Scenes like this make me feel like I should say a hallelujah. There, I said it.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
An uplifting moment at Upolu
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Category Archives: Scenes
Up all night
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Night.’ See more responses here. Also posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
On December 21st of last year, I went down to the coast to get a clear view of the ‘Christmas Star.’ This event was the closest coming together of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in almost 800 years. This isn’t to say that the planets themselves would be closer, but from our planet, they would appear so, so close that they would seem to be a single large ‘Christmas Star.’
I got down to the coast before sunset and stayed until it got dark enough that I knew I wouldn’t get more decent photos. I knew my best shot would be with some foreground still visible. The top photo is the best I could do with my camera. The two planets can clearly be seen close together, but with a sliver of late evening sky between them.
I headed home, downloaded the photos, and went to bed not long afterwards. Why the early night? Well, the next day I planned to drive over to see the new eruption at Kilauea Volcano, in the pre-dawn darkness, which required a 1 a.m. start. (That story can be found here.)
It was as I was wrapping up taking photos of the eruption that I turned to see the eastern horizon lightening. But there were still some stars visible in the sky and the brightest light of all was the planet Venus. That’s when I took the second photo before heading back to the car to start the three hour trip back home.
Up in the air at Upolu
The skydiving business, operating out of Upolu Airport, was busy during the holidays. A typical flight deploys a pair of tandem skydivers, where a paying customer is attached to an experienced skydiver.
I was out walking when these people jumped out of the plane. After the chutes opened they maneuvered around before landing back at the airport. The lower picture is a composite of three photos, giving an idea of how they spiraled down.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
Hawai’i amakihi on the move
I was at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, when I looked up and saw this Hawai’i amakihi, a native honeycreeper. When I got home, I was happy to find that one of my photos had caught the bird in mid hop, from one branch to another.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here. For more information about Palila Forest Discovery Trail, go to dlnr.hawaii.gov/restoremaunakea/palila-forest-discovery-trail/.
Dripping drupes
A drupe is a fruit with a single stone or pit at its center. The fruits of mango trees are drupes, such as these two dripping with water after a hard rain.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
Uplifting moments from 2020
A pueo turns its wide-eyed stare on me. (Link) 
Colorful lava on a hike in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. (Link) 
Meeting a manta ray is always a thrill. (Link) 
A pod of spinner dolphins stopped by my local snorkeling spot. (Link, link) 
Lāhainā Noon, when shadows disappear in Hawaii. (Link) 
Shoals of Hawaiian silversides were abundant in the summer. (Link) 
With no tourists here, Anaeho’omalu Bay was a sea of tranquility. (Link) 
Some clumpy nudibranchs spent a few weeks in a local bay. (Link) 
The year ended with a bang when Kilauea Volcano erupted again. (Link)
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Your 2020 Retrospective.’ See more responses here. Also posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
In this retrospective I’ve focused on events and photos that were uplifting for me during the difficult year that was. Most of these photos haven’t run before, but were taken at the same time as those in posts that ran in 2020. Links to the original posts are at the end of the captions.
Sunup over Kohala
Let’s start the new year with the sun coming up behind the Kohala Mountains and a Happy New Year to all.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
The sun sets on 2020
As the sun sets on this strange, unhappy year, here’s a photo of a more tranquil sunset. The long, low island on the left is Kahoʻolawe, with Lānaʻi visible just to the right of it. The southern coast of Maui is on the right.
