Why Everyone Falls in Love With Hanalei Bay (Including Me)
Hanalei Bay is one of those rare places that stays with you long after you’ve left it. Maybe it’s the sweeping mountains, the way the light moves across the bay, or the gentle rhythm of the waves rolling over the sand. Or maybe it’s something quieter — the feeling that time slows down in this little crescent of Kauai’s North Shore.
Rainbow at Hanalei captures a fleeting moment on Kauai’s North Shore as a morning storm broke and sunlight spilled through the clouds over Hanalei Bay.
Note: This is the first in a new series of blog posts I call "Behind the Shot," which give you a small (and hopefully interesting) personal glimpse into the circumstances behind a particular photo or photo shoot. I hope you enjoy it!
Hanalei Bay is no longer just a photography spot for me—it’s a place deeply woven into our family’s story. When my kids were little, we vacationed in Kauai shortly before the start of school one summer. We spent entire afternoons at this beach doing nothing more than leaping over waves, splashing in the warm water, and laughing whenever a bigger set rolled in. One day we lingered for hours, simply kicking around in the sand, and even though Kauai is full of stunning beaches, this is the one they begged to return to the next day. I was more than happy to say yes. Those small, perfect moments of joy have a way of anchoring themselves to a place, and for us, Hanalei Bay became one of those rare, forever spots.
Years later, during the workshop that produced the photographs featured here, Hanalei once again delivered something unforgettable. It was our final morning in Kauai, and we were running on the kind of exhaustion you only get after multiple sunrise-to-sunset shooting days. But as soon as we kicked off our shoes and hit the sand, the storm clouds were rolling through, and then, out of nowhere, this perfect rainbow arched right over the pier. All the exhaustion just melted away. Surfers were already paddling out, the waves chopped up by the wind, and the pier was glowing in that first warm light, stretching out over the water like it knew we were coming.
This shot was taken a bit later in the morning in a similar location as the photo shown above. Though it is similar, I decided to add it to the gallery for those who wanted to see a bit more of the lush green mountains in the background.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect. The mountains shifted in and out of clouds, the pier constantly had people walking back and forth, and every great wave was followed by five or six messy ones. But that’s what makes photography here so compelling. You’re constantly chasing a moment that lasts only a few seconds.
After the shoot we hit Hanalei Bread Company for breakfast, and I’m still convinced they make the best breakfast sandwiches on the planet. Their banana bread didn’t exactly help my willpower either. We grabbed a table outside in that perfect, laid-back Hanalei breeze, eating, replaying the morning, and dragging out every minute before we finally had to say goodbye and head to the airport.
That whole day—the rainbow, the waves, the mountains rising behind town, the easy warmth of the place—took me straight back to our family trip years ago. And from the messages I get about my Hanalei Bay photos, I know I’m not the only one. For a lot of people this spot is pure memory: jumping off the pier as a kid, watching sunrise on a honeymoon, catching your first wave, a chaotic family vacation, or just one quiet morning on a beach that still feels like the world hasn’t changed it.
If you’ve stood on this shore, you already know why it’s special. If you haven’t, I hope these images bring you a little closer to it — the color, the mood, and the feeling of one of the most magical bays in Hawaii.
Thanks for reading, and for sharing in one of my favorite places on the planet.
