Overlooked Photos of 2020 #5: The Lost World

Photo taken in the Pololū Valley, Hawaii — February 26, 2020

Beaches are the least interesting part of the Big Island of Hawaii. I’ll probably alienate people by saying that and the tourist board may object, but for me it’s true.

This photo is a good example. On the north side of the island, after hiking down a hill festooned with “danger” signs, fording a stream on a black-sand beach and ditching less-adventurous tourists, we found ourselves in a valley that felt like a prehistoric landscape of tall ironwood trees and an endless, dense carpet of green ground cover. It seemed that at any moment a dinosaur could burst through the trees and devour us. That didn’t happen, obviously.

* Why I didn’t post it: Again, the standard disclaimers about posting vacation photos in the early days of COVID-19. But I do like this photo, especially because I caught Kathy, Wayne and Diana in a patch of light that helps them stand out against the primordial background. To me, the scene feels calm and lush and tranquil. What’s your take? Was I right to post it? Or should it have remained in digital limbo?

(* I took a lot of photos in 2020, more than in any previous year. Some I shared, but looking back I’ve found many I didn’t. Maybe I thought they weren’t good enough, maybe I had something else to post or maybe…I just plain forgot. As the year winds down I’m rectifying those oversights and posting some photos I overlooked earlier in 2020.)

Overlooked Photos of 2020 #4: Manta Rays at Sunset

Photo taken in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii — February 25, 2020

Manta Rays, it turns out, are a lot like photographers: they’re attracted to light. Or at least their food is attracted to light.

We learned this at Rays on the Bay in the Sheraton Kona Hotel. Every night just after sunset they shine a spotlight into the ocean below the restaurant to attract plankton…which in turn attract Manta Rays. Spectators flock by the hundreds to a viewing area above the light hoping to catch a glimpse of the huge rays — and more often than not they are rewarded.

Not to be left out, charter companies also offer evening snorkel tours to watch the rays. Participants come out by boat, then hang onto light arrays that beam into the ocean. That’s what you see in this photo — the blue lights are attracting the plankton and Manta Rays and the tourists are hanging on and watching.

* Why I didn’t post it: I quite like this photo despite a number of technical issues I hope you don’t notice. Shooting this in nearly full darkness without a tripod was, to put it mildly, challenging. I resorted to lying flat on the concrete and holding my lens through the guard rail for stability. Even so, the high ISO I used to avoid a three-minute exposure created some digital noise. But technical perfection isn’t everything. A photo can be technically perfect and perfectly boring. I love the colours in this photo — the orange of sunset, the blue of the lights in the ocean…and above the crescent moon.

* I took a lot of photos in 2020, more than in any previous year. Some I shared, but looking back I’ve found many I didn’t. Maybe I thought they weren’t good enough, maybe I had something else to post or maybe…I just plain forgot. As the year winds down I’m rectifying those oversights and posting some photos I overlooked earlier in 2020.

Overlooked Photos of 2020 #3: Black Sand Beach Basker

Photo taken at Punalu’u Beach, Hawaii — February 24, 2020

Sometimes tourists can be really annoying. Case in point: In Hawaii early this year we visited Punalu’u Beach Park on the Big Island’s south shore. The beach is famed for its black “sand” (really bits of lava) and for the sea turtles that bask on the black shore.

When we arrived this Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle had just pulled itself onto the shore to bask and rest. It did so in an area clearly marked with signs warning visitors to stay at least 10 feet away from the turtles, which are endangered and protected by law. That didn’t stop several tourists from running up to take photos with their phones. Some got so close they were almost touching the turtle.

I’m not one to anthropomorphize, but if this turtle were human I’d say it looks pretty unimpressed. Or if this turtle were Rodney Dangerfield it would saying it gets no respect. Anyway.

* Why I didn’t post it: I take a lot of photos of turtles and share some of them here. But those are generally Western Painted Turtles, not sea turtles. So I’m not sure why I didn’t post this, except for the usual reasons I didn’t post any photos from our trip to Hawaii. And because the weather was pretty dull and there’s not a lot of colour. Still, it’s a beautiful creature and worth sharing — do you agree?

* I took a lot of photos in 2020, more than in any previous year. Some I shared, but looking back I’ve found many I didn’t. Maybe I thought they weren’t good enough, maybe I had something else to post or maybe…I just plain forgot. As the year winds down I’m rectifying those oversights and posting some photos I overlooked earlier in 2020.