a little wild   (a small slice of wildlife)

Manini Beach, Hawaii

This was a small beach that was pretty popular with the locals. The kids loved the little cove.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

I’ve been doing a lot of hand-held long exposures. And I’m not going to apologize.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

This is a Gasteracantha spider. I don’t know if the small one is a male, or if it’s a kleptoparasite such as Argyrodes.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

I took this photo of the spider on the Big Island. Then I came home and examined it: it’s a recluse spider, the Mediterranean Recluse Spider.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

Volcano National Park is one of the most remarkable places on Earth. Really.

This photo is at the Thurston Lava Tube.

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On the Kilauea Iki trail:

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

The Chain of Craters Road is breathtaking from start to finish.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

These photos are on the petroglyphs trail off the Chain of Craters Road.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

Black Sand Beach, still on Hawaii:

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

The Na Pali Coast trail in Kaua’i must be one of the most beautiful hikes in the world.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

I already warned you about the long exposures:

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

The morning golden glow was great for photographing the land, but I found that a higher sun brought out the ocean colors.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

The beach at the end of the trail.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

The overlaying of the fern over the flower is deliberate. I was trying to show that it’s okay to be green and there’s more to life than pretty flowers, but not sure if that worked in the photograph.

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Here’s a wasp that I found on the trail.  Family Eumeninae (Potter wasps, genus perhaps Delta, credits to the Facebook Entomology group for identification).

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And here’s a frigate bird:

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See, here’s the problem. I’ve already exhausted my superlatives, and now we come to the Waimea Canyon.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

I’m not sure what birds these are. That didn’t stop us from admiring how dramatic they looked wheeling in the canyon, or how much fun they seemed to be having.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

I’ve been effusive so far. So let me simply say that view from the Kalalau viewpoint in Waimea Canyon is the single most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen (for the sake of personal safety, I’m excepting the first time I saw my wife and my son).

A heartstopping drop, into a green and earth valley with dappled cloud shadow. Beyond that, cerulean blue with flecks of waves.

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature

From 201507_hawaii_nature