the next day I was graced with the appearance of the sun. Again I watched as the sun faded behind the low lying haze that trapped the sunlight from under lighting the belly of the clouds, but I was happy to witness some color on the horizon.
    My goal with this shot, against this sunset, was to capture the color and texture of the seaweed with a 1 second shutter. The surf was high and I didn’t want to risk a tight ground shot, so instead, I framed a glimpse of the foreground.
    Enjoy…
    © Christopher Johnson

  • Kohanaiki shoreline blowhole at sunset
    Aug
    2015
    07
    2015 / Aug / 07

    Kohanaiki ‘S’ Curve

    I had a great time shooting at a new location with Mark Rogers for this sunset. This spot is so complex with so many compositional possibilities. I can’t wait to see what images Mark came up with.

    My first impression of this location is a view through the passage toward a large hole in the reef. I wanted to capture the colorful seaweed with the strings of water as it flows gently through them while the sun colors up the clouds above. I think that with this composition in the winter the sun may be in the opening above the ocean, so I look forward to that possibility.

    This photograph of the beautiful Hawaiian scenery can be purchased as a fine art print for home or office or licensed for usage.

    Please contact me for more information.

  • Waves rush through the blooming seaweed along the terrain of the Keahole coastline
    May
    2015
    05
    2015 / May / 05

    Keahole Sunset

    A wide photograph to show the character of the Keahole shoreline.

     

    Being too busy to go out and shoot is no fun and that is where I have been for most of 2015. Today I was able to retreat to the beach and noticed the calm ocean. It was then I slated a time to shoot the sunset. When the ocean is calm and the tide is low, the seaweed is more prevalent and I knew exactly where to go. A spot I haven’t been to in a while just north of Kailua Kona where the shoreline has a unique character to what we think Hawaii should look like.

    This location, unlike the others, is more violent when the waves surge in and out of the large holes in the rocky shoreline. Extra caution is needed when setting up. I setup low and close to the opening in-order to capture the water flowing through the seaweed. Because the surf was calm I felt safe from being pulled into the opening.

    I was lucky that the sunset came together at the right moment. I shot several frames, but this is the one that brought the entire scene together… Enjoy!

    © Christopher Johnson

    Waves rush through the blooming seaweed along the terrain of the Keahole coastline

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  • Keahole Point sunset on the edge of a shoreline blow hole
    Jan
    2015
    05
    2015 / Jan / 05

    In And Out

    Dark clouds began to build from the massive storm about to hit the Hawaiian Islands. On shore winds made this location extremely challenging to shoot. With each wave crash, sea spray would speckle the filter causing another cleaning. I wasn’t anticipating the wind otherwise I would have brought some sort of shield. Instead I used my shirt, slipping it over the camera while cleaning the filter carefully keeping still on the slippery rock face as giant waves raged toward me. Must have been a sight to watch… somewhat embarrassing.
    I shot several images of the wave action, but this one I feel captures the violence and movement of the ocean during the storm.

    © Christopher Johnson

  • Aug
    2014
    11
    2014 / Aug / 11

    Tropical Storm

    The days following hurricane Iselle have made for some beautiful sunsets. Long stretches of low lying clouds with amazing formations that the light paints a surprising random pattern of color across the sky. It was the next night after the hurricane first hit land and quickly turned into a tropical storm that I ventured out to enjoy the sunset. My first thought was to go to Kohanaiki, with the white coral sand against the deep blues and purples would make for a pleasing shot, but the gates were still closed. Instead, a few miles down the road, Wawaloli beach park. There is one spot that is always crowded, but was left empty due to the storm. A small stretch of black sand that leads to another stretch of large rounded boulders. I have been wanting to revisit this spot for some time.

    My shots began on the smooth sand, but I eventually found myself clumsily making my way over the slippery boulders. Careful to setup in a location where I wouldn’t get too drenched by unsuspecting, unpredictable waves, I setup to capture both the water movement and clouds in one frame. This shot I feel I captured to moment. With the slow shutter, the incoming waves smoothed out and caressed the dark boulders in a milky white while the stormy clouds are decorated by the colors of the setting sun.

    © Christopher Johnson