Enchantment and mystery can be found throughout Hawaii, but perhaps even more so on the island of Kaua’i. The lava Pools of Mokolea on Kaua’i’s eastern shore is one great example.
As water rushes in and out of this broken a’a lava rock shoreline, a misty scene unfolds in the foreground while a golden storm brews in the background befitting the area’s name–Moko is Hawaiian for “flooded, filled with water.”
In the summer when the waves are waning, low tide casually fills these pools with deep, clear sear water. In the winter, the beautiful mystery of the spot is replaced with pounding surf and explosions of spray.
Behind the scene with the photographer:
“Because landscape shots are often more interesting when there are extreme foreground elements to complement the middle and background, you have to use a wide angle lens and get very close to the ground. This was precisely my strategy for the Mokolea Lava Pools except that getting close to the ground meant getting close to the crashing waves on the lava bench…and when I mean crashing, I mean CRASHING.”