Kapa’a is located on the east side of the island of Kaua’i in Hawai’i. This means it offers beautiful sunrise vistas. In Hawai’i, the day begins early, surfers going out for dawn patrol, gardeners visiting their lovely projects, and people walking their dogs, before work and before the heat of the day gets intense.
I wake up early to feed Luna. Sometimes it’s like 4:30AM. Then I sit in the rocking chair on the lanai to listen to the birds and yes, the roosters. There’s also a parrot. Sometimes the pigs would be out munching on the nuts. They’re noisy. All else is quiet and only slightly stirring. The skies are still dark, becoming more and more pink and coral. At some point, the birds crescendo in their symphony and then all the sounds soften. It is quite an experience.
One morning, I got the pull to go into town with my camera for the sunrise.
Side Note on Cameras
I took my trusted canon 5D MKII. This DSLR was released in 2008 and I think I got it the following year. Over the years I experimented with various lens, coming to love the primes. This 5D was moved to the “Old Products” list by Canon Japan end of 2012. So, a relic, especially for people who’ve moved onto mirrorless cameras or onto exclusively mobile photography.
While the sensor needs cleaning, the images I’m still getting are so beautiful to me. As a full-frame, the 5D captures wonderfully in low light and it’s always fun to see what I can get in twilight. It’s also the camera I use for astrophotography. Because it is big, I too rely on my phone for a lot of my photography these days, dabbling in drone and mobile videography a couple of years ago.
I was curious about the rocky beach below the walking/bike trail. Between Kapa’a and Kealia beach. I parked the car in the gravel lot and climbed down onto the rocks. It was low-tide. The sun had not yet risen and it was beautiful.
When I arrived it was low tide and I was able to walk out on the rocks to the edge. It was quiet and felt transcendent to be in a spot where just hours later would be beneath to the water’s surface. A seabird landed close to me and in silence we sat together looking out to the horizon.
As the skies lightened, more and more people appeared to witness the sunset. It felt like time to go and so I headed to Small Town Coffee to pick up some morning brews for us.