This view is the best for determining if any coconuts are falling. A roundish object getting rapidly larger is a good sign that they are indeed earthbound. Getting such a photo is not without danger, but that’s all part of life in the tropics.
Category Archives: Photo Challenges
Makalawena beach
One of the things I like about the Big Island is that there’s so much variety in a relatively small area. It boasts 8 out of 13 possible climate zones (depending on whose definitions are used). It goes from sea level to almost 14,000 feet.
I’m happy to satiate my wanderlust right here on the island, traveling to see the outpourings of our most active volcano, climbing to the windswept summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, and of course, sweating it out on the coast.
The beaches and surf are hugely popular with tourists, but it’s almost always possible to find a sparsely populated, or even empty beach with a bit of walking. Makalawena, on the Kona coast, is one such spot. It requires a hike in, half an hour or so, but offers golden sand and a number of smaller pockets of sand where a person can soak up some sun and take a dip. Paradise indeed.
Pu’u O’o trail
It took me a while to discover the various trails off Saddle Road. That’s because, from the road, they look like they’re mostly lava with some scrubby vegetation, but this is misleading. The kipukas (areas of land where lava has flowed around leaving it relatively untouched) are full of plants and a haven for wildlife including many endemic species. The whole area is an example of the cycle of destruction and regeneration that shapes this island and, indeed, the Earth.
The Pu’u O’o Trail, off of Saddle Road, has nothing to do with Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent. It refers to the Pu’u O’o Ranch on Mauna Loa. The trail was used for moving cattle from one grazing area to another.
The trail alternates between crossing lava flows and passing through kipukas. Depending on the age of the flow, it might have a good deal of greenery on it, but more recent flows are stark lava fields. While the open lava flows offer great views of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea (assuming it’s a clear day), the kipukas offer shade and are alive with bird calls, most of which I don’t recognize.
After about 4 miles the trail intersects with the Powerline trail and a loop can be made back to the start, or simply retrace your steps. Bear in mind that if the clouds roll in, which they do on a regular basis, the trail is a good deal harder to follow.
For more information about this, and other hikes on the Big Island, go to bigislandhikes.com.
Abstracts: Impressionist photo of Hawaiian sea turtles
Kiholo Bay is a popular spot for Hawaiian green sea turtles. On a recent hike I saw several of them on land and in the water. A light breeze rippled the water and when the turtles swam just below the surface, their appearance was in constant flux. It was a nice surprise to find I’d captured this impressionistic effect.
Mountain of water
Sometimes I get caught up taking a set of photos of certain things. Lately, I’ve been trying to capture waves breaking toward me. On this day the water looked promising, but mostly the waves refused to break.
However, it was a pleasant surprise to find that I’d managed to capture this image. The water has lumped into a pleasing mountain shape and the coral below looks like aspects of its rocky face.
Moon landing
When I saw these skydivers I thought of Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical essay “Excelsior! We’re Going to the Moon! Excelsior!” The connection was really nothing more than the title.
In this case, I imagined the captions as “Coming in for landing,” “Whoa, just missed,” and “Let’s go round again.” I bet this is along the lines of how the moon landings were faked!
The reality is these were part of Upolu Airport’s newest/only economic enterprise, B.I.G Skydiving. On this outing, a couple of solo skydivers had already landed. These two were on a tandem skydive, where a paying customer has the much-needed security of being attached to an experienced skydiver.
For more information about B. I. G. Skydiving go to skydivebig.com.
Tangled trunks
For dense foliage, the east side (otherwise known as the wet side, or Hilo side) of the Big Island can’t be beat. Here the trunks of two trees are entwined by a tangled vine, surrounded by exotic foliage.
Green anole with raised ridge
I saw this anole on the lanai one day and thought at first it was something new to me. It was a very deep brown with pronounced markings and it had a raised ridge on the back of its neck that I’d never seen before. It was already pretty agitated, but my taking photos riled it even more, causing it to strut around and puff out its dewlap.
After watching it for a while, I thought it had a lot in common with the green anoles I see around here, and sure enough, its color started to fade and then shift to green.
I suspect what was happening is that it was trying to stake out a new territory and was moving in with the most impressive display it could muster. I’ve found out since that the raised ridge is one such display technique that green anoles have. I didn’t see it again. Probably it decided that it didn’t need a territory already crawling with paparazzi.
Graham's Island 