Category Archives: Photo Challenges

Dendrobium spectabile orchid

The dendrobium spectabile orchid is sometimes referred to as the alien orchid, and no wonder. The curly, twisted flowers are very different from the usual orchid look. In addition, the flower is hinged, which prevents it from being fertilized by flying insects but allows crawling insects access.

A strange, but beautiful orchid, it hails from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, ‘Out of This World.’

An alien-like praying mantis

When it comes to bugs, there are many contenders for otherworldly status. One such is the praying mantis. This one was slowly working its way along a hedge looking for prey, but it kept a wary eye out for the weird looking, big-headed alien creature pointing that glass-fronted box in its direction.

Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, ‘Out of This World.’

Telescopes at sunset

Mauna Kea always has an out-of-this-world feel to me with its barren landscape dotted with high-tech telescopes. Then there’s the fact that those telescopes are searching beyond this world for information about the universe.

Here are two of those telescopes, with Maui in the distance.

Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, ‘Out of This World.’

A green turtle drifts by

I visited Kiholo Bay again recently. At the eastern end of the bay is Wainanali’i lagoon, a stretch of water tucked behind a long spit of land. This protected water would be a prime snorkeling spot except that the bay gets a lot of freshwater infusion. This makes the water cloudy and gives it a distinctive turquoise appearance.

While it’s hard to see much when in the water, from shore the milky, turquoise water has an otherworldly look. Fish and turtles seem to ripple and float against a backdrop of nothingness. It’s a great place to wander along the shore, seeing what’s lurking in the shallows, and watching to see what floats into view before drifting away again.

Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, ‘Out of This World.’

Hawaii State Capitol

As my blog title notes, it’s about ‘Life on the Big Island of Hawaii.’ Well, one aspect of life here is that, once in a while, one has to go to Oahu. Medical emergencies or serious illnesses often involve trips to Oahu’s bigger facilities with more specialists. In addition, some government agencies only have offices on Oahu. My recent trip was for the latter reason, but since I had time to spare before my return flight, I took the opportunity for a wander around downtown Honolulu.

This photo is a view from the central atrium of the capitol building in Honolulu. I happened to be there during a 5-day recess of the legislature, so the normally crowded space was sparsely populated. In the photo, two indistinct figures lean against a rail on the third floor, appearing dwarfed by one of four kukui nut trees (the state tree) and the mass of the building.

In response to WPC ‘A face in the crowd.’

Kona airport

A couple of photos from a recent too-early foray to Kona airport. Above, passengers ooze out of the crowded toothpaste-tube-with-engines that is the modern passenger jet. The airport is still relatively small and open (though ongoing improvements will likely eradicate much of that charm) and, yes, many of those passengers are wearing shorts and a shirt at 6 a.m..

Below is one of the airport’s boarding areas. Busy during the day, at this hour only a few still-sleepy people mill about waiting for the restaurant to open and the first plane of the day to arrive.

Memo to self: It doesn’t matter how early you get up, it doesn’t matter how fast you drive, and it doesn’t matter what time you get to the airport. Until TSA starts work you’re not going anywhere.

In response to WPC ‘A face in the crowd.’

Resting shark

While out snorkeling one day I came across this scene. It’s not a great photo (though the murkiness adds a little to the menace, I think), but still enough to identify it as a shark, resting on the sandy bottom. Later in the day, it was still there. It was more visible with its head out from under the ledge, but the water was cloudier so I didn’t take photos.

I’m pretty sure this is a whitetip reef shark as I’ve heard about one hanging out in that area. The white tips, that give the shark its name, are on the dorsal and tail fins so aren’t visible in this image.

In response to WPC ‘A face in the crowd.’