Paddle surfing in boiling hot water near flowing molten lava is not
often the best of ideas.
But for extreme photographer Kirk Lee Aeder and professional surfer CJ
Kanuha such a rare and daring opportunity was too good to pass up.
For full story and pictures:
Shot from a helicopter in April this year, this amazing photograph
shows daredevil surfer CJ edging 20 feet away from the flowing lava of
Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island.
And with the water temperature reaching over 200 degrees in some
spots, its no wonder these guys believe it was the best photo-shoot
they have ever done.
“It was one of the most thrilling photo shoots I have ever had in my
life,” says 49-year-old Kirk.
“Lava from Kilauea volcano on the south-eastern side of the Big island
has been
flowing continuously since 1984.
“The lava flow stopped in May of 2007, but started again this March.
“One day I was talking to my pro surfing friend, CJ and we began
discussing the idea of him surfing, or should I say, stand up paddle
surfing close to where the lava enters the ocean and that I would
shoot it from a helicopter.
“I had already taken pictures of the flowing lava a few days before -
the power was immense.
“We both knew it would make for an amazing shot if we could pull it
off.”
Eager to push the boundaries the pair quickly formulated a plan for
the audacious shoot.
Assisted by a jet ski (who would help him get into position) and a
canoe paddler (who was there as a safety precaution), CJ made his way
towards south eastern side of the Big Island on April 8.
On the other side of the Island, Kirk took off in a helicopter to
prepare for the daring shoot.
“I lifted off from Hilo airport on the eastern side of the island at
about 7:45 am and ten minutes later we arrived overhead when I saw CJ
waiting by the black sand beach next to the lava flow,” explains Kirk.
“He was leaving an “offering’ of fruits wrapped in green tea leaves
for the mythical Hawaiian goddess of fire known as ‘Pele’.
“This is done to ensure we were respecting Pele and her power.
“Not leaving an offering could have resulted in bad luck, a value that
most native Hawaiians strongly believe in.
“After he did that he was back in the water and I was able to get my
shots.”
For professional surfer CJ, it was a case of making sure all the
safety precautions were in place.
“We had one canoe paddler in place who would assist me, plus a jet ski
who would picked me up along the shoreline about a half mile away and
helped get me into position,” explains 24-year-old CJ, of Kona, Hawaii.
“I was tentative to get too close at first, and for good reason, the
boiling water there is well over 200 hundred degrees in some spots,
super hot, and it quickly melted the wax on the surfboard.
“It was an amazing feeling to get so close to the power of the lava
from the volcano.”
CJ was lucky that the weather also proved to be on his side.
“It was a sunny morning with blue skies and a light wind, with small
one foot waves,” explains CJ.
“Each time I made a pass I would get a little closer, and closer until
finally I was only about twenty feet away.
“I was in the water for about 35 minutes.
“In the days that followed the skin on his legs peeled quite a bit
from the burning hot water. But he was okay, and he was so happy and
elated over what we had accomplished.”
Despite the shoot being on relative impulse, Kirk knew the type of
picture he wanted to get before climbing into the helicopter.
“I definitely visualised these photos well ahead of time, and had
actually photographed a wind surfer before in the same area back in
1998,” he explains.
“Only that time I had shot from a small boat, not in a helicopter.
“But this time obviously, dealing with an active volcano and hot
molten lava there could be no room for error, and we had to take every
safety precaution available.
For Kirk the danger and sheer power of the volcano became more
apparent from the air.
“Since I would be in the helicopter we co-ordinated everything ahead
of time to make sure we were all good to go,” he explains.
“The bottom side of the CJ’s surfboard got a little damaged from the
hot water, but in general, everyone was okay and it was one of the
most thrilling photo shoots I have ever had in my life,” says Kirk.
“The smoke from the lava entering the ocean creates a steam cloud and
this is not good for the helicopter so we had to avoid that as much as
possible.
“The smoke contains sulphur dioxide which if it gets sucked into the
heli’s intake valves could take us down.
“That’s kind of how the surfing world is today, someone is always
looking to push the limits further and further, extreme sports like
this continue to escalate in what can and cannot be pulled off,
without someone actually dying in the process.”
Kirk’s passion for photography ironically began during a family
holiday to the Big Island of Hawaii at the age of eight.
Born in San Diego, Kirk has spent the last 23-years living in Hawaii.
It was this is first encounter with surfers on the Big Island that led
to him to his work, shooting “anything that moves”.
“I started photography at very young age,” he says.
“It was during a family vacation to the Big island of Hawaii(where I
now live) in 1969 and had my first photo published in a national US
magazine at age 16 while in 10 grade in high school.
“I started out shooting mostly surfing photographs, but after moving
to Hawaii branched out into other sports. I shoot ‘anything that
moves’ but predominantly still surfing, pro football, pro baseball,
Ironman triathlons, PGA golf, windsurfing, NBA basketball, etc.”
“Living in Hawaii it’s easy to always find things to shoot, whether
above the water or below it, the natural beauty of the islands makes
it easy.”
“I photograph a lot of surfing and so I am in touch with several of
the surfing pros from here on the Big Island of Hawaii.
“The waves here are not as good as those found on Oahu(where Pipeline
is) or Maui but the Big Island is known for one thing the other
Hawaiian Island cannot claim, the Big Island is the actual\birthplace
of surfing.
“British explorer Captain James Cook made note of this in his journals
when he arrived here circa 1770’s.
“The best aspect of my job is the freedom to work on whatever I
choose, the easiest part actually is taking the photos.
“The hardest part is all the other stuff, co-ordination, selling, and
marketing the photographs later. But I wouldn’t trade my job for
anything else.”
Words by Jack Fletcher
Pictures by Kirk Lee Aeder / Barcroft Media
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