Uploads from Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up), tagged kaanapali, with geodata

Mantis Macro - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Mon, 06 May 2013 00:04:35 -0700

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

As I was sorting some archived photos, I came across some overlooked mantis shots. I saw this mantis prowling along the branches of a large crown flower bush/tree that also supported a large monarch butterfly colony. I am sure this fellow was not sight seeing. :) They are remarkable insects - the T-rex of the insect world. I am glad that they are not man-sized. :) Is that blood on its jaws? The photo was taken in February 2012, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Radiant Red Hibiscus - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:02:56 -0700

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

During my recent trip to Maui, I saw and photographed many colorful and exotic hibiscuses. However, I came across one simple red hibiscus that I found particularly attractive and vibrant and thought I would share it with you. Sometimes when I look at this photo I see red; other times I see red and pink. The photo was taken in March 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Monarch on Jatropha 2 - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:26 -0700

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

I came across this splendid monarch feeding just outside the front door of where we were staying. There were many monarchs in the vicinity thanks to a large colony nearby. :) The photo was taken in February 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Monarch in Flight 3 - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 18:57:56 -0700

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

During my recent trip to Maui, I took quite a few butterfly shots. I was fortunate in that there was a large and healthy monarch colony nearby. :) This is the next shot in my monarchs in flight series. Evidently, this butterfly has been around for some time given the wear on its wings. For information regarding photographing monarchs in flight, see my comments in the first shot. The photo was taken in March 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

High Dining - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:48:53 -0700

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

This is a photo of a Japanese white-eye munching on some bottlebrush flowers. On this particular trip, I saw more Japanese white-eyes around Ka'anapali. The bottlebrushes, native to Australia, are a local favourite of Japanese white-eyes and other small birds. Although it was fairly windy when I took this shot, the sky was a beautiful blue. The photo was taken in March 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Monarch in Flight 2 - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:03:53 -0700

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

This is the next shot in my "Monarch in Flight Series." I took this shot just outside the front door of
where we were staying. It was a very windy day, so the backround flowers are rather blurred. For more information about photographing monarchs in flight, see the background comments of the previous shot. This photo was taken in February 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Monarch in Flight 1 - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:03:29 -0700

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

I took this photo on my recent trip to Maui. It is the first in a series of shots showcasing monarch butterflies in flight. Fortunately, there were many monarchs in the vicinity, thanks to a rather large a robust colony nearby. I thought it would be an interesting experiment to try to capture these monarchs in flight.

For anyone who has not attempted this sort of thing, it can be quite a challenge in eye-hand coordination and reflexes. Here are a few of my observations. Of course, you should use a high shutter speed and shoot on a bright, sunny day. As well, you should use a fairly powerful long lens. I like the 300mm because it offers nice magnification, a good field of view, and is not too heavy. Next, setting is important. I find that some flowers are more suitable than others. For example, sturdy flowers, such as purple crowns, a monarch favourite, do not work well because they offer a firm base for quick lift offs. On Maui, I find the rose-flowered jatrophas, another monarch favourite, are quite light, contain numerous blossoms, and dangle making monarch lift offs a "tad" slower. Last, it is important to try to anticipate the monarch's flight path. Do not focus on the butterfly's head, rather on the edge of its wings or on some point along its expected flight path. Expect to take many photos, most of which will be poor. However, sometimes you can get some interesting and dynamic shots.

This photo shows a monarch a split second after lift off. The bright light and high shutter speed created the dark bokeh. The photo was taken in March 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Hi There - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:05:57 -0800

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

This is another shot from the Maui archive. When I mention Maui, you probably think of great whales and beautiful tropical flowers (me too). However, there are many other interesting things to photograph, such as this snail. I came across this fellow moving slowly along the top of a tall wall. The snail was at least six inches long. I tracked it for some time. At one point it stopped, as if it could sense my presence, and turned to "stare," or perhaps greet me. That was when I took this shot. The photo was taken in March 2012, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

A Pensive African Crane - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:05:29 -0800

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

In anticipation of my upcoming vacation later next month, I am working through my older archived Maui shots from last February. This is a photo of an African crane. Funny enough, it and its mate walk the grounds of one of the large resorts. I took this shot shortly after it had completed its morning bath. The photo was taken in February 2012, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

You Can't Sneak Up On Me 1 - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:28:27 -0800

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

This is a photo of a praying mantis and is part of an older archived set of shots focusing on life in and around a large monarch butterfly colony based in several large purple crown flower shrubs/trees not far from where we were staying. One day, as I was standing in the midst of the colony photographing monarchs, I noticed this green praying mantis slowing making its way through the foliage looking for prey. I trailed it for some time. Throughout the process, it always kept at least one eye on me, from any direction, and always knew where I was. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that it is staring back at me as it slowly moved along the limb. The photo was taken in February 2012, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

A Piece of the Maui Sun - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:13:34 -0800

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

I took this shot on my last trip to Hawaii. It is just a simple hibiscus, but I hope it will bring you some beauty and cheer on a cold winter day. The photo was taken in March 2012, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy!

Red Beauty - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:03:02 -0800

Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up) posted a photo:

I took this shot on my last visit to Maui. One day as I was walking through Ka'anapali looking for suitable subjects to photograph, I came across these beautiful red flowers hanging above me from a tree. As the branches were suspended over a small pond, I really could not get very close. However, the flowers were so pretty and interesting, I thought I would share them with you. They look like some sort of coral flower. Thanks Cliff for the id. The photo was taken in March 2012, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.