Author Archives: Graham

About Graham

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

No metal

A Metallic skink crosses a road in Hawaii

A Rhyncholaeliocattleya Shingfong Gold Gem 'Golden Gem' orchid in Hawaii

This month’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Metallic.’ See more responses here.

The top photo shows a Metallic Skink (Lampropholis delicata), which is also known as Delicate Skink, Garden Skink, Rainbow Skink, and less-flatteringly, Plague Skink. This one was crossing a road, luckily a lightly-traveled one.

The second photo is an orchid with the catchy name of Rhyncholaeliocattleya Shingfong Gold Gem ‘Golden Gem.’

The third photo is shoal of small, silvery fish, which I think are the aptly named Hawaiian Silversides.

Hawaiian Silversides in the waters off Hawaii

Rainbow from the water

One of the perks of snorkeling here is that there are often rainbows to be seen, such as this one just north of Lapakahi.

Bees on a Tree Heliotrope

Bees explore the tiny flowers on a Tree Heliotrope at Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site in Kawaihae.

Bamboo Orchids

A Bamboo orchid in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Bamboo Orchids in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The view from below

Looking at the surface of the water from below in Hawaii

Recent swells stirred up the water so visibility in the water wasn’t great. Instead, I focused upward to where bubbles and debris floated on the surface, yielding some interesting images.

The Numbers Game #51

Smoke hangs in the sky off the Kohala Coast Hawaii — Smoke from a brush fire colors the sky over the North Kohala coast

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 172. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Gold dust day gecko licks its eye — Got to keep those eyes clean!

A woman sitting on a red car in Hawaii — Got to keep those eyes clean!

A Yellow-fronted Canary perched on a twig in Hawaii — A Yellow-fronted Canary keeps watch.

An Emerald Cockroach Wasp in Hawaii — A Yellow-fronted Canary keeps watch.

Don’t bump your head

Sergeantfishes swim below floating debris in Hawaii

An assortment of sergeantfishes swim beneath floating debris, gathered by a series of big swells. Unlike the fish, I got to swim through the debris, which can sometimes include sizable chunks of wood.

Anole versus gecko

A Green Anole and a Gold Dust Day Gecko confront each other in a territorial display in Hawaii

I was alerted to an ongoing dispute between a Green Anole and Gold Dust Day Gecko outside the kitchen window. By the time I got there, the two were had moved away, but were still squabbling. I grabbed my camera, thinking that by the time I got outside, the fracas would be over, but that wasn’t the case. The two were still going at it.

When it comes to territorial disputes, an anole puffs out its dewlap. If that doesn’t work it will act aggressively towards the intruder. A gecko leans over to one side to make itself look bigger and pokes out its tongue. These two went through the full repertoire, with the anole making a few mouth-open lunges.

In the end, the anole wandered off to the end of the overhang and the gecko headed back the way it came from. It wasn’t clear whether there was a winner or loser in the exchange but neither was hurt, which is not unusual in these encounters.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii