Kauai Family Photographer

"Sunset hour on a beach"— is the request. I cannot tell you how many times this request appears in email and text messages to me. "I'm doing a surprise proposal...magical hour preferred! "  Okay, Kauai surprise proposal photography shoot on the beach at sunset. Awesome! Kauai has so many stunning beaches, vast stretches of sand with swimmers and sunbathers, and at sunset, what more can you ask?

Well, it depends. If the desire is for a mini-shoot, a beach like Larsons might be perfect. 

But for a moment think of dimensional. Think of a movie set and all the different props and constructed sets that help make the scene real, and in conjunction with real backgrounds it all melds into a perfect balance of theme. 

Now think Larsens beach again. Yes, there's the sparkling ocean for as far as the eye can see. Sweeping drifts of sand to your left and to your right, green shrubs and bushes and a lonely ironwood tree behind you. While it's dynamic, while there's several distinct photo opportunities so all the photographs won't share an identical background, there is a kicker: the beach is not rife with scenic properties. There's no boulder with shore waves lapping up against it, no tide pools or lava rock maizes, no misty mountains to the left or right, no iconic pier to sit on sideways with your legs dangling over the side. For a mini shoot, yes it perfect, but if you're looking for 30 or 50 or 100 photos, I can suggest several beaches with dynamic properties that will leave you thinking or saying aloud “wow!” 

As a Kauai photographer I love it when my clients go "wow!" Not that I cannot produce wow factor photos at Larsens beach, but it's so nice to have dynamic properties all-around me when I shoot. You know what I mean—when things are different every which way we turn our eyes. Different and wow can easily be you and those alongside you in the photoshoot; and it can also be soap bubbles your toddler is blowing; this is manufactured wow, and I strive for this all the time.  But if we're at Hanalei Bay, for example, we just have to turn our eyes and we'll see the banks of the lazy Hanalei river flowing into the Pacific; and if we turn around we'll see misty mountains and palm trees and ironwoods; and not far away we might see a loving couple standing on a rugged boulder that's jutting out of the surf, sea spray rising above the boulder and drifting toward the rustic canopy of the pier that's shimmying in the sea breeze. Some of the best photo op locations are on my doorstep (almost) that's why I suggest locations such as the lava rocks and tide pools of Hideaways beach, and the sparkling lagoon at Anini, and the breathtaking panoramas of Tunnels Beach and Lumahai.  

Once again. 'nuff said, for now

—David

Tangelos are absolutely delicious. Winter time is citrus time in Kauai and you''l find me at the farmers markets buying tangelos by the crate load. Is it weird that I’m a Kauai photographer who loves broccoli, sunsets, sunrises or that I never spread peanut butter and jelly? 

I am absolutely a people person. I talk to strangers I pass in the street, at the supermarket, in the parking lot at the beach after I’ve finished a photo session. Growing up I was a shy one. Who knew I’d be such a chatter box? 

Don’t be surprised to see me walking around with three cameras slung over me. If I’m your Kauai wedding photographer and we’re doing a session at the beach, I’d sooner have the three cameras ready, each with a different lens attached rather than a single camera and a backpack of lenses. On the beach, swapping out lenses is not my thing. 

I speak one language but at three different speeds, all with an accent that says I was born where…Australia? Nope. South Africa? Nope. Yup, you guessed it, the other place.

Surprise proposals seem to come in waves for me. I won’t shoot a surprise engagement for months, and then all of a sudden, it’s six in row over two weeks.     

I don’t have a favorite movie, favorite book, favorite food, favorite color, or favorite most things, and I’ve read thousands of books, seen thousands of movies, tasted more foods than I can name and so on. Although Kauai might be my favorite place to live and I love being a Kauai photographer.