April 9, 2011

Recovered Photos from Hawaii - Day 10 (April 3rd)

Above: Ko'olau Mountain Range on the windward side of Oahu, looking south from Waimanalo.

Above: Kailua Bay and the Mokulua islands on the windward side of Oahu, as seen looking north from Waimanalo.

Above: Brian arrives with his massive Deardorff large format 8"x10" camera. Very cool to see how one of these things actually functions. Felt like I went back in time a hundred years, but a very cool old-school camera.



Above: Jennifer and James.

Above: Plumeria.

Above: Orchids.

Above: Red ginger (Alpinia purpurata).

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 9, 2011 at 7:47 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

Recovered Photos from Hawaii - Day 9 (April 2nd)

Above: Looking north across the Waipio valley on the windward side of the big island of Hawaii.

Above: Looking north across the Waipio valley on the windward side of the big island of Hawaii.

Above: Looking north across the Waipio valley on the windward side of the big island of Hawaii.

Above: Orange Llily (possibly Lilium bulbiferum).

A simple way to tell lilies from orchids and even from irises:

* Lilies have long stamens with conspicuous pollen at the ends.
* Irises have only 3 stamens.
* Orchids have one column supporting two or more packages of pollen called pollinia.

Above: A tree warped by the constant trade winds that blow across the island from the Northeast. Jennifer and I photographed this same tree in August of 2006. She even remembered which side of the road it was on when I was having trouble locating it.

Above: Barbados Lily (Hippeastrum puniceum).

Above: Shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet).

Above: Barbados Lily (Hippeastrum puniceum).

Above: Plumeria.

Above: Waikiki at night.

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 9, 2011 at 7:35 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

Recovered Photos from Hawaii - Day 8 (April 1st)

Above: Jennifer poses before a massive green sea turtle ("Honu") mural designed and produced by Michelle Obregon at the Hale Halawaii Cultural Center in Kailua-Kona.

Above: Palm trees along the beach in Kailua-Kona.

Above: Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hen with chicks in the mountains above Kailua-Kona.

Above: Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hen in the mountains above Kailua-Kona.

Above: Banana Passion Fruit (Passiflora mollisima), a flowering vine in the mountains above Kailua-Kona.

Above: Banana Passion Fruit (Passiflora mollisima), a flowering vine in the mountains above Kailua-Kona.

Above: Banana Passion Fruit (Passiflora mollisima), a flowering vine in the mountains above Kailua-Kona.

Above: A male Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelano) attempts to attract a hen.

Above: Orange Llily (possibly Lilium bulbiferum).

Above: Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hen in the mountains above Kailua-Kona.

Above: View from Kona Joe's at Kealakekua, HI.

Above: Jennifer petting the owner's cat at a little shave ice place we like just south of the Place of Refuge.

Above: The geckos hang out at the shave ice place because they love to drink whatever the people spill.

Above: A papaya tree with a gecko eating the ripe fruit (barely visible in this image.)

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 9, 2011 at 7:15 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

Recovered Photos from Hawaii - Day 1 (March 25th)

Above: The Mokulua islands off of Lanai, on the windward side of Oahu.

All of our photos from Hawaii have been successfully recovered by one of the most talented computer technicians on the planet. I've waded through all of the photographs and will be posting more as time permits.

Above: Jennifer, with a Plumeria lei, in a 2011 Jeep with 614 miles on it with the top down. After riding in the jeep, she decided we needed one.

Above: Jennifer, in the Jeep. "Seriously, dad. We need a Jeep."

Above: Jennifer at the Pali Lookout.

Above: Daddy and Jennifer at the Pali Lookout.

Above: Jennifer at the Pali Lookout.

Above: Jennifer ponders her order at Keneke's in Waimanalo. Somehow, she actually remembered what I ordered at this place in August of 2006.

Above: Jennifer at Keneke's in Waimanalo with a Likikoi (Passion Fruit) Shave Ice.

Above: My boss Brian finally gets his hands on some decent camera equipment.

Above: Brian posing with the L-Series Canon f/4.0 IS USM 600mm lens and Canon EOS 7D.

Above: Jennifer at the beach in Waimanalo.

Above: James, the mechanical genius, is building golf carts in his back yard. He took the engine out of a Yamaha Virago motorcycle and put it in a golf cart, believe it or not.

Above: Surf hut at Waimanalo.

Above: Jennifer and James going for a quasi-legal ride down the beach in James' custom golf cart.

Above: Jennifer on the beach at Waimanalo.

Above: Jennifer with a coconut.

Above: Spider Lily.

Above: Girl blowing a conch shell.

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 9, 2011 at 6:40 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

April 1, 2011

Hawaii Day 7 - Black Sand Beach (Canon EOS 7D Takes a Pill)

Above: The fields just east of Na'alehu, Hawaii.

Today, we drove down the Kailua-Kona coast of the Big Island to Punaluʻu Beach (Black Sand Beach) to snorkel and check out the Honu (Green Sea turtles). Along the way, we stopped in Na'alehu for lunch at the Punalu'u Bake Shop, the "Southernmost Bakery in the U.S.A" .

