This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Fleeting Moments.’ See more responses here.
The orange and black spiky thing is a Passion Vine Butterfly caterpillar, which I saw munching on a passion vine, as they do. The fly didn’t register with me until I processed the photos, but it was definitely a fleeting moment.
This week’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Lava.’ See more responses here. I don’t often run photos I’ve posted before, but this seemed like an opportune instance to rerun some older photos that are perfect for this theme. I’ve put captions on the photos and a link to the original posts for those interested in checking them out.
Returning from a recent hike, I drove round a corner and saw Mauna Kea looking completely red in the setting sun. I pulled over and grabbed my camera, but by the time I took photos, a matter of a couple of minutes, only the top half of the volcano was still illuminated.
This though was my last photo from September, posted here for Bushboy’s Last on the Card challenge (see more responses here).
I took the photo with a view to making a few adjustments, which I’ve done in the bottom photo. The main thing was to crop some of the sky, which I had to include in the photo to get the full volcano. The other thing, which is a bit of an oddity with my camera, is that in certain lighting conditions it will produce a somewhat dull and hazy image. But adjusting the Lighten Shadows feature from zero to one makes the difference seen here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Dilapidated.’ See more responses here.
This old shed sits on my neighbor’s property. Up until a couple of weeks ago it was invisible. But the property is for sale ($2.4 million if you’re wondering, and yes, it needs some work) and the real estate agent had all the cane grass removed from amongst the trees. This was a good move allowing a better idea of what the place looks like. Before, the entry looked dubious at best.
My guess is that when the property sells, the shed will be among the first things to go.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Macro or Close-ups.’ See more responses here.
I saw this cricket climbing up the spadix of a white anthurium at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden. As it neared the top, I zoomed in for a close up. I haven’t been able to find out what kind of cricket it is (open to suggestions), but I was very taken by its extravagantly long antennae.
For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.
Updated 9-17-2022: Thanks to Forest and Kim Starr at Hawaii Insect ID for pointing out this is probably a cricket, though exactly which kind remains unknown.
This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Apricot.’ See more responses here. I thought I’d go with some florals for this one.
The top photo is a powderpuff flower, and below that, a beehive ginger. At the bottom we have two views, close and closer, of a milo flower.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Vacation or Staycation.’ See more responses here.
I can’t remember the last time I actually went anywhere on vacation so I’m opting for staycation, which is staying home for your holidays. In Hawaii, a fine staycation doesn’t require a great deal to make it work.
A nice beach is a good start. Some shade, either from trees or a decent portable canopy. Tables and chairs are a plus, or a convenient branch to sit on. A variety of coolers suitably stocked are welcome, a barbecue even better. And of course, some warm sunny weather and calm blue waters make it a staycation to remember.
For Bushboy’s Last on the Card challenge (see more responses here), I had to hunt a bit for the last photo I took. Turned out it was almost a week ago, when I was walking on the coast. The top photo is the last one, unedited. The one below is the next to last, cropped and edited a bit.
This was one of those occasions when I noticed the bird before it reached me, something of an uncommon occurrence in my experience.
Graham's Island 