Ironwood Forest in Waimanalo, HI

We walked into the forest toward the aqua water and realized a lot of the trees had a mysterious gold haze on the bark. Not all of them, but more on the north end of Waimanalo Beach Park. It seemed to beckon us forward into the glen, toward the deep teal water. The trees are called Ironwood, and Waimanalo Park is famous for them.

The south end of the beach was called Sherwood Beach—certainly it had to be named for its amazing medieval-ish forest, right? Looking down the beach, it was framed beautifully with delicate boughs of fine needles- making it a perfect spot for camping, strolling and sunbathing.

The forest was airy and the constant breeze kept it cool while the grasses waved in the wind near the parking lot. Just about 30 minutes from Waikiki beach, this spot was perfect for our video and model shoot.

We were filming a video for Panasonic about the LUMIX S5, so we had a lovely model, Tahiti, who is a native Hawaiian and a high school senior. She lives in Waimanalo, and this park and beach is literally in her own hometown. It was funny when I commented that maybe these pictures could be used for her senior portraits, she just shrugged it off– “Nah…” (later her aunt said it was just “the common beach”- no big deal and not a “cool” spot)

But after seeing some of the images, she quickly changed her tune and was VERY excited to use these for her senior portfolio! It turned out to be such an amazing location with the Ironwood trees, the grasses and the beach; simply perfect for portraits. I could shoot here every week!

Of course, the light changed constantly from sunny to cloud-covered so we got a variety of looks and lighting styles as well. I also filmed my interview here for the video on the day before since it was such a great location, but that was in the afternoon. This session was in the morning, but both gave us fabulous lighting depending on which side of the trees we chose. Soft open sky is always most flattering for portraits, but if the sun is low like in this shot, (and the subject is young with smooth skin), even the harsh sun can be gorgeous. We got some great fashion shots on the sunny beach! The clouds were like the icing on the cake! So perfectly Hawaii!

I was delighted with the images we got and the video too. I will certainly go visit this park again, next time I go to Oahu, whether I need a location to shoot or just to enjoy the scenes and sand! 

To see more of the portraits in this gorgeous location, click here: Tahiti

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