Tag Archives: Macro

Gargantuan blenny

A Gargantuan Blenny rests on a patch of coralA Gargantuan Blenny rests between rocks.

This week’s WordPress photo challenge is on the theme of scale. The idea is to “experiment with placement and scale to show how big (or small) you can feel in a photo.”

These photos don’t do that. It’s not the image that speaks to scale, it’s the name. I mean, this isn’t a big blenny, or a huge blenny, or even a giant blenny. This is a gargantuan blenny. I feel like I should type the word in all caps – GARGANTUAN – to do it justice.

The photos were taken on different days, but in the same area, and it’s probably the same fish. The bright spots are more numerous toward the front and really catch the light in the second photo.

And just how big is this blenny? Typically, they top out at about 7 inches long and this fish was probably about that, but in blenny-world, 7 inches is, well, GARGANTUAN.

Stick insect

A stick Insect rests on a truck tire

One thing I like about macro photography is that, sometimes, something in the photo gives a twist to the scale of things. This stick insect could be any size, but the tire tread suggests it’s fairly small. Except the tread looks so big and imposing, perhaps it’s a tire on one of those huge earth moving machines, which would make the stick insect a formidable size.

In fact, it’s just a truck tire and if the insect doesn’t move, it will become even more closely acquainted with the treads.

Hawaiian blue butterfly

An endemic Hawaiian blue butterfly at the Palila Forest Discovery TrailAn endemic Hawaiian blue butterfly at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail

This endemic Hawaiian blue butterfly was flitting around at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, on the southwest flank of Mauna Kea. This one is, I think, a female with its bright underside and uniformly brown top.

The butterfly is also known as the Koa butterfly, since its caterpillar feeds on that tree. I don’t think Koa trees are found in the trail area, but ‘A‘ali‘i (Dodonaea viscosa), an indigenous Hawaiian plant, does grow there and that’s another plant the caterpillar will eat.

Aliceara Pacific Nova orchid

The flowers of an Aliceara Pacific Nova orchidThe flowers of an Aliceara Pacific Nova orchid

A lot of the plants, fish, and birds that I see on the Big Island are new to me, but I find it satisfying to identify them. It’s often not straightforward. Striking colors or patterns that I think will be easy to place can often prove elusive. Juvenile birds and fish might look nothing like their parents. Other times, a mostly undistinguished look might pop up first in my search.

Orchids are a big challenge since there are numerous hybrids. I’m pretty confident this is Aliceara Pacific Nova not just because it matches photos online, but also because there was a tag at the base of the plant, a useful search tip I’m happy to pass along here.