More Grey Heron pictures...

Sorry for all the Heron and Eagle pictures lately but there are only so many types of  birds around here where I live especially this time of year. Both of these pictures are taken with the Nikon 18-300 at  300mm, aperture at f8. This lens like so many other lenses appears to be a little sharper at f8 than wide open as evidenced in these two pictures. 

The bottom photo is a good example of what happens when you take "birds in flight" pictures at relatively slow shutter speeds (1/250), though the birds eye, the most important part is in focus. What I really needed for this shot was a higher shutter speed and the 10 pound, $9,769.00 Nikon f2.8 400mm ED VR AF to get all this fellows feathers frozen. Ha ha!

A Big Honkin' Honu

Translation; A very large Hawaiian sea turtle

So there I was, sitting on the lanai one morning having coffee and watching the sun's rays peak over the volcano when this turtle came into view. That in itself wasn't that big of a deal because the turtles come in almost every morning to feed on the reefs. They normally are around for a few minutes and then move on to greener pastures or in this case, greener reefs however, this turtle decided to stick around a while and taunt me.

The turtle started on the far reef, about 50 feet off shore and then moved in to the closer reef, about 10 feet off shore and stayed there. The tide was exceptially high this morning, two and a half feet higher than normal according to the weather forecast and the waves were pretty rough. I watched the turtle for more than twenty minutes as he worked along the close reef, occasionally raising his head out of the water to laugh at me. OK, he MIGHT have just been getting air but I would swear I saw him grinning.

I knew that because of the high tide and heavy waves the water would be murky but I couldn't take it any longer. I came to Hawaii with a mission of getting some more turtle shots and I was tired of watching him laugh at me, he was, I know he was, so I grabbed my gear and headed for the water.

Just to give you an idea of how big this turtle was, these shots were taken with a 24mm wide angle lense and have not been cropped. In the top photo I was about 4 feet away from the honu and I guess-timate (it's a Kansas word Tex LOL) he was about 4.5 feet long from head to tail.

I was about six feet away in this second photo.

Of course Cheryl was sitting on the lanai with the P7700 watching me get pounded by the waves while chasing my photographic mission.

She did afterall already have her turtle, complete with "aloha" written on the shell.

Douleur!

Secret Gate

"Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a SECRET gate

And tho I oft have passed them by

A day shall come at last when I

Shall take the hidden paths that run

West of the Moon, East of the Sun"

J.R.R.Tolkien

Strange how some things just seem to find their mates! Was reading some quotes and poems from Tolkien this afternoon when the above poem jumped out to me. In the fall of last year pics were taken of a locked cable gate that had a hand crafted latch. Anchored in a lichen covered granite boulder the latch doubled as a stretcher to keep the cable tight. Curiosity about this long ago blocked path caused me to wonder!

Today. This afternoon. The pictures were given meaning! Mated!

Somewhere in the middle of the Moon and the Sun's Path

We will find the key to open this Secret Road

parker

The Sunset Wizard at Work

Obviously I didn't take this photo. Cheryl seemed to have a fascination with taking photos of me when I wasn't looking this trip.

She took this with the Nikon P7700 handheld during the big wind storm we were in. Apparently she let go of the palm tree long enough to take a few photos. LOL

This was shot in the automatic mode with the internal ND filter turned on. I am still being amazed at the photos this camera produces. Even just in the automatic mode it seems to know how to make the correct settings in most every application.

The only thing I still don't like about the P7700 is the exposure wheel on top of the camera moves too easily and can be changed accidentally without knowing it. I found myself constantly checking the exposure wheel on the few occasions I actually got to use the camera this trip. Don't get me wrong, I like having the exposure wheel on the top of the camera, it is extremely handy. I just wish it didn't turn so easily. Cheryl apparently didn't have any problem with it so maybe I just have big fingers that get in the way. I would still highly recommend this camera to any one wanting the controls and picture quality of a DSLR but not wanting the DSLR.

Noi Buon Cua Toi!

I never shoot a play in theater before, but it's good way capture the expressions on a performer. Also, Sometime I do feel like this when I'm not picking up my camera!  LOL.

Cabin by the sea

Took a walk down the beach from where I live. Sure enough the old cabin is still there and surprisingly enough it hasn't been vandalized since the old couple moved away nearly 15 years ago. Their failing health simply wouldn't allow them to continue in this peaceful secluded place.

Not one pane of glass was broken as far as I could see though several had fallen out of their moldings over time leaving a way for the elements to get in. 

