Waikiki Banyan Trees

This photo of a banyan tree was taken at Kapiolani Park across the street from the beach at Waikiki.  This mother is taking photos of her son in the tree, which I have seen many people do of friends and family. The banyan tree is native to India and is the national tree of that country, but it is found in various parts of the world as well.    The banyan tree is also known as the "strangler fig". This tree is impressive, but it is not as large as older banyan trees which can cover a lot of ground because of their aerial prop roots which spread and spread .   Below is a shot of some of these aerial prop roots which can become indistinguishable from the main trunk over time.

This is a larger, older banyan tree than the previous photograph.   It clearly shows how thick and woody the aerial prop roots can become.   This was taken in Waikiki on the Honolulu Zoo grounds by Kapiolani Park.
I intend to create a painting from this and/or other photographs of this man and the pigeons enjoying the shade under the branches of this old tree.   One of the largest banyan trees in the USA was planted in 1873 at the Lahaina Courthouse by the harbor at Lahaina, Maui.  I have been there, but do not have photos of that particular tree, which is over 60 feet high and covers an entire city block.

Here are two banyan trees at the Honolulu Zoo ground in Waikiki.   The very first banyan tree in the USA was planted  by Thomas Edison in Fort Myers, Florida.  Edison and Henry Ford were endeavoring to find a cheaper way to produce rubber for car tires.   When first planted, it was only 4 feet tall but now it covers an acre of land.  In fact, my first time to ever see a banyan tree was in Florida around 2001 when I visited one of my granddaughters who lived there.  I did not see any more of these trees until I moved to Hawaii a few years ago.

Let me close with a beautiful rainbow shot taken at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu.

Enjoy !   Please return again soon as I will be posting more frequently in the future.   

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Black-crowned Night Heron of Hawaii

"God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest." - J. G. Holland

This adult Black-crowned Night Heron is truly in its own paradise !  This reference photo of mine was taken in Waikiki at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort where they have a variety of birds and even penguins.   

This was also taken at the Hilton resort and gives a closer view to observe the color of the feet and bill, etc., of an adult.  Their eyes are very red.   The male is usually taller than the female, about 26 inches in height with a wingspan of 45 inches.

The above two photos were taken months apart at Ala Moana Beach Park on Oahu and show young herons  not quite - but almost- in adult plumage.   Here they were feeding on minnows.   Their diet varies greatly including frogs, mice, insects, and various fish.   Sometimes they catch and eat baby and small adult birds.  

This juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron posed for me at the botanical gardens at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu.    Hawaii recognizes this heron as Indigenous, and it was first taken note of by Captain Cook in 1778 on the island of Kauai.   It is known as 'Auku'u in Hawaiian and is very similar to all Black-crowned Night Herons which breed on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

Below is a recent painting of mine.  I took the reference photograph of the heron in the tree on the island of Kauai in broad daylight.  There was no moon present.  I used a lot of artistic license in this painting.

"By The Light Of The Moon - Black-crowned Night Heron"

10" x 8" oil on museum quality gessobord

Available

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Hibiscus of Oahu Hawaii

Isn't this a beauty !   I photographed this and the other Hibiscus below at a restaurant in Waikiki.  For the most part, these are all hybrids and not native Hawaiian plants.   I will save that for another post.   Unfortunately, I do not know the proper names for the Hibiscus shown but hope you enjoy the show!

I intend to paint these lovelies before too long.   I have prints of Hibiscus for sale at Fine Art America.  Once you arrive at that link, click on "Galleries" and then on "Photographs of Hibiscus".   Soon I will post more photos of Hibiscus on this blog.   

Thank you for visiting and please return again soon.

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Kailua Beach Park Oahu

The above scene is at Kailua Beach looking east towards Lanikai.   Locals and visitors alike feel it is the best beach in Hawaii, and it was designated as the best American beach in 1998 by an expert, Dr. Stephen Leatherman.    Kailua Beach Park is about 30 minutes from Waikiki and is an excellent family beach as there are gentle waves from Kailua Bay on the windward or eastern shore of Oahu.    

This is looking west from Kailua Beach.   The least crowded time to visit the beach is during the week.

I thought you might enjoy the photo of the lifeguard station with the old ironwood trees.   Wind surfing and kite surfing is very popular at this beach.   Nearby you can rent kayaks and adventure to offshore islands.

The scene directly above shows kayaks in the Kawainui Canal which leads to and empties into the ocean (top photo).    To the left of the kayaks on the canal is a fabulous steakhouse and seafood restaurant called Buzz's which I enjoy visiting and the food is great.    By the way,  there is plenty of parking at Kailua Beach Park, restrooms, showers, and picnic tables.   

