Category Archives: Photo Challenges

Trees and cloud

Trees and clouds on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Hawaii

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

I couldn’t think of too many eerie things amongst my photos. This image of trees on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, shrouded in cloud, is as close as it gets. This is a fairly common occurrence as clouds tend to build up during the day and often reach this area in the afternoons.

Also posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Sky’ (See more responses here), and to the current Friendly Friday challenge theme of ‘Weather’ (See more responses here).

Signs: No parking

A No Parking sign on the Kohala Coast, Hawaii

The coast road between North Kohala and Kawaihae is dotted with these no parking signs. There are virtually no houses along this road, so why the signs? Well, the views are lovely and in the winter, humpback whales frolic just off the coast. Who wouldn’t want to pull over.

Consequently, a 40 mph minimum speed limit is in place along this highway together with these signs. The net result is that people still crawl along taking in the view and pull over to watch whales wherever they please.

Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Circles and Squares.’ See more responses here.

Balloon plant

A prickly balloon plant

I’ve seen balloon plants (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) in local pastures before, but not up close like this. The balloons are the fruit of the plants. The long hairy spines become stiffer and spiky-looking when the balloons inflate prior to releasing their seeds.

Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Spiky.’ See more responses here.

Abstracts: Rock-boring urchin art

Channels made by rock-boring urchins in Hawaii

Yesterday I posted a photo of a crown-of-thorns star, with a few rock-boring urchins in it. Today’s post shows one example of the channels left by these urchins. This image initially looked like a brain to me, but then I began to see more of a tree in it.

Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Spiky/Lines.’ See more responses here.

Crown-of-Thorns star

A crown-of-thorns star and rock borer urchins

I saw this crown-of-thorns star working its way across the rocks in shallow water. Those spiky spines are venomous so this is not something to handle. Also visible in this photo are some equally spiky, though not poisonous, rock-boring urchins

Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Spiky.’ See more responses here.

Parrot bench

A bench at Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens in Hilo, Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Indoor/Outdoor Decor.’ See more responses here.

I don’t have a lot of ‘decor’ photos, but I think this sort of fits the bill. It’s one of several fun benches at Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo. Probably less fun to sit in, but you can’t have everything!

Also posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Blue/Bright.’ See more responses here.