Author Archives: Graham

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About Graham

I take photos when I'm out and about, recording life on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Clouds from Pu’u Wa’awa’a

A few days ago I did another hike up Pu’u Wa’awa’a, a large cinder cone north of Kona. I planned the hike to coincide with one of the days of latest sunrise here, just after 7 a.m.. My idea was to arrive at the trailhead at 6 a.m., when the gate opens, and head up as quickly as I could in order to get the best shot at early morning light from the summit. This meant getting up by 4 a.m. and setting out by 5 a.m.

Defying all historical precedents, I was there five minutes early. The new automated gates opened before me and in no time I was hotfooting up the trail, flashlight in hand, in order to avoid breaking an ankle in the one of the many potholes in the old road that makes up the first part of the trail.

One advantage of hiking in the dark is that I didn’t stop every five minutes to take a photo of a goat or bug. Still, an hour into the hike, as the light improved, I couldn’t help but pause when I spotted a large wild pig excavating – no other word for it – a large hole in the hillside in the search for worms and the like (alas the photos weren’t great – not enough light).

By 7:30 a.m. I reached the top of the climb. I already knew I wasn’t going to get the hoped-for blaze of early morning sun – too many clouds from the get-go – but this photo shows the moody light that greeted me. I considered this a worthy consolation prize. And then there was the fact that I had the summit to myself for 90 minutes, and the mamane trees on the west side were in bloom and attracting Hawaii ‘amakihi and hordes of bees (look for several dozen photos of these in the near future!).

For more information about Pu’u Wa’awa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.

Yellowfin goatfish

Yellowfin goatfish, like the very similar looking square-spot goatfish, are adherents to the theory that there’s safety in numbers. Younger fish, such as the ones in the photo, tend to meander around in clumps in shallow water. This group are looking suspiciously at a yellow tang.

Orchids

This week’s WordPress photo challenge is ‘Variations on a theme.’ One of my first thoughts was orchids. It’s a family of flowers that is constantly changing as one plant is crossed with another to produce something a little different. So this is a collage of some orchids I’ve photographed at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.

For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.

Mauna Kea telescopes at sunset

A final post based on the theme of this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, which is ‘Silence.’

Unless the wind is howling, the top of Mauna Kea is a quiet place. The immensity of the volcano below and the sky above seems to swallow all sound. There’s no wildlife up there, just a few visitors wandering about, and telescopes silently probing space.

At sunset, the quiet is enhanced, despite an influx of people for the event. Perhaps it’s the dimming light or the muffling layer of billowy clouds around the volcano, but there’s a profound silence and a tranquility not easily found elsewhere.

Zebra doves grooming

Another post based on the theme of this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, which is ‘Silence.’

Silence is probably the last thing anyone would associate with zebra doves. They’re seen everywhere and their continuous calls are one of the staples of the morning chorus.

Outside the house though is a mock orange, which has a branch that catches the late afternoon sun. Zebra doves like to sit on this branch and bask in the sunshine. Sometimes there’s just one, sometimes a pair, sometimes a family.

These two took the opportunity to engage in a little grooming while they were there, the one helping take care of those hard-to-reach places for the other. And the whole time, nary a peep out of either of them, which is the way all of them are, in this spot, at that time of day. It’s quite a contrast from their morning calls.

White-lined sphinx moth

Another post based on the theme of this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, which is ‘Silence.’

I glimpsed this moth flitting by and snapped a couple of photos, one of which is the second shot. I realized this wasn’t something I’d seen before and wanted to get more photos to make identifying it easier, but it had gone to ground and I’d lost track of it. So I waited, scanning the ground without spotting anything. A light breeze ruffled the grass, but otherwise all was silence.

Eventually, having seen no sign of its presence, I gave up, got up and moved on. Within seconds the moth flew by again. This time I followed its flight and saw where it put down. Even then, as I padded towards it, I thought I’d lost it again. But when I zoomed in on the apparently empty spot, the moth appeared, as seen above. No chance I’m spotting this had I not seen it flying.

It’s a white-lined sphinx moth, first recorded in Hawaii in 1877 and now present on all the islands. It’s probably fairly common but it’s the first time I’ve seen one.