Sunset Surf Baby Moon

Living in Hawaii, we are blessed to have beautiful blue ocean water and consistently warm temperatures year-round. However, every now and again (particularly in the turbulent winter months) the weather is less predictable, and rain and wind make conditions less than ideal. For Chandana + Imram’s babymoon in Hawaii, they had wanted to get in the water for a sunset surf session. With waves being forecasted to be pretty large, we needed to decide on a new location that would allow protection from the swell, easily accessible, and (of course) breathtakingly beautiful. We ended up choosing a secluded bay on the windward side of O’ahu. We had been here before, but never for a photoshoot. The bay itself is usually flat, with crystal clear water on an incoming tide. All around the edges are dramatically steep mountains covered in lush greenery. The surrounding beach is lined with palm trees and doesn’t get much more tropical feeling.

However, the relentless rain from a recent storm had clearly transformed the beach into a muddy brown soup with waves much larger than we were anticipating. So it goes, with the weather being as unpredictable as it is, we decided to make the best of it. In between rain squalls, we were able to have just enough time to use the surfboard in the shallows. As the sun began to go down, the light actually got even better, with a soft filtered light coming through the clouds. The browns and greens from the water and surrounding forest actually worked out pretty well, even if it wasn’t exactly what any of us originally had in mind-- just another great reminder to go with the flow and not get too attached to picture-perfect conditions!