Tag Archives: Wordpress Photo Challenge

Rose jatropha

A Rose Jatropha on the Big Island of HawaiiA bee forages on a Rose Jatropha flower on the Big Island of Hawaii

Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

I’ve posted photos of rose jatropha before (here). In fact, those photos were of this same plant, but probably not the same bee. They were taken later in the day on a previous hike. These photos were taken in the early morning when the light was better and the flowers were just starting to open.

The flowers really glowed and the bees, well they had to work a little harder, burrowing down into the bloom, but obviously with great success.

Wo On store

The old Wo On Store in North Kohala.

Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

Early morning light illuminates the Wo On Store at Halawa. This was one of many shops in North Kohala back in the sugar plantation days. A lot of these businesses were run by immigrants. The name ‘Wo On’ means ‘harmony and peace.’ The building now houses the Rankin Gallery.

Cattle egret hunting

A cattle egret wrestles with a green anole.A cattle egret wrestles with a green anole.

Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

I looked out of the window early one morning, and saw this cattle egret staring intently, as they do, into fallen leaves bordering the yard. After a few minutes of that, a sudden lunge was followed by the top photo. That’s a green anole wrapped around the egret’s beak as it struggled, unsuccessfully, to get free. The photo on the left shows the egret swishing the anole back and forth, in an effort to finish it off.

I doubt the anole was happy, but the egret certainly glowed in the morning light.

Pu’u Wa’awa’a goat

A goat stands on the steep sides of Puu Waawaa on the Big Island of Hawaii

The theme of this week’s WordPress photo challenge is ‘Glow,’ so I thought I’d use that as my cue for the week’s posts.

First up is a goat clinging to the precipitous side of Pu’u Wa’awa’a. I particularly like how the goat is looking at me, but casts a crisp, more profiled shadow in the early morning light.

On the downside, there must have been a dozen or so goats in the area and, between their avid grazing and scampering about on the exposed slopes, they contribute greatly to erosion. My time watching them was accompanied by the constant sound of small rocks tumbling down gullies and puffs of dust and dirt churned up by their hooves.

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.

Kilauea Iki Crater trail

A group of people, looking very small, walk the trail across Kilauea Iki Craterfloor.A group of people, looking very small, walk the trail across Kilauea Iki Craterfloor.

These views of the trail across Kilauea Iki Crater, taken from the rim of the crater, give some idea of the scale of Kilauea Volcano.

Above, a group of people, looking very small, walk the trail across the crater floor.

To the left, smoke and gases from the active vent in Halema’uma’u Crater can be seen. Halema’uma’u Crater is part of the Kilauea Caldera which is much, much bigger than Kilauea Iki Crater. And, yes, that same group is still visible on the trail in this second photo, along with several others hiking the trail.

For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/. For more information about Kilauea Volcano and it’s eruptions, go to hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/main.html.