Kauai is Paradise: A Travel Video & Re-Cap

Hopefully once in your life, you'll find yourself on the beautiful island of Kauai. Last year, I had the chance to come here to photograph a dear friend's wedding - not having any idea what to expect.

I could not imagine a more beautiful setting to celebrate a union, and just life in general. The island is perfect for discovery, and we stayed in the southern town of Hanalei. Palm trees lined every road throughout the island, and they're backed by even greener vegetation that produces the freshest oxygen you can probably get (nerdy, I know but I think about these things!).

We rented a car and spent the next week driving until we got so lost, searching for pockets of nature to explore. I climbed across massive tree trunks, dug my toes a little too deep in the wet sand, floated with the subtle waves until sundown, and rode a go kart for a couple miles through the oceanside.

It's astounding to me how, in such a beautiful place, even the most mundane things can become illuminated. Sticking my hands out of the sunroof as the car moves through crisp, foresty roads, knowing the ocean is just meters away was a liberating moment. Closing my eyes while walking, to listen closer to the incessant singing of the birds was some of the most soothing experiences I can recall. Drinking straight out of a fresh, young coconut and tasting the pure sweetness of mother nature amplified my connection to food like no other. Flying a drone over some scary cliffs, where it may not have returned if we got too frisky with it was awesome. And flying ourselves above the entire island in a doors-off helicopter was terrifying, yet exhilarating in a way I've never known.

The most treasured part of it all though, is that these little moments are yours to keep forever in your memory - to be relived again, and again when you find yourself missing this gem of a place.

And of all the beautiful things to be found and experienced on the island of Kauai, perhaps the thing you should go most in searching of is extra potent, internal serenity.
Because if there is any place on Earth that can foster this, this island is it.

Video by Colinpm - we spent a few days shooting spontaneously without much of a plan.
Hope you enjoy the end product. :)