This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Macro or Close-up Photography.’ (See more responses here.) In response, here’s a close-up photo of a monarch butterfly feeding on a tasselflower.
Monarch butterfly on a tasselflower
Category Archives: Photo Challenges
Threadfin jack juvenile
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Fake.’ See more responses here. I don’t really have many photos that fit this bill, but this one does. This exotic-looking little fish is a juvenile threadfin jack. This is a fish that will grow up to become large and blocky, living in deep water and rarely seen by snorkelers of divers.
But as a juvenile, while still not often seen, it hangs around in shallow waters towing this extraordinary array of filaments. The theory is that the filaments make it look like a jellyfish and thus much less appetizing to predators. The fish will putter along, then throw in a few moves that make the filaments ripple. The first time I saw one doing this, I thought it was a jellyfish. It faked me out, which is exactly the point.
Usually, each year I see one, two, or even three of these juveniles in my local snorkeling bay, but this year I haven’t seen any or heard of them being spotted by anyone else. Not sure why this is. The water has tended to be murkier than is usual in the summer, but otherwise not much has changed. May and June is the usual time to see them, but I have seen them as late as September, so there’s still time. (This photo is taken from a previous year.)
I hope one or two do show up. Seeing them is one of the highlights of the snorkeling year for me.
Large orange sulphur butterfly
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Yellow.’ (See more responses here.) Naturally, I thought of a butterfly with orange in its name on a very red flower.
This is a large orange sulphur butterfly investigating the feeding possibilities on a red Chinese hibiscus flower.
Sunrise over Kohala Mountain
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Sunrise.’ (See more responses here.)
I saw this pink and purple pastel sunrise over Kohala Mountain on my way to work, which says something about my commute.
Blue boat on blue water
A small catamaran cruises through the waters off the Kona coast, its triangular sails harnessing the wind to keep it moving on course and away from rocks inshore.
Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Triangles.’ See more responses here.
Barbecue
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Taste.’ See more responses here.
In Hawaii, cooking outdoors is an everyday affair. Some houses have their kitchens outside. Others, with kitchens inside, have a secondary setup on the lanai (deck) for outdoor cooking. And of course when we’re talking outdoor cooking, we’re talking barbecue. Most days, when I’m out and about, I’ll catch a scent on the air and think, ‘Oh, someone’s cooking something good.’
This photo was from a simple lunchtime barbecue and, yes, it did taste good.
The ocean doesn’t want me
I came across this little scene on an early morning walk around Kiholo Bay. I looked around. There was no one in the water, no one visible on land. The gear appeared to be abandoned. But all I could think of was a Tom Waits song, The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me, and in particular the line in it, ‘All they will find is my beer and my shirt.’ The shirt is there, and this is Hawaii – no one’s leaving their beer behind.
Posted in response to this week’s Friendly Friday challenge on the theme of ‘Abandoned.’ See more responses here.
Two geckos
These two gold dust day geckos share the same expression as they gaze up at the interloper looking down at them. It’s not unusual for plants to harbor several geckos. Sometimes this results in turf wars, but mostly they seem to tolerate each other, once the pecking order has been established.
Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Creatures and Critters.’ See more responses here.
Graham's Island 