Queen’s Bath is a unique tide pool on the island of Kauaʻi, Hawaii. The pool is a sinkhole surrounded by igneous rock. It is located on the north shore of Kauaʻi in the town of Princeville, at 22°13′47″N 159°29′8″W Coordinates: 22°13′47″N 159°29′8″W. The swimming area is accessible via a short trail.
In the winter during periods of high surf it is considered dangerous. People have drowned after being swept off rocks by unexpected waves. I was very intrigued by the Queen’s Bath description. I asked my long time friend from Houston and her husband to go with me. It was raining that day. It took about 2-3 hours drive. I am sure everyone was doubtful on whether we could get good photos as it’s been raining all the way. I remember I told Alysia something like this: “If we do capture something, it would be breathtaking!”.
When we got to the parking lot of Queen’s Bath, it was still raining. I suggested that we wait for a few minutes, taking a break, and if it does not stop raining, we would have to go back. Miracle came: it was only about 5 minutes, the rain stopped! The sky is turning colorful. We found the little hiking trail and went down. It was about 10 minutes of hiking down on very slippery road with some frogs along the way. When we get to the bottom and close to the Queen’s Bath, the sky looked as if someone used a scissor and forced it open and filled it with burning gold. Yes, it was golden color!! I captured it using Sigma DP camera which is know to capture the true color.
You have to think this way: if you want it to happen, it probably will.
The waves were huge! I had some difficulty to stable my tripod, added the challenge of moisture from the wave get the lens wet very quickly like every 30 seconds. The sky is burning and I had to keep clicking. I had to wipe clean the lens frequently. And before I knew it, I was close to the bath! Alysia and J.R. were behind me. I think I got them concerned about my safety. We were standing on a flat area like a football field. The unreal lighting lasted about a good 20 minutes, but the most intense lighting (with burning gold) probably lasted about 5 minutes.
These two images are probably my most favorable ones for the past few years. It printed big nicely.
I included a few other photos that I got during the trip. It shows how much dramatic they can be.
