Category Archives: Photo Challenges

The Numbers Game #52

A windsurfer cruises in the bay at Kawaihae.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 173. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

House construction at Hapuna Estates on the Big Island, Hawaii
Building houses in Hapuna Resort, with a good view of Maui.
A glass of gin and tonic
A gin and tonic is a welcome drink on a hot afternoon.
A Yellow-billed Cardinal is fascinated by his reflection in a car window
A Yellow-billed Cardinal sees itself in the glass of my car. For the full sequence, see here.
Lava oozes on my first visit to Hawaii in 2010.
A toy watering can left on a beach in Hawaii
Forgotten on the beach at Spencer Park.
The beach at Kua Bay Beach Park in Hawaii
The very popular beach at Kua Bay.

No metal

A Metallic skink crosses a road in Hawaii
A Rhyncholaeliocattleya Shingfong Gold Gem 'Golden Gem' orchid in Hawaii

This month’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Metallic.’ See more responses here.

The top photo shows a Metallic Skink (Lampropholis delicata), which is also known as Delicate Skink, Garden Skink, Rainbow Skink, and less-flatteringly, Plague Skink. This one was crossing a road, luckily a lightly-traveled one.

The second photo is an orchid with the catchy name of Rhyncholaeliocattleya Shingfong Gold Gem ‘Golden Gem.’

The third photo is shoal of small, silvery fish, which I think are the aptly named Hawaiian Silversides.

Hawaiian Silversides in the waters off Hawaii

The Numbers Game #51

Smoke hangs in the sky off the Kohala Coast Hawaii
Smoke from a brush fire colors the sky over the North Kohala coast

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 172. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Gold dust day gecko licks its eye
Got to keep those eyes clean!
A woman sitting on a red car in Hawaii
Watch out for a bump up ahead.
A tug enters Kawaihae harbor while a crewman checks his phone.
A Yellow-fronted Canary perched on a twig in Hawaii
A Yellow-fronted Canary keeps watch.
An Emerald Cockroach Wasp in Hawaii
An Emerald Cockroach Wasp.
Mangoes lie on the ground after a strong wind.
Mangoes down after some strong winds.

The Numbers Game #50

Gullies on the side of Kohala Mountain are illuminated by early morning sun
Early morning light on the Kohala Mountain hillside.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 171. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Gold Dust Day Gecko on a pink banana.
A switchback on the Kilauea Iki Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
A switchback on the Kilauea Iki Trail.
ripples on a pond
Ripples in the water of ʻAimakapā Fishpond at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.
A Common Waxbill feeds on cane grass seeds
A Common Waxbill feeds on cane grass seeds.
Hawaiian Stilts in a pond at Kaloko-Honokahau Park
Hawaiian Stilts.
African Silverbills at a window
African Silverbills at a window. See the full sequence here

High surf at Mahukona

High surf crashes ashore at Mahukona, Hawaii

’Tis the season for big northwest swells to start rolling in here. Happy days for surfers, not so much for snorkelers. The first of the season hit west-facing shores over the past two days. By and large the swells weren’t too bad, but every so often a big swell, such as this one, would crash ashore.

No birds or small children were harmed in the taking of this photo! Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card. See more responses here.

Fishing with a view

A fisherman at Upolu with Maui in the background

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Traditions.’ See more responses here.

I’m the world’s worst fisherman and would have starved long ago if I had to rely on catching fish for food. But in Hawaii, fishing has long been a traditional way of putting food on the table. With line, net, or spear, on shore or from a boat, catching fish has been, and still is, a big feature of island life. And if the fish aren’t biting, at least the view tends to be wonderful.

The Numbers Game #49

Kiawe trees and Muana Kea telescopes silhouetted against an early morning sky
A view of telescopes on Mauna Kea from Mahukona.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 170. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A lion statue with a air of sunglasses
A cool lion at The Hilton.
A firefighting helicopter drops water on a brush fire in Hawaii
A fire helicopter dropping water on a brush fire hot spot.
Three cats resting in Hawaii
Hard working cats!
A Sonoran Carpenter Bee clambers through agave attenuata flowers
A Sonoran Carpenter Bee on an Agave Attenuata.
A couple performs on the beach at sunset in Hawaii
As The Pretenders once sang, ‘I got to have some of your attention.’
The beach at ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay in Hawaii
ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay beach, more commonly known as A Bay.

The Numbers Game #48

The lava cone and lake at Kilauea Volcano in late 2021
Activity at Kilauea Volcano in November of 2021.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 169. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A grasshopper blocks the way
A bold grasshopper.
A Leafcutter bee on a zinnia violacea flower
A Leaf Cutter Bee.
A juvenile black-crowned night heron catches a fish
A Black-crowned Night Heron catches a fish.
A Red-masked parakeet at Kohanaiki Beach Park.
A Red-masked Parakeet.
Early morning lights at the port of Kawaihae, Hawaii
Lights in Kawaihae Harbor.
Sunset at Hapuna, Hawaii
Sunset at Hapuna.