Uploads from Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up), tagged maui

A Tongue Twister - Kula, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:03:56 -0700

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

Peter piper picked a peck of pickled photographers... Not quite, but that's all I could come up with on short notce. :) I came across this interesting flower in an upcountry garden near Kula. The photo was taken in March 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Sunburst 2 - Kula, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Wed, 29 May 2013 21:14:53 -0700

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

The upcountry gardens around Kula are famous for their beautiful proteas. I photographed this one at the Agricultural Research Station, which cultivates them by the thousnds. :) For those who are curious, the dark bokeh is natural. I find proteas a bit tricky to photograph because of depth of field issues, but this one turned out okay. The photo was taken in March 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Monarch and Crown 1 - Ka'anapali, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Sun, 26 May 2013 00:03:06 -0700

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

I took this shot on my recent trip to Maui. About 50 yards from where we usually stay, there is a large and thriving monarch butterfly colony. :) Typically, the colony attracts all kinds of life, and I spend many hours photographing whatever turns up. In this shot, a monarch is feeding on a crown flower, one of the monarch's favourites. The photo was taken in February 2012, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

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.

Pink Radiance - Kula, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:44:16 -0700

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

I photographed this beautiful protea in an upcountry garden outside Kula. This part of Maui is well suited for the cultivation of proteas. Indeed, hundreds of varieties can be found in gardens throughout the area. The photo was taken in March 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Red and Green Kangaroo Paw 1 - Kula, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:58:38 -0700

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

I took this photo of this rather unusual flower during my visit to the Maui Agricultural research Station. It had a large plot of these interesting flowers, in a variety colors. They grow on low bushes and sway with the slightest breeze. The red and green Kangaroo paws are native to Australia. Thanks Christina for the id. The photo was taken in March 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.

Red Hot Ginger 1 - Hana Road, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:38:20 -0700

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

This is a photo of a splendid torch ginger I photographed during my visit to Maui's Garden of Eden. The immature plants are pink, but as they mature they turn a deep red. I took this shot in bright sunshine at high speed in order to create the dark bokeh. The photo was taken in February 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.

Tricolor Protea - Kula, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:04:08 -0700

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

During my recent visit to Maui, I saw many beautiful proteas, especially in the upcountry gardens near Kula. I came across this beautiful and unusual protea at the Agricultural Research Station. If you look closely, you will see three protea flowers with very different colors on the same protea plant. Perhaps I stumbled upon one of the researcher's experiments? 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.

A Tear in Paradise - Kula, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 00:04:38 -0700

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

This photo offers a better view of the bird-of-paradise. Aside from the curious "tear" (the shot was taken on a hot, sunny day), this closeup is simply a straight forward shot of a beautiful and colorful tropical flower. The photo was taken in March 2013, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Two Birds Meet - Kula, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:38:56 -0700

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

This is a shot of a Japanese white-eye perched on a large multi-blossomed bird-of-paradise flower in a beautiful upcountry garden outside Kula. If you look closely, you will see that the bird is perched on one leg. I discovered on this trip that these birds are partial to the bird-of-paradise flower. They have good tastes. :). The photo was taken in March 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.

Blue Jade in Paradise - Hana Road, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:03:24 -0800

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

This is a photo of a blue jade I spotted during a visit to Maui's "Garden of Eden." This is a beautiful and privately-owned garden situated on the road to Hana. The blue jade blossoms hang on long vine-like branches from trees, often with only limited sun exposure. They are a bit tricky to photograph because the vines sway back and forth in even the lightest breeze. The shot was taken in February 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.

Tropical Licorice - Kula, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:17:36 -0800

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

This is another protea from the marvelous gardens at the university agricultural research station near Kula. There are so many different varieties of proteas, some with only subtle differences, that I have given up trying to identify them. Instead, I just admire them. The dark bokeh is natural. This photo was taken in February 2012, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.

Red Crown - Kula, Maui

nobody@flickr.com (Barra1man (busy in garden - catching Up)) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:22:08 -0800

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

Here is another shot from the Maui archive. I photographed this lovely protea during my visit to the agricultural research station outside Kula. There are many different varieties of proteas, but I think it is a "sugar bush" or "honey" protea. This flower can be found in upcountry gardens on Maui. The photo was taken in February 2012, with my trusty Olympus digital camera. Enjoy.