WATER SHOTS
Swimming around at Hookipa or Spreckelsville to take water shots is without doubt the most enjoyable and exciting part of the shoot for me, plus it helps keep you fit which is always a bonus. I often think back to a time when I asked a fisherman in Tobago if there were sharks in the water when we were out on his boat. He dipped his finger in the water, licked it and pronounced with a glisten in his eye “If the water is salty, then there are sharks in it” I always remembered that statement for some reason! Maui has plenty of salty water and naturally plenty of sharks to go with it. In the last two years there have been thirteen incidents involving sharks on the island, quite a few fatal. Luckily I don’t think I have ever heard of one at Hookipa but there have been a few at Kanaha which is only a few miles downwind of Sprecks so sometimes when you are out there swimming the thought does cross your mind! Shooting at Hookipa is always a major challenge because there are often thirty or forty guys out on the water, plus a few other photographers to boot. So once again being out on the water is all important not just for the light but also to help beat the crowds. Lining up with a sailor at Hookipa is hard enough on its own but throw in thirty other guys on the same peak and you’ll be lucky to score a handful of shots in a two hour session.Water shooting at Hookipa is not easy, especially when the waves are over logo high. You need to be fit, be able to duck dive avalanches of powerful white water, keep the water off the port of your lens and somehow be in the right place at the right time and line up the shots. It takes a bit of experience to get to know the way the rip works and where the best bowls are for the shots. Don’t forget to dodge the out of control amateurs and hopefully your guys will be doing everything to line up for you and not sailing the less crowded peak a hundred metres upwind while you are flogging your guts out in the impact zone.