I setup my big lens on the Gitzo tripod and turned my back. Next sound I heard was the camera falling over. I'm not clear why this happened, but it did fall over. Zero wind. Brand new Canon EOS 7D no longer functions. :(

Fortunately, if I've learned anything about Canon it's that one camera is good. Two is better. Three is better still. So, I had 3 camera frames on the trip. Now I have 2. Also, my 100-400mm lens isn't working right. Autofocus won't lock and allow the trigger to release. So, it's essentially a Manual focus only lens at this point. So, basically, 1 week in the field, and I'm down from 3 lenses and 3 frames to 2 lenses and 2 frames. Ouch.

Update: Just for clarification, this is not an April Fool's joke. Just a bad day in the field. But I've had bad days before and, if you're going to take expensive gear into the field, it's going to get broken. It's just the nature of the beast.

Above: The coast east of Na'alehu, Hawaii.

Above: Between Na'alehu and Punaluʻu Beach on the Big Island.

Above: Jennifer at Hawaii's Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. She's sitting on lava in this photo, but the black sand beach is visible in the background.

Above: I believe this is a Zebra Dove. Update: Confirmed as Zebra Dove.

Above: Yellow shrimp plant (Pachystachys lutea).

Above: One of Hawaii's lava fields near the southern end of the Big Island.

Above: One of Hawaii's lava fields near the southern end of the Big Island.

Above: Yellow Mandevilla (Mandevilla funiformis).

Above: 'Barbados Lily' or 'Fire Lily'. (Hippeastrum striatum). The genus Hippeastrum encompasses 75 species; referred to as Amaryllis. Most are bybrids from tropical South America. Family: Amaryllidaceae (Lily family).

Above: The Swiss-cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa).

Above: Cup of gold (Solandra maxima).

Above: Orange trumpet vine (Pyrostegia Ignea).

Above: Memorial to Captain James Cook, discoverer of the Sandwich Islands. Had his brains bashed out by the natives here at Kealakekua Bay on February 14, 1779.

Above: Lobster claw, False-bird-of-paradise (Heliconia rostrata).

Plants verified at Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk.


Posted by Rob Kiser on April 1, 2011 at 1:28 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink

Hawaii Day 6 - Kailua-Kona

On Wednesday (3/30), we flew from Honolulu to Kailua-Kona. When we checked into the hotel, somehow they recognized that I'd stayed here before, so I asked her..."When was that? When were we last here?" Because I have some vague idea, but nothing definite.

"It was in August of 2005," she replied.

This to me, is fascinating. That a hotel can tell me that I was here 5 years ago? I'd have lost money on that bet for sure.

The Kona coast was recently slammed by the Japanse tsunami, but it didn't get much coverage since there are no nuclear reactors melting down into the ground like giant glowing gophers.

The tsunami hammered the island pretty good, but fortunately our hotel is still in operation. For the Four Seasons, not so much.

Above: Honolulu International Airport(HNL).

Above: Somewhere over the Pacific ocean.

Above: The reefs off of Kailua-Kona.

Above: Landing at Kailua-Kona.

Above: (Agapanthus africanus).

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 1, 2011 at 1:17 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink

March 31, 2011

Hawaii Day 5 - Scenic Area Number 2

Above: Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) in Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

We visited two botanic gardens on Tuesday. First, we went to Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens near Kaneohe with Karen and James. Then, Jennifer and i drove up through the central valley and met Eva and A.J. at the Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden up on the North Shore. Of course, both places were just stunning and I finally took the 600mm lens into the field and got some shots. This is the first time I've used the lens since we go to Hawaii. Part of the problem is that we're driving a Jeep with a soft-top around the island, so I'm afraid to leave the lens in the jeep, so I end up leaving it at home in Waimanalo.

Above: Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Lehua mamo (Metrosideros polymorpha) of the family Myrtaceae at Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Lehua mamo (Metrosideros polymorpha) of the family Myrtaceae at Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Lehua mamo (Metrosideros polymorpha) of the family Myrtaceae at Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: (Metrosideros tremuloides) of the family Myrtaceae at Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: (Metrosideros tremuloides) of the family Myrtaceae at Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: (Metrosideros tremuloides) of the family Myrtaceae at Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Male Red-Crested Cardinal (Paroaria coronata) in Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Ho'omaluhia Botanic Gardens.

Above: Me in a cowboy hat driving a brand new jeep with 614 miles on the odometer up through Oahu's central valley to the north shore.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Indian coral tree (Erythrina variegata) at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: A Shaving Brush tree (Pseudobombax ellipticum) at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Yellow shrimp plant (Pachystachys lutea) at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Yellow Jacobinia (Justicia aurea) at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

Above: Jennifer and A.J. at Turtle Bay.

Above: Sunset at Turtle Bay.

Above: Sunset at Turtle Bay.

Above: Sunset at Turtle Bay.

Above: Sunset at Turtle Bay.

