Category Archives: Photo Challenges

Plumeria

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Sweet.’ See more offerings here.

In my part of the Big Island, plumerias are starting to bloom in their curious way where the flowers appear on the tree before the leaves. In warmer parts of the island, plumeria trees are already thick with flowers and leaves. But in all cases, the flowers are redolent with a sweet perfume.

I like this photo because the blooms in this cluster are at different stages, from the tightly-curled buds at bottom right to the fully-open bloom at top left. But my attention was drawn to the flower unfurling in the center, all shadows and light and dappled with raindrops.

Also posted in response to Bushboys Last Photo for January 2020 challenge. See more responses here.

Beach at Hualalai

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Simple Joys.’ See more responses here.

This is one of the beaches at Hualalai Resort on the Kona coast. While the resort is private and access is restricted, Hawaii law states stipulates that the public has a right of access along the beaches and shorelines in the state situated below the “upper reaches of the wash of the waves.”

Any developments along the shore are required to provide designated public access points. The catch here is that sometimes parking at these places is limited and if it’s full, getting to the beach involves a much longer walk.

At Hualalai, there’s a good-sized parking lot, an easy walk to the coast, and a paved trail along the waterfront. Some beaches can be quite crowded but, in my experience, it doesn’t take much of a walk to find a stretch of sand that is either sparsely populated or entirely deserted. And in my book, walking along the coast, past palm trees and sandy beaches, is definitely a simple joy.

Shadow makers

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Shadows.’ See more offerings here.

The top photo is a row of colorful playground swings at Kamehameha Park in Kapaau. Below are three cyclists in line, heading out of Hawi during an Ironman World Championship race.

Also posted as a second offering for this week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme of ‘All in a Row.’ (See more responses here.) My first post for this theme is here.

Birds in a row

This week sees the return of the Friendly Friday challenge with a theme of ‘All in a Row.’ See more responses here.

I’ve plumped for some bird photos. Above, a trio of common myna birds stand on a railing looking severe, as they always do. Middle, wild turkeys form two lines, as if they’re performing some kind of dance routine. Below, African silverbills perch on a fence overlooking the ocean.

Pueo flying under gray skies

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Gray.’ See more offerings here.

This photo shows a pueo, the native Hawaiian short-eared owl, gliding over a gray road beneath a gray sky. This is a stretch of Old Saddle Road, which is one of the best places to see pueos as they hunt in the pastures on either side of the road or rest on fence posts alongside the road.

Early morning

Earlier this month, I got up in the wee hours to view the Quadrantids meteor shower, with the idea of taking photos. My camera isn’t the greatest for this, but in the event, it didn’t matter. I caught a peripheral glimpse of one meteor and that was it.

Still, the effort wasn’t without its rewards. The sky was clear and starry, and I liked this scene of the illuminated building, the large kiawe tree, and the dark, starlit sky.

This is my third post on this week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme of ‘Yin-Yang.’ See more responses here.

Herons and ripples

Yesterday, I posted (here) a response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme of ‘Yin-Yang.’ (See more responses here.)

This is my second offering on the theme, which also features light and dark, but also stillness and movement – the stillness of the herons (there’s a second one in the background) and the movement of the rippling water. I like how the second set of ripples disturbs the first set and the reflections of the palm trees.

Shadow on the beach

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Yin-Yang.’ (See more offerings here.) I had no idea what I’d post for this, but ended up with a couple of posts.

The first is a simple take on light and dark, or light and shadow. On a recent walk along the shoreline, the shadow of a palm tree imposed on a sunny beach, deserted except for empty chairs.

Tomorrow’s post will be another on this theme.