This is looking west again and not far from Buzz's restaurant and steakhouse.   I painted this scene with a different catamaran and figures shown below.

"A Good Day - Kailua Beach"

16" x 20" acrylic on canvas

Available

Thank you for visiting today.    

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Torch Ginger (Photos And Video)

Torch ginger flowers are very unusual looking and remind me of fake or silk flowers.  They are also known as Philippine Waxflower and they do look like they could be made of wax.   They grow up to 20 feet tall and are native to Java, Indonesia.   The flower shown above is a peach or salmon color.   Below are some other photos of mine you might enjoy.

Torch ginger does well in Hawaii, but you don't see it as often as the other varieties of ginger.  There is also a beautiful and very rare white Torch ginger that is found in southern Thailand and it grows from 6 to 12 feet tall.  Below is a video (not mine) which has great shots of the white Torch ginger.

Here is a painting of mine of pink Torch ginger.

"Pink Torch Ginger 2"

12" x 16" acrylic on gallery wrap canvas

My reference photo for the above painting is shown below.  Torch ginger and other tropical flowers are sold locally as cut flowers at various florists as well as many lei shops, especially in Chinatown in Honolulu.

There are other types of ginger which I need to photograph first before I can post them here. For instance, there is a yellow ginger and a pine cone ginger which I have not yet seen but I know they grow in Hawaii.  Much information may be found on the Internet about various ginger plants if you are interested.   

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Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail - Oahu, Hawaii

This scene is found at the beginning of the trail to Makapu'u Point Lighthouse.   That mountain to the far right is Koko Crater.  This area is the eastern most point on the island of Oahu; the southeast coast or windward side of the island.   This area is hot and dry and more desert like than the rest of the island.   There were a lot of cactus along the trail.

Here we are at a higher level,  and I rather like this photo for a reference for a future painting.

The trail is paved all the way to the lighthouse, so it is really more of a walk than a hike.  People of all ages come here (with their dogs sometimes) and it is an easy walk; it is a two mile distance and uphill all the way to the lighthouse.  It took us about an hour to reach the lighthouse, but we stopped along the way to take photos.   

As we reached closer to the lighthouse and at a very high elevation, down the cliff many feet below were people enjoying the tide pools; they looked like tiny dots to us from up high, but I zoomed in with my camera and took a few shots of them.   

Makapu'u lighthouse itself is not a very tall structure, but it sits on a 600 foot sea cliff and it has the largest lens in the United States; the lens is 12 feet tall and has over 1000 prisms and the light can be seen over 19 miles out to sea.   The lighthouse was built in 1909 and automated in 1974 and is now owned by the coast guard.   Below is a video (not mine) showing views along the hike.

Below are a couple of photos of mine taken from Makapu'u Beach Park looking towards the lighthouse.  They will give you an idea of the height of the cliff where we walked.  

There is so much beauty found on Oahu as well as the other Hawaiian Islands.   I feel blessed to live here and I am constantly inspired to paint and photograph all the wonders of this paradise.

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Various Ginger Plants In Hawaii

Red And Pink Ginger

Red Ginger is a popular ornamental perennial plant seen positively everywhere in Hawaii.  It was introduced to the Islands sometime before 1930 and is native to New Caledonia, British Solomon Island Protectorate as well as various other locations.   It and the pink ginger are popular as an ornamental and cut flower.   Its Hawaiian name is 'Awapuhi 'ula 'ula .   

This dark pink ginger bract has the buds of its true white flowers.  Many mistake the various colored ginger bracts to be the real flower.  Below is a beautiful variegated variety known as "Polynesian Princess" which I photographed at a vendors display; I have not yet seen them growing as a landscape plant here to photograph them outside.  

There is also a pale pink variety shown below at a small city park at Nuuanu Stream in Honolulu.

The above photo will be a great reference for me to paint from one of these days.  

Blue Ginger

 

Blue ginger is not really a ginger at all but belongs to the Spiderwort family and is native to Brazil.  It is used in the Hawaiian islands as an ornamental garden plant and is a perennial as I believe is true of all the various ginger plants found here.   It grows to about 6 feet tall.  I love the sapphire blue to blue-purple color of this plant and in a weird way it reminds me of Texas bluebonnets.   

Shell Ginger

Shell ginger is named so because its long flower panicles resemble mussels with pink and white shells.  It is quite lovely when fresh, but as the flowers fade they turn an ugly brown.  

There are other ginger flowers to write about, but I will save that for another post real soon.   

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