Posted by Rob Kiser on March 31, 2011 at 10:38 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink

March 29, 2011

Hawaii Day 4 - Pineapple Express (03/28)

Above: Jennifer preparing to boogeyboard near Waimanalo, Oahu. Mokulua islands in the background.

Above: Jennifer preparing to boogeyboard near Waimanalo, Oahu. Mokulua islands in the background.

Above: The Mokulua islands.

Above: Downtown Honolulu as viewed from the Pali Expressway.

Above: The Waianae mountain range as viewed from the central valley on Oahu.

Above: The Waianae mountain range as viewed from the central valley on Oahu.

Above: Posing at the Dole pineapple plantation.

Above: Posing at the Dole pineapple plantation.

Above: Rainbow Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta).

Above: Feeding the fish at a koi pond at the Dole pineapple plantation.
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Above: Pineapple Express at the Dole pineapple plantation.

Above: Oahu's Koolau range as viewed from the central valley.



Above: Flamingo lily (Anthurium andraeanum).

Above: African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata).

Above: Chinaman's Hat.

Plants verified at Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk.


Posted by Rob Kiser on March 29, 2011 at 3:09 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink

March 28, 2011

Hawaii Day 3 - Sea Life Park

Above: White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

Above: Male Red-crested Cardinal (Paroaria coronata) at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

Above: Male Red-crested Cardinal (Paroaria coronata) feeding female in courting ritual at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

Above: Indian Mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

Above: Shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

Above: Tahitian gardenia (Gardenia taitensis) at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

Above: Mature Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) with fledgling at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

Above: Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

Above: Cape Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata).

Above: Red-footed Booby at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

Above: Papaya tree.

Above: Hibiscus.

Above: Parrot Beak, Yellow Heliconia (Heliconia caribaea).

Above: Coral Hibiscus (Hibiscus schizopetalus).

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/219803/ShowThread.aspx#219803

Flower Identification: http://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/catalog/photo_db/H.htm

Posted by Rob Kiser on March 28, 2011 at 11:44 AM : Comments (3) | Permalink

March 27, 2011

Day 2 in Hawaii

Above: The Koʻolau Range near Waimanalo, Oahu.

Above: Rabbit Island at dawn.

Above: The Koʻolau Range near Waimanalo, Oahu.

Above: Kailua Bay.

Above: Hanauma Bay.

Above: Hanauma Bay.

Above: Flat island and Rabbit Island.

Above: Great frigatebird (Fregata minor).

Above: Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis).

Above: Plumeria.

Above: Hibiscus.

Above: Hibiscus.

Above: Bouganvilla.

Above: Red-crested Cardinal, Brazilian Cardinal (Paroaria coronata).

Above: Red-footed Booby (Sula sula).

Above: Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora).

Above: Spider Lily (Crinum asiaticum).

Above: Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis).

Above: Hibiscus.

Above: Jennifer and Brian at the Department of Agriculture, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer in front of an Indian banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), Family: Moraceae.

Above: Jennifer in front of an Indian banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), Family: Moraceae.

Above: Me swinging from an Indian banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), Family: Moraceae.

Above: James swinging from an Indian banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis), Family: Moraceae.

Above: Blooms of the Pink Bombax (Pseudobombax ellipticum), Queen's Medical Center.

Above: Blooms of the Pink Bombax (Pseudobombax ellipticum), Queen's Medical Center.

Above: Blooms of the Pink Bombax (Pseudobombax ellipticum), Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu.

Avove: Nawa tree (Sterculia urens), Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu.

Above: Brian at the Department of Agriculture, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer and Brian at Lanai Lookout along Kalanianaole Highway near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora).

Above: Red-crested Cardinal, Brazilian Cardinal (Paroaria coronata).

Above: Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva).
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Above: Jennifer at Lanai Lookout along Kalanianaole Highway near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Jennifer at Lanai Lookout, Koko Head Crater in the background.

Above: Lanai Lookout.

Above: Jennifer at Lanai Lookout near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Brian at Lanai Lookout near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Brian at Lanai Lookout near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Jennifer at Lanai Lookout near the Halona Blowhole.

Above: Boogey boarder at Sandy Beach Park.

Above: Boogey boarder at Sandy Beach Park.

Above: Boogey boarder at Sandy Beach Park.

Above: Boogey boarder at Sandy Beach Park.

Above: Boogey boarder at Sandy Beach Park.

Above: Spider lily (Crinum asiaticum).

Above: Lobster claw, False-bird-of-paradise (Heliconia rostrata).

Plants verified at Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk.

Above: Jennifer in front of a street-side food vendor.

Above: Jennifer in front of a Baobab tree at the Department of Agriculture, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer in front of a Baobab tree at the Department of Agriculture, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer in front of a Baobab tree at the Department of Agriculture, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer and Brian at the Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu.

Above: Jennifer at the Department of Agriculture.

Above: Jennifer at the Department of Agriculture.

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/forums/219529/ShowThread.aspx#219529

Posted by Rob Kiser on March 27, 2011 at 3:34 AM : Comments (0) | Permalink