As I looked around it was obvious that Mother Nature has certainly been having her way with what once was a warm and vibrant little cabin and well cared for gardens.

I recall my visits with this interesting old couple when I was a younger man. He would talk about how it used to be here in the inlet and She always had something for us to munch on as we drank our coffee made on the wood fired cook stove "the way it was supposed to be"! 

Now days there are only memories,  the echo of laughter and perhaps a faint smell of wood smoke and coffee in the little old cabin by the sea.

Here fishy, fishy, fishy

Painting the sand with a flashlight during 30sec exposure.

Sunset panorama

Actually the sunset was behind me but the snow on the Mainland mountains had turned a beautiful pink so I just had to take a few pictures!

Life on the Reef

I came across an abundance of sea life in the reefs just in front of our condo. It took me a day or two to get used to the new underwater rig and figure a few things out before I started getting any good photos. I've already purchased a new lens for the next trip and I'm doing a little studying on how to get better photos. It seems a tripod won't work underwater. LOL

A Lazy Photographer

These were both taken from the lanai (porch) of our condo on Honokowai Beach on Maui. We were sitting there having a drink and watching the sun go down so I decided to pick up my camera and take a few shots. I didn't want to work to hard, I was on vacation you know! LOL

These sunsets are from two different days but every sunset this trip looked just about like these two. There wasn't a thing to complain about.

Here comes the sun!

You just know it's going to be a good day when...

I am so glad she pulled over!!

        Once a week we try to go over to Ron and Cheryl's house to visit, and let the kids get their Neena and Papa fix. On the way out to the car, I noticed the sunset may shape up to be a nice one. As luck would have it, it did! We were driving away from the sunset and I kept watching it over my shoulder. Finally I couldn't take it any more and my wife turned around, so I could get a picture of the sunset with the broken windmill. We drive by the windmill every time we go out Ron's, and on countless occasions I have thought to myself that it would make a perfect photo. Now I have it!!!

Lipstick Pink

1961 Plymouth Fury

Spotted this beauty from two blocks away. Like a magnate she drew me over to have a better look. Not often one gets a chance to admire a Detroit Lady like this one!

Gangster Whites and Chrome Lake Pipes

Powered by a SonoRamic Commando engine this babe could really purr. She lived in the fast lane! Top speed over One Hundred Twenty! Cruised easily at a Hundred and went from 0 to 60mph in 7.5 seconds! No grass grew under her stylish white shoes!

Pilot's Command Center

All the buttons, knobs and controls were at arms reach. Took a square steering wheel to control this animal. She must have been part Cheetah by the looks of the door panel and interior!

Bullet Styled

Suppose one could call this her Tube of Lipstick styled taillight? But at any rate, it was sure shiny and reflected well. Even reflecting it's self in the mirror finish of her chrome bumper!

I hate snakes!

OK, technically they are eels but technically, I don't care! They look like snakes, they slither around like snakes and they hide in the rocks like snakes, so....

Both of these photos were taken in the water in front of our condo in Maui. The first snake, er, eel, is a snowflake moray eel. The Hawaiian name if you are keeping track is "puhi kapa".

The second eel is a zebra moray eel, also known as the "puhi". Both of these eels have dull rounded teeth that they use for cracking the shells on crabs which is their main food source. Even though their teeth aren't sharp I doubt it would be comfortable being chomped on by a vice like grip. Both can get as big as five feet long but these weren't that big.The snowflake moray was only about 18-20 inches and the zebra moray was about 24-26 inches.

The eels are very skittish as you can see in the photos. They were trying to kick up as much sand as possible to hide from me. I don't think you could accidentally step on one but I think you might get to close to it's hiding spot without knowing it and get a "warning" chomp if you were unlucky. I kept my distance as a precaution.

Did I mention I don't like snakes?

Another Self Portrait

And what I was shooting at.

Both shots were taken with a Nikon 28-300mm FX lens.

Night Photography

After taking my last set of night photographs, I have found my self increasingly obsessed with it. I even download a app to my phone so I could know the phase of the moon and when it rises and sets. All of these photos were taken 14 degree weather at 11:00 pm. The local lake made for a great spot. With the severe drought we are in, the lake is down about 20 ft,  I was able to get on to the dry lake bed and shoot the top and bottom photo back towards the shore line. The bottom photo I used the three flashlights I had to aim up at the trees to highlight them against the night sky.

Just for Ron and Paul, here is the straightened version of the photo. I didn't straighten the original because I lost part of the star reflection off of the ice.