THE STORY BEHIND: “KISS ON THE HORIZON”

I rarely take out my camera on days when I’m teaching a workshop, but occasionally I’ll mentor a client who appreciates working side by side. Luckily, this was one of those days, because I was able to capture this beautiful fleeting moment of a rainbow kissing the horizon. 

It was getting late in the day, and my client and I had made our way to the far south end of the island. These rocks are some of my favorite to photograph because they are perfectly spaced and give the image great depth. 

I was helping my client build his composition when I began to notice a rain cloud moving from left to right. 

Somehow, I could perfectly predict what was about to unfold. 

“There is going to be a rainbow here in about 5 minutes,” I told him, “so you better change to a wider lens and get ready.” 

He looked at me sideways as I quickly began to get my camera, tripod and filters out and start setting up. Sure enough, five minutes later, the rainbow began to shine bright and my client gaped at me like I had superpowers. 

As a photographer, I’ve learned to recognize certain light patterns over the years. But it’s rare for me to foresee an approaching light so completely. I captured a few frames of the rainbow as it formed in the perfect position. It was like the rainbow knew its mark - I didn’t even need to re-compose! 

The exposure on this image was 30 seconds, which is short for my style, but I wanted the rainbow to remain sharp and vivid. I love how its colors punch through the soft neutrals in the rest of the frame - drawing your eyes to the horizon and delivering feelings of hope and optimism.