In Her Element

I captured this image in December of 2025 on the North Shore of Oahu with my friend Maddie Anzivino, but more about her in a minute. 

I created a similar image titled ‘Blaze of Glory’ the year before that received a decent amount of exposure and it changed the course of my career. So, the question is - why would I even try the same image again? I had gotten ‘the shot.’

The truth is that I wasn’t after the same shot, but rather a variation of the image. I had spent a lot of time and energy researching the location and the time of year when shots like this are possible, so it actually seemed like a waste if I didn’t put all of that knowledge to use at least one more time. 

Besides, perfectly clear (or nearly clear) evenings on the North Shore in winter are surprisingly rare. Even when it looks like it’s clear, there’s usually some clouds on the horizon that foil my attempts. So, it’s not as if you can just run out and get this shot any time. 

I knew conditions looked promising early in the day and immediately contacted Maddie. She’s a big wave surfer (think Waimea Bay and Jaws) and also the only woman lifeguard on the North Shore. I’ve photographed Maddie tow surfing Jaws, shared jet skis and body surfed with her. Unlike me, she very comfortable in big surf on the North Shore, which was the inspiration for the title of this image, ‘In Her Element.”

I wanted to have Maddie as my subject to represent the growing community of women big wave surfers. I also asked her to bring one of her guns, which are the big boards surfers use to paddle into giant waves at places like Waimea Bay. 

I had reconned the exact spot for Maddie to stand early that day. Basically the highest and flattest part of the lava rock peninsula. My goal was to place the setting sun right behind her, but I knew that I would have to do some last minute positioning of myself to perfectly align these elements. 

What I still didn’t know for sure was how to pose Maddie (posing people is not exactly my forte). About 20 minutes before sunset, I was taking some test shots. While I reviewing them on the back of my camera, I looked up and Maddie struck the perfect pose as she waited for me - natural and comfortable but confident and powerful. “That’s it!” I yelled. 

As the sun began to set, there was an annoying line of clouds that stretched across the face of the setting sun. “Bummer!” But I kept shooting and eventually, the sun dropped below the line of clouds. With slightly more than half of the sun still visible and Maddie position perfectly in the center of the sun, the scene unfolded quickly but beautifully, and there was my shot.