Credit my daughter for being able to pick out this chameleon. True to it’s name, its multi-shades of green made it hard to see at first. It was in a mid-size dense tree out front of a breakfast place we were eating at in Maui, Hawaii. This is my first chameleon to see and photograph in the wild, and can say I’m amazed at the horns, the ability for the eyes to look forward and backward at same time, and how the hands can grip a small branch so tightly. And yes, they do rock back and forth as they walk!
Sweet! We awoke at 2:30am and were in the car by 3am on our way to the peak of Haleakala Crater in Maui. A steep switch back road with no street lights or guardrails, you climb for hours, breaking through the ceiling of clouds, and reaching the main lookout shortly after 5am. Patiently waiting until dawn breaks, we were rewarded with almost an hours’ worth of changing light until finally the sun broke the horizon. This picture, about half hour before sunrise, has the moon and stars still visible, while the early glow of the sun spreads across the clouds (sitting below the horizon).
This is the Kamokuna ocean entry photographed from the helicopter at 7:45am during our recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. It is completely surreal to watch lava flow into the ocean! We flew up the lava flows and were able to watch active lava tubes along the way and then one of the craters itself.