There could be any number of unseen creatures in this hedge, but the right (or wrong depending on how you look at it) color will be noticed instantly, as in the case of this passion vine butterfly.
Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park recently opened up more areas of the park that had been closed because of the Covid-19 virus pandemic. I thought this was a good opportunity to hike some of the summit trails that I usually avoid because they’re more accessible and popular with tourists. I put together a loop hike that would have been great had all the trails listed as open actually been open.
Despite this glitch, I had a good time and enjoyed the variety of landscapes the park has to offer. The top photo shows the part of the Kilauea Iki Trail that traverses that crater. The crater floor is a little under a mile across. This crater used to be much deeper before an eruption in 1959 filled it up another 400 feet. There is some vegetation, but the crater floor is mostly bare lava and steam can often be seen rising in various places.
The middle photo was taken on the Halema‛uma‛u Trail, which winds down from the summit into Halema‛uma‛u Crater. Despite the trail’s proximity to the vent in the crater, which was active until May 2018, vegetation thrives here as it does on many trails in the park.
The bottom photo shows a section of active steam vents alongside the Crater Rim Trail. This section of the trail is paved because the area normally sees very heavy use. When I was there, it was mostly deserted because of the lack of tourists on the island. The buildings on the horizon are the Volcano House Hotel which recently reopened for business, though the restaurant is still closed.
For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/. For more information about Volcano House Hotel, go to hawaiivolcanohouse.com/.
Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.
I noticed this gold dust day gecko and green anole in a stand of yellow bamboo. The gecko was just hanging out as per usual, but from the anole’s perspective it was intruding on his territory. When that happens, an anole will puff out his pink dewlap and engage in some vigorous head bobbing. This performance will put wanna-be anoles in their place, but I have yet to see it work on a gecko.
Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.
I get the impression that, for most people, if they have to see a shark, they’d prefer it to be from this perspective – going away from them. Being something of a contrarian, I’m always looking for sharks coming toward me. The qualifier in this is what kind of shark it is.
This is a whitetip reef shark, the first I’ve seen in quite a while. Whitetip reef sharks tend to be curious and will cruise up and check me out. Once they determine that I’m really quite boring, they carry on in search of something more interesting.
Now if this had been a tiger shark, well, all bets are off.
Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.
Yesterday, I was processing photos I’d taken over the past few days. When I saw this one, I thought, ‘I could have used that on Sunday,’ when responding to the Sunday Stills challenge theme of ‘Sky’ (more responses here), and Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective’ (more responses here).
Usually, when I’m in the water, my focus is on spotting fish. But I also look around with my head above water and, one morning, I saw this flock of Hawaiian noddys wheeling back and forth over the ocean. Just after I took this photo, they flew directly overhead before gliding away to the south.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Sky.’ See more responses here.
My camera isn’t the greatest for taking photos at night, but I’m not smart enough to stop doing so. In part, that’s because, on a clear night, the sky over the Big Island is a veritable star-spangled banner, as in the top photo. But slow the shutter speed down a tad and, as less bright stars fail to register, Ursa Major comes to the forefront. Also known as the Big Dipper, the Plough, and several other names, it’s one of the most recognizable constellations out there, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.
Also posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.
I’m tall, but I was standing up straight when I took this photo, so maybe that means I’m not tall. That’s all.
Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.
I first saw this turtle taking air at the surface. Then it dived an disappeared under a shelf of rock. This photo gives the impression of the sea floor sloping, but there is no horizon underwater and I like how this angle emphasizes the turtle’s descent.
Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.
Graham's Island 