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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