Family Session on Haleakala

When Amber and I discussed their family session she knew she wanted a location that was unique. Her family and ours had both moved from Southern California to Maui, Hawaii around the same time . To the both of us all of Maui is jaw dropping with it’s beautiful clear water beaches, lush rainforests, and stunning sea side cliffs. At first a rainforest session seemed like the way to go until we began planning a playdate on top of Maui’s volcano Haleakala and then BOOM the idea of a session on top of Haleakala came into our minds. Amber and I have followed each other on social media for several years but had yet to meet in person.The morning of our session quickly approached and upon greeting each other it felt as if we had been friends in person for years. The ride with her sweet family up to the volcano was filled with laughter, beautiful conversation, and our two kiddos downing bags of Goldfish. Up through the clouds we drove on the winding road to the top of the summit with absolutely breathtaking views of the island below us. If you have yet to experience Haleakala it is significantly colder than the rest of the tropical island. This said our summer weather outfits did not protect us from the 60 degree weather as we climbed out of the SUV. Never the less a little temperature drop did not damper our excitement and off exploring we went. With camera in hand we gasped in awe at the sea of clouds below us and the martin looking landscape of the volcano. The earth was painted in colors of bright crimson red, burnt orange, mustard yellow, deep emerald greens, and a lovely shade of dark purple. Truly an out of this world view to take in. I followed our dear friends snapping captures of the genuine moments throughout our adventure. After about an hour the crowds began to form as the morning turned into the early afternoon so we decided to continue our day out of the park. While driving down the volcano we entered one of my favorite spots on the island which are lush green fields surrounded by eucalyptus groves that has cows, sheep, and horses grazing in pastures. We pulled off onto a large shoulder that serves as a lookout of the south side of the island. The clouds now surrounding us made for an eery yet gorgeous fog that seemed to hide us from the rest of the world. Our children were delighted to find that an abundance of ladybugs lived on the wild purple clovers that grew in between the tall blades of grass and spent their time collected them as well as rolling down the grassy slope. While the kiddos were having fun I was able to snap some solo captures of Amber and her husband Brandon. My goodness I have had the pleasure of photographing lovely couples in love for several years now but Amber and Brandon’s love truly shines brightly. These two individuals are some of the most caring, selfless, hilarious , and genuine people I have ever met and I feel so blessed to have them in our family's life. To continue on with that day’s wonderful adventure we ended our session at the lookout and then stopped at the Kula Lodge for a fantastic lunch. Once down from upcountry on our way back to their home we made one last pit stop at Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice which I HIGHLY recommend trying if you’re on island. Overall our day spend with this beautiful family was so magical and we have had many wonderful adventures together since then.