I just liked the expression of this endemic Hawaiian Dascyllus!
Hawaiian Dascyllus
Category Archives: In The Water
First visit to Hawaii
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Meaningful Memories.’ See more responses here.
This seemed like an opportune time to revisit my first visit to Hawaii, back in 2010. My wife and I stayed in a vacation rental near Captain Cook, overlooking Kealakekua Bay. The sky was hazy with vog from Kilauea Volcano, but the place was awash with colorful flowers. Just down the road was the Painted Church and at the foot of the hill, Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park celebrates Hawaiian culture and history with its wooden ki’i and towering palms.
We traveled the whole island from the black sand beach at Pololu (even if we had to pass the carcass of a dead whale twice) to the black sand beach at Punalu’u, dotted with resting green turtles, and rocky surrounds. There were waterfalls big and small, and roads lined with tropical foliage leading to the active lava flow at that time.
There, signs warned that flowing lava is dangerous (who knew?), but we were still able to get within 10 feet of oozing tongues of red, and saw small fires still burning in nearby brush.
There was even a house for sale: ‘Buy now before it burns!’ We didn’t, though that house still stands while others, much farther from that scene, have since been consumed by subsequent flows.
It was this visit that prompted us to return permanently two years later. Hawaii isn’t paradise – it has its pros and cons like any place – but we haven’t regretted the move and are looking forward to the next 10 years.
Fivestripe Wrasse
I saw this Fivestripe Wrasse just before I got out of the water recently. This one seemed a little redder than the ones I usually see, which have magenta markings, though I don’t see them that often as they’re not especially common.
Oddities in the water
Today marks the start of the last week of this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here. The ocean is full of oddities so I thought I’d include a few here.
Above: A Manta Ray encounter is always something special, but there’s no getting away from their odd appearance. This one has the added wrinkle of one of its cephalic flaps being damaged.
Top left: Bluespine Unicornfishes not only have a horn protruding from their foreheads, they have dayglow blue scalpels at the base of the tail and an array of expressions that are mostly odd.
Top right: Who knows how many scorpionfishes I’ve swum past? Masters of disguise, I could stare at a spot where one is perched and not see it. Even when I do see one, it’s not always clear that it’s not just a rock, as this Titan Scorpionfish illustrates.
Bottom left: Nudibranches are inherently odd looking, and this Clumpy Nudibrach is no exception. It suggests to me some top chef’s idea of an exotic entrée, but one that keeps sliding off the plate!
Bottom right: Blennies are indisputably odd, but absolutely endearing. The Hawaiian Zebra Blenny is no exception and, in addition, has an uncanny ability to launch itself into the next tidepool if someone disturbs it.
Scrawled Filefish
Following of from yesterday’s possibly arty post, today I offer a photo of a Scrawled Filefish. Not only is this fish odd to look at, with its protruding mouth and very long tail fin, but it’s also covered in abstract scrawls which are quite beautiful when the light catches them right. It’s a moving abstract painting, but whereas well known abstract artists go for millions, Scrawled Filefish probably go for $3.99 a pound.
Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.
Pacific Day Octopus
Let’s face it, octopuses are just plain odd. They change color in an instant. They disappear while you’re looking at them. They shoot off with surprising speed. They disappear into cracks where you wouldn’t think you could lose a paperclip. And, while looking right at them, they will change shape, oozing out tentacles to redistribute themselves in some other place.
Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.
Abstracts: Bubbles
When I’m in the water, I like taking photos looking back up toward the surface. These can produce some strange and unusual images. On this day, clumps of bubbles were drifting around and catching the light.
Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.
Threadfin Jack juvenile
This month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme is ‘Odd.’ (See more responses here.) I have resisted the temptation to post 28 selfies, which will be a relief to everyone, including me. Instead, I start with a favorite fish of mine, the odd-looking Threadfin Jack juvenile.
The key word here is ‘juvenile,’ because when Threadfin Jacks mature, they end up looking like creatures that could provide security at a Beyoncé concert. But as juveniles, they sport a little diamond body, silvery with black bars, and an extravagant array of trailing filaments. This appearance is intended to mimic jellyfish, which was my assumption when I first saw one.
I used to see these regularly, but in the last couple of years I’ve only seen one pair, and that only for a fleeting moment. Not sure if that’s to do with changing conditions or that I’m missing them in the murkier water that prevails these days.
Graham's Island 