On my first full day on the big island of Hawaii this summer, I set out to return to some locations that I had visited my previous time there.  I hadn’t checked the weather before I set out, so I was unaware that a tropical storm was a couple hundred miles offshore.  The first place I stopped at was too wet to get out for pictures, and I thought the day might be a bust.  I was pleasantly surprised to drive a little further, and see drier conditions for another spot with fond memories.

I chose my first location cautiously because the waves were more robust than my last visit.  The area I picked didn’t have a single drop of water anywhere under my feet.  Nonetheless, I waited about 10 minutes and watched wave activity before unpacking the camera and tripod.  That first spot was on a ledge about 15 feet above ocean level, and the bigger waves splashed close to that height, but all towards the left.  I spent over half an hour there, getting some great stills and video.  Afterwards, I moved to some other areas along this point where the water was calm by comparison.

I thought I was almost done, but returned to the first spot, just slightly further back.  The contrast between the close rock formations and the ones slightly further, with occasional light splashes of water, gave me a different perspective.  I had my shutter release cable attached and my drive on high speed, because you never know what you might get with water splashing.  You can always delete the boring ones.

All I will say is that I heard this one coming.  Instinct told me to keep holding the shutter.  This is not a telephoto shot, but actually a bit of a wide angle lens.  Somewhere under all that airborne water is the spot I had been standing earlier.

This is my contribution to Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness this week.  In the first week of the month, there is a theme, with this theme being up in the air.  To see what other photographers have contributed, or instructions to join in, please visit Leanne’s website.