It was another beautiful Diamond Head sunrise, though more for the events around it than the sunrise itself. I’ve somehow missed out on the epic clouds this trip. What I didn’t miss out on was the ability to connect with another human. Hudson Downard approached Rocky and me on the beach a few days ago. It was near sunset, and he said he was trying to build up his portfolio and just wanted to take some photos of us… no charge.

Hudson (shown below) presented as sincere and authentic. That was all it took. He approached us in some harsh pre-sunset light. I knew it would be a challenging edit, given that we were heavily backlit. I shared that I was a photographer, and we exchanged information. After he sent me the photos, I offered to show him some post-processing techniques to help him better handle harsh lighting.

So, we met this morning at sunrise to take a few photos, then sat at Starbucks to walk through a few editing basics. He was like a sponge. It’s exciting to watch someone begin a journey in photography. It made my day. And now I’m looking forward to watching him grow as a pro photographer. He certainly has the desire and the eye. It was great to meet you, Hudson. Keep shooting!

Edit: I forgot the most important photo. 🙂

Jeff Turner

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