Blaze of Glory

It took me two years to get this shot. 

I first conceived the idea for this image in February of 2023. I was on the North Shore walking along the coastline with my wife at sunset. I noticed a couple guys fishing from a lava rock point in the distance. Just as the sun began to drop behind them, it silhouetted them beautifully against the warm colors of the sunset. 

As a surf photographer, I immediately knew that I needed to recreate this same scene but with a surfer holding a surfboard. I consulted my trusty sunset app and determined that there’s only a few weeks each year that shots like this are possible along the North Shore. 

Unfortunately, as the winter solstice approaches, the sun, when viewed from the beaches along the North Shore, sets behind a low range of mountains on the westernmost tip of Oahu, not into the ocean. 

Though I tried for the next 3 weeks, the weather never cooperated. I needed the evening sky and the western horizon to be clear, but it was a typical rainy winter on the North Shore. About a week later, the sun set angle had moved too far offshore to make it happen. 

I returned to the North Shore in the winter of 2024 determined to get the shot. But once again, it was not to be. I was met with overcast skies and cloudy horizons every evening during my time on Oahu. 

Finally, this winter with several days of clear skies in the forecast and after a lot of careful planning and reconnaissance, this image came together. I spent many hours of homework and legwork to figure out:  1) the exact location of the sunset on the horizon; 2) where to position myself; and 3) where and how to position my subject precisely between me and the setting sun.

If you’re wondering how I knew the sun was going to turn into those amazing colors, transitioning from yellow to deep red, the truth is that I didn’t know. The previous nights, although clear, had been a more traditional golden sunset. But on this night, the sky was very hazy to the point that I worried if I’d even see the sun set. As it turns out, the hazy skies supplied the magic that I needed. As landscape photographers say, it was a ‘serendipitous' moment. Yes, even with a lot of visualization and meticulous planning, there’s always a bit of luck that elevates a good photo to a great image.