These two photos seemed to call out for the use of the slider.
Gecko on a heliconia flower
Author Archives: Graham
Picasso’s Cow?
I grew up on a dairy farm and have been around cows off and on for years so I’m used to them, used to what they do. Recently, I was walking past one of the local dairy’s fields. The nearest cows turned their heads to look. A couple jogged away from me. Other carried on grazing.
Up ahead, on a rise, away from the rest if the herd. I saw the cow in the photo. At least I thought that’s what I saw. But what was it doing? Was it one cow or two? Alive or dead? As I got closer I thought for sure I was looking at one cow sitting on another, no matter that I knew that was highly improbable.
It wasn’t until I got quite close that I was finally able to make out this one cow resting in a rather contorted position. I think my confusion was caused by all those lumps sticking up, by the swirl of white on the visible rear leg, and by the black hump of the back.
I’m pretty sure the cow was alive though I didn’t notice a single movement while I was watching.
Will someone please turn it on
This bird looked a bit forlorn when it landed on an outdoor shower at Spencer Beach Park. I think it was just looking for a drink of water, though there were alternatives not far away.
Better Days: The weeds are winning
This weed-covered backhoe sits besides Hawi Hill, the road from Hawi that leads to Waimea. I’ve passed the spot numerous times and often thought I should get this photo. The problem is that the hill is steep and narrow here, with nowhere to pull off to take the photo. The closest obvious parking place meant a walk back up this busy road.
Finally, one day recently, I was heading home down the hill in the late afternoon. Traffic was light with nothing coming toward me or following close behind. So I stopped the car in the road, wound the window down, and snapped a couple of photos, including this one. Then it was off again, before someone careened into the back of me.
Being watched
While this isn’t the greatest photo, I liked how the very small inhabitants of this rocky area were all looking at me at the same time. At the top is a juvenile wrasse, probably a Saddle Wrasse, though the Bird Wrasse is somewhat similar. The middle two are Bright-eye Damselfishes, and at the bottom is an Hawaiian Whitespotted Toby, the giant of the group at about 3 inches long.
Butt out
When I got home from work yesterday afternoon, the sun was shining, the mock orange was blooming, and the bees were busy. So I took some photos, the last one of which was the top one, which is posted in response to Bushboy’s Last on the Card photo challenge (see more responses here).
That photo is unedited for the challenge, but the bottom one shows how I’d edit it, mostly involving a crop to remove some dead space and put the bee in a better place.
Shave ice
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Desert or Dessert.’ See more responses here.
I was going to give this week a miss, not having any desert-like photos and not being a food photographer, but then I realized that I’ve never posted anything about an iconic Hawaiian treat, shave ice. Shave ice is actually Japanese in origin, called kakigōri there, and was brought to Hawaii by immigrants during the sugar plantation era.
It’s a fairly simple dessert to make. Thin ice shavings are gathered in a cup and then covered with syrup, usually fruit flavored. The shaved ice remains quite fluffy and absorbs the syrup giving a consistent flavor for the whole dish. This one was a simple strawberry flavor, but a wide variety of flavor combinations can be made with this versatile treat.
Shave ice is very refreshing and I like it, but I confess I’d still plump for ice cream given the choice.
A moment’s peace
I saw this piglet resting at the edge of the yard. It was clearly enjoying the strip of sunshine between the shadow of the mango tree and the dark sanctuary of a large clump of cane grass. But when you’re one of seven piglets in the litter, you can be pretty sure someone’s going to come along and spoil everything.
Graham's Island 