The Big Island of Hawaii, Hawaii, United States

-
This is a picture of patience. 
At times, photography is much more about having patience and taking advantage of the circumstances de jour than going out with an intention of finding the perfect shot.
You cannot plan to visit Big Ben and expect to carry home a crystal clear image on a sunny day in your lens. Chances are, it will rain that afternoon, or you will miss your bus, or tourists and business people will block your shot. But, if you leave yourself open to the circumstances or find patience to wait out the rain, you may perfectly capture a little girl's reflection in a pool of water nearby with the clock tower over her shoulder.
On my trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, I travelled to see the volcanoes. It rained and the lava was not flowing to the visible naked eye. I was travelling alone with a leisurely day planned to drive around half of the Island. I was about to walk through a small lava tube at the Royal Kona Coffee Mill & Museum to find some unique textures or shadows of black rock and capture them on my camera when my eye caught the striking contrast of a gold dust day gecko sitting in a red anthurium flower like it was his own private cabana.
I took several photos while slowly walking closer and bringing my camera in to capture the little green guy. I kept snapping hoping to get one well composed and perfectly focused photo. And, then it happened: he turned toward me. Right then the extra photos and few moments of quiet creeping toward the skittish creature gave me an unexpected and eye-catching photo.
Location: Royal Kona Coffee Mill & Museum, Honaunau-Napoopoo, HI 96704, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tambulilid, Ormoc City, Leyte, Philippines

-
Image
Flying. Most everyone seems to appreciate that feeling of loftiness - no strings attached, no obligations to attend to: freedom. Part of the reason I volunteered in the Philippines earlier this year was to lay things aside: a slow-growing business, deadlines, the internet, even friends and family. Of course, we always take some of this with us wherever we go, but now and then, a significant break is warranted. On this particular break, I wanted to fly - to get away, to hop on airplanes around the world, to redistribute my efforts into something physical and tangible. The funny thing is, volunteering is hard work - laborious and exhausting, but so incredibly freeing. I recommend it. Volunteering in a post-disaster area means difficult living conditions, sweat, a little blood, and probably a few tears, too. With All Hands Volunteers on the Island of Leyte in the Philippines, difficult living meant that 50-60 people from around the world shared two toilets; lived in tents, or in
Read more

Round Top Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

-
Image
© 2014 Andrea Rip | The Earth Ink Have you ever visited a place where you wander through streets and alleyways that block your view from your surrounds? Perhaps you're in the middle of Hong Kong and only see skyscrapers rather than the water or the dramatic hills surrounding the City—or maybe you have been hidden in the trees of Mount Rainier National Park and unable to see the majestic mountain towering above you. Rather than remembering the scope of your surrounds, we often focus on finding one little shop on an unnamed side street and forget that through the urban jungle or fir forest lies a magnificent mountain. Enjoying the details of a place has a great amount of value. We learn about communities and culture. We seek out nooks and crannies and get to observe what a place is made of. But sometimes, we need to get up above the streets and through the trees to gain perspective on where we are—both literally, in geographical place and figuratively, in a mental space. W
Read more

Plaza Mayor, Madrid, España

-
Image
Determined to own a legitimate Spanish passport stamp (and not just a discounted stamp for spending a half hour running to catch another plane in the Madrid airport), I booked an overnight layover in Madrid to break up a long trip from the Tel Aviv to Honolulu. The flight arrived late and I took the Metro just in time for the Real Madrid f ú tbol match fans to pour into the rail system. Squeezed and squished with my carry-ons held close, listening to four men rap in Spanish while drunk locals panicked that they missed their stop, I had a very lovely conversation with a Canadian couple who had just witnessed the f ú tbol spectacle and enjoyed the jam-packed Metro ride for the cultural enthusiasm of the fans as much as I did. I took the train to Puerta del Sol and walked to a beautiful, quiet, and efficiently-run Hotel Liabeny where I promptly went to sleep. Waking up early in the morning to make the most of my layover, I entered the cobbled streets and city plazas before the city w
Read more