Category Archives: Photo Challenges

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle passes by

A Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle passes close by

The current Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Green.’ See more responses here. These photos are from a recent encounter with an Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle.

I was snorkeling over a shallow area when this turtle rose up from the deeper water beyond. I reached the edge of the shallows at about the same time as the turtle which slipped below me, between me and the rocks, before disappearing in the direction I’d come from.

Adult turtles mostly eat algae and sea grasses, which turns their fat green, hence the name.

In the pink

A Pinktail Triggerfish in the waters off Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Pink.’ See more responses here.

The top photo is an appropriately named Pinktail Triggerfish. Below, we have a Gold Dust Day Gecko cleaning the windows, a pink hibiscus fronting an orange tree, and an Hawaiian Stilt with an itch.

A pink hibiscus in front of an orange tree in Hawaii

Countdown

Ten sheep, and ten cattle egrets, in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘A Numbers Game.’ See more responses here. I put all my fingers and thumbs to work for my response, starting with ten Sheep in formation (and ten Cattle Egrets, too, as a bonus).

Next we have nine Spinner Dolphins playing, eight Wild Pigs foraging, seven Cattle Egrets heading to work.

Nine spinner dlophins in the waters off Hawaii

Then there’s six Dung Beetles at work, five Black Triggerfish feeling blue, four Japanese White-eyes bathing.

Black Triggerfishes in an aroused state in the waters off Hawaii

And finally, three Horses watching, two Hawaiian Monk Seals resting, and one Pueo anticipating zero and lifting off.

A Hawaiian monk seal and pup on a beach in Hawaii

Praying Mantis being shadowed

A Praying Mantis casts a shadow on a railing in Hawaii

It’s the end of another month and time again for Bushboy’s Last on the Card challenge. (See more responses here.) The top photo is the last one I took in May, a Praying Mantis that’s lucky to be alive after I nearly squashed it with a water bottle on the railing where it was perched.

The bottom photo is how I think the photo looks best, cropped and adjusted to focus attention on the mantis and its shadow.

Yellow-fronted Canary

A Yellow-fronted Canary checks out its surroundings on the South Kohala coast. Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme of ‘Feathered Friends.’ See more responses here.

As happy as …

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘What’s That Aroma?’ See more responses here. Well, for this theme I just couldn’t get past this photo I took a while ago.

I spotted this wild pig in a cow pasture, burrowing into exactly what you think that’s likely to be in a cow pasture. But it’s not just the pig’s dinner that’s aromatic, the pigs do too. When they go by the bedroom window at night, I sometimes hear them, but I’m almost always alerted to their presence by the aroma, which is pungent enough to prompt an immediate, ‘What is that smell?’

Aquatic

A greeting on the sea floor at Two Step, Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Teal or Aqua.’ See more responses here. I’m going underwater for a selection of aquatic aquas.

The top photo shows what happens when divers have too much time on their hands.

Next, we have some Square-spot Goatfishes and a few Orangeband Surgeonfishes meandering over a patch of sand. Then a Bullethead Parrotfish displaying a variety of colors. And a shoal of Hawaiian Silversides going hither and yon over a rocky bottom.

Goatfish and orangeband surgeonfish in the waters off Hawaii

A Bullethead Parrotfish in the waters off Hawaii

Finally, a couple of Spinner Dolphin photos, where they swam below me over an aqua background.

Spinner Dolphins in the waters off Hawaii

A Spinner Dolphin in the waters off Hawaii

Plumeria blooms emerging

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

A while ago I posted a photo of Plumeria buds (here). I returned to that tree several times over the next few weeks and took photos of the same cluster of buds and then flowers to see how they developed. Plumerias aren’t one-bloom-and-done trees. Instead, there’s a continual production of buds, which bloom and die.

I like the swirls and colors of the buds and the different stages of the flowers emerging. I’m not the only one. All kinds of insects can be seen on both the buds and the flowers.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii