Sunset over Banana Delta Lava flow

When lava began flowing into the ocean for the first time in well

over a year on the Big Island this past Summer, it was an

opportunity for photographers and visitors alike to experience

something quite unique and special. After the one hour trekk to this

location over broken lava beds (with almost 70lbs of gear) I shot

approx 14 or so rolls of Velvia. Most all of the quality images were

taken during a very small window of fading light. I did shoot many

before and after, but it's right about this time that the real

shooting begins. This is the first of a few that I will post taken

on this evening. While I was focused intently on the ocean entry

itself (with telephoto lenses/tripod) and eventually made it down on

the beach, the setting of the sun here was also worth taking a few

shots at a wider angle. I liked the differing dimensions and colors

from this location at this time of evening. As always your opinions

are greatly appreciated

Wow! Such a vivid range of colours and textures. I find myself looking all over the image and not attracted to any single point.

Vincent first i would like to say, that you where at a great moment of such beauty. I like the diagonal composition of both sky and rock reaching out to where probably the sun was, however having one focal point of interest would have been better in my op, since sky is lovely,also left yellow bright part attracts my eye to and also the white and red glowing rocks in the middle. Also on my monitor in between the foreground and the middle ground there is no detail, which reduces impact in my opinion.

Cheers G.Steve...NO OFFENCE

Just winderful!!

Thanks gents. This is a black sand beach with black lava rocks. There is as much detail as I guess I can hope for at this time of evening. Appreciate your thoughts...no offense taken. Aloha.

Composition, COLORS, moment... Well done. Thanks for this beauty. All best!

Beautiful seen and capture. Thanks for the view. Best regards, Baldur

any close view of the lava? or is very dangerous?

Happy New Year

Great image, as usual, Vincent! The colors in the sky are marvelous, and the red-hot lava and the steam created there add just enough more interest.

I like the segments of colours from the orange to the green to the dark. Nice composition.

Beautiful composed .

I like the contrast between the land, sea and sky. Wonderful image.

Great color and compostion

Vincet, this is a great image and you have done such a good work. May I say that the dark foreground does not have much detail and somewhat distracts the eyes?

 

Best regards - Hasan

Vincent, this is a very well executed and pleasant image to look at. I somewhat miss something which could suggest scale and depth, though. Overall impression is excellent. Best wishes, Peter

very good image..nice colour!!!!!!

Your visits and comments are always helpful and appreciated! To answer a couple of questions:

 

"any close view of the lava? or is very dangerous?"

 

Yes many closeups were taken both up here at 200-400 mm (this image was captured at 28mm) as well as several rolls down on the beach. When I first arrived (about an hour before this image was taken) there were ropes and many people standing all around...perhaps up to 100 or more. As it is I crossed the rope and got down fairly low to avoid blocking the view of others behind. Just as it was becoming darker I noticed a young teenager down on the beach walking up to the lava entry area. So, I packed up my gear and started scaling down to the beach myself. Later in the evening perhaps 30 or more people were down there having a mini-siesta. I will post some close-up work shortly. Since the plume is blowing away from the beach, I was able to get quite close.

 

"I somewhat miss something which could suggest scale and depth, though."

 

True, humans would add a good deal of scale here, but would also most likely take away from the images themselves in my opinion. If my scanner was working I'd try to find something to post just for that purpose. I did take a few with some people. Again this was just what I'd call a nice *bonus image* that was never really expected. I too noticed and appreciated the unique contrasts all in one scene. The real lava images are close-up and coming soon. Mahalos for your visits. Aloha!

What a unique opportunity! Looks like it was well worth the hike and gear load. I look forward to seeing some of the close-ups. This image is special because of the simple, yet meaningful, capture and the array of color between the sky and sea.

Dramatic fire like sky and beautiful coastline makes for another gem Vincent.

Superb diagonal line composition. Love the colors in the sky. The dark Lava flow adds to the asthetics of the photo. Just wish I could see some textures in the Lava...just enough to tell if it is fine grained soil, rocks, ditch?

Beautiful image Vincent with great contrast in color especially between the lava and the water. Looking forward to seeing the other shots as well... Nicely done.

Wonderful composition. As stated the dark areas in the lower half detract a little. Did you consider bracketing & digital blending to bring out the shadow detail while preserving the rest of the composition? I'd love to see this as a lge format print. Regards Dennis

Thanks for your suggestions. I brought out a bit more detail in the lava rock and re-loaded.

Great compostion, very dramatic, with lovely sweeping movement. Color of the sky and water is amazing.

Beautifully done!! Now I am able to make out textures in the Lava Rocks just enough and still retain the dark color necessary to make